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FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


A   HANDBOOK  FOR  THE 
STUDENT  AND  STOCKMAN 


W.  A.  HENRY,  D.  Sc.,D.  Agr. 

EMERITUS    PROFESSOR    OF    AGRICULTTJRE, 

AND    FORMERLY    DEAN    OF    COLLEGE    OF    AGRICULTURE 

AND    DIRECTOR    OF    THE    AGRICULTURAL    EXPERIMENT    STATION, 

UNIVERSITY    OP    WISCONSIN 


F.  B.   MORRISON,  B.  S. 

ASSISTANT    DIRECTOR 

OF    THE    AGRICULTURAL    EXPERIMENT    STATION, 

AND    ASSISTANT    PROFESSOR    OF    ANIMAL    HUSBANDBT, 

UNIVERSITY   OF   WISCONSIN 


'The  eye  of  the  master  fattens  his  cattle." 

— German  Adage. 


SIXTEENTH  EDITION 

Revised  and  Entirely  Rewritten 


MADISON,  WISCONSIN 

THE  HENRY-MORRISON  COMPANY 

1916 


Copyright,  1915 

BY 

THE  HENRY-MORRISON  COMPANY 


Translated  into  Portuguese  by  F.  M.  Draenert,  Sao  Paulo, 
Brazil,  1907. 

Translated  into  Russian  under  direction  of  Paul  Dubrov- 
sky,  editor  of  "Agriculture  and  Forestry,"  and  published 
by  the  Imperial  Department  of  Agriculture,  for  the  use  of 
agricultural  schools  and  other  institutions  of  the  Depart- 
ment, Petrograd,  1912. 


C:i)e  fLaftestlie  ^reaa 

R.  R.  DONNELLEY  Si  SONS  COMPANY 
CHICAGO 


PREFACE 

Feeds  and  Feeding,  first  published  in  March,  1898,  was  received  with 
immediate  and  widespread  favor  by  practical  stockmen,  as  well  as  by  the 
professors  and  students  of  animal  husbandry  in  our  agricultural  colleges 
and  secondary  schools.  The  plan  of  the  book  had  been  laid  along  original 
lines,  and  neither  time,  labor,  nor  expense  was  spared  in  its  preparation. 
In  1910,  after  nine  editions  had  come  from  the  press,  the  book  was  entirely 
rewritten  and  improved  in  many  ways.  During  the  lapse  of  time  since 
that  date,  the  accumulation  of  new  and  important  matter,  both  scientific 
and  practical,  has  made  another  revision  desirable.  Accordingly,  more 
than  two  years  ago,  the  preparation  of  this,  the  second  revision,  was  be- 
gun. Professor  F.  B.  Morrison,  who  had  so  ably  assisted  with  every  page 
of  the  first  revision,  becoming  joint  author  herein  with  the  original  author. 

With  a  corps  of  trained  assistants  he  has  devoted  much  time  during  the 
past  two  years  to  the  preparation  of  this  second  revision.  Previous  to 
and  during  its  WTiting  he  has  visited  numerous  stock  farms  and  ranches 
as  well  as  the  agricultural  colleges  and  experiment  stations  of  many  states, 
so  that  now  the  combined  observations  and  studies  of  the  joint  authors, 
along  the  lines  of  both  theoretical  and  practical  animal  husbandry,  cover 
quite  intimatelv  every  state  of  the  Union,  as  well  as  parts  of  Canada  and 
the  Old  "World. 

It  has  been  the  aim  of  the  authors  to  give  in  Feeds  and  Feeding  an 
unbiased  and  condensed  presentation  of  the  most  important  findings  of 
the  investigators  of  both  the  Old  and  New  Worlds  in  the  science  of  animal 
nutrition,  together  with  the  most  important  results  of  the  vast  number  of 
feeding  trials  which  have  been  conducted  at  the  experiment  stations  in 
the  United  States  and  other  countries,  the  whole  being  rounded  out  by 
the  practical  experiences  of  many  of  the  leading  stockmen  of  America. 
In  a  large  number  of  instances,  as  the  text  shows,  the  data  and  results 
of  important  investigations,  completed  so  recently  at  the  experiment  sta- 
tions as  not  yet  to  be  in  print,  have  been  forwarded  to  the  authors  by 
those  who  were  conducting  them,  in  order  that  the  findings  might  be  sum- 
marized in  this  revision. 

In  Part  I  the  fundamental  principles  of  animal  nutrition  are  first 
briefly  presented,  including  the  most  recent  discoveries  of  the  biological 
chemists.  The  various  feeding  standards  for  the  different  classes  of  farm 
animals  are  then  fully  discussed,  and  there  is  presented  a  new  series  of 
standards — "The  Modified  Wolff -Lehmann  Standards,"  formulated  by 
the  authors, — which  are  based  upon  the  recent  findings  of  the  scientists  in 
this  and  other  countries.  To  point  out  some  of  the  economic  principles 
which  should  be  considered  in  the  feeding  of  live  stock,  an  entirely  new 
chapter — "Economy  in  Feeding  Live  Stock" — has  been  added. 


^r5 


8213 


iv  PREFACE 

In  Part  II  the  many  new  feeding  stuffs  are  given  full  consideration 
along  with  the  old.  Especial  emphasis  is  placed  upon  the  importance  of 
combining  the  legume  roughages  with  corn  and  the  other  cereals  for  the 
economical  feeding  of  farm  animals,  and  upon  the  great  value  of  silage 
for  the  various  classes  of  live  stock.  Finally  the  vital  relation  of  animal 
husbandry  to  the  economical  maintenance  of  soil  fertility,  thru  the  return 
to  the  soil  of  the  manurial  residue  of  feeding  stuffs,  is  emphasized. 

In  Part  III  there  are  presented  the  most  important  findings  obtained 
by  the  experiment  stations,  to  date,  on  the  value  of  the  many  different 
feeding  stuffs  for  each  class  of  live  stock,  and  on  the  effect  of  various 
methods  of  preparing  feed,  systems  of  feeding  and  caring  for  stock,  etc. 
Rather  than  simply  giving  the  results  of  single  typical  trials  on  the 
various  subjects,  in  most  cases  the  data  for  all  the  similar  trials  on  a 
given  subject  have  been  carefully  compiled  and  averaged  together.  The 
feeder  is  thus  given  more  trustworthy  information  in  regard  to  the  rela- 
tive value  of  the  different  feeding  stuffs. 

Feeds  and  Feeding  contains  about  one-third  more  matter  than  the 
former  revision,  due  not  only  to  the  addition  of  85  pages,  but  also  to  a 
larger  type  page,  a  change  of  type,  and  other  devices  for  saving  space. 
This  expansion  has  been  made  chiefly  in  Parts  II  and  III,  so  that  teachers, 
students,  and  farmers  in  any  section  of  the  country  may  find  in  this 
volume  information  regarding  all  the  feeds  of  any  importance  in  that 
district. 

The  sincere  thanks  of  the  authors  are  hereby  extended  to  the  hundreds 
of  friends  who  by  suggestions  and  reports  of  experiments  and  experiences 
have  furnished  invaluable  assistance  in  innumerable  ways — only  by  such 
help  so  generously  given  has  the  making  of  this  book  been  possible. 
Acknowledgment  is  due  Professor  E.  V.  McCollum  of  the  University  of 
Wisconsin  for  valuable  suggestions  in  the  revision  of  the  first  six  chapters 
of  the  book ;  to  Messrs.  F.  R.  Jones,  G.  Bohstedt,  A.  J.  Dexter,  and  J.  G. 
Poynton,  and  Miss  Vivian  Elver  for  help  in  compiling  data ;  and  especi- 
ally to  Mrs.  Elsie  Bullard-Morrison  for  invaluable  assistance  thruout  the 
entire  work  of  revision. 

W.  A.  Henry. 

Madison,  Wisconsm, 
October,  1915 

PREFACE  TO  SIXTEENTH  EDITION 

The  favor  with  which  the  second  revision  of  Feeds  and  Feeding  was 
received  has  exhausted  the  fifteenth  edition  in  only  four  months  since 
its  publication.  This,  the  sixteenth  edition,  is  therefore  brought  forth 
with  but  minor  changes. 

Madison,  Wisconsin,  "W"    A    Henry. 

February,  1916  p,_    g_   MoRRiSON. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction.     Live  Stock  and  Profitable  Farming vii 

Part  I. — Plant  Growth  and  Animal  Nutrition 
Chapter 

I.     The  Plant;  How  it  Grows  and  Elaborates  Food  for  Animals 1 

II.     Composition  of  the  Animal  Body — Digestion — MetaboUsm 14 

III.  Measuring  the  Usefulness  of  Feeds 36 

IV.  Maintenance  of  Farm  Animals 54 

V.     Growth  and  Fattening 75 

VI.     Production  of  Work,  Milk,  and  Wool 100 

VII.     Feeding  Standards — Calculating  Rations 109 

VIII.     Economy  in  Feeding  Live  Stock 139 

Part  II. — Feeding  Stuffs 

IX.     Leading  Cereals  and  their  By-products 149 

X.     Minor  Cereals,  Oil-bearing  and  Leguminous  Seeds,  and   their   By- 
products    166 

XL     Miscellaneous  Concentrates — Feeding  Stuffs  Control — Condimental 

Foods 181 

XII.     Indian  Corn  and  the  Sorghums  for  Forage 193 

XIII.  The  Smaller  Grasses — Straw — Hay-making 204 

XIV.  Leguminous  Plants  for  Forage 223 

XV.     Roots,  Tubers,  and  Miscellaneous  Forages 240 

XVI.     Silage— Soilage— The  Preparation  of  Feed 254 

XVII.     Manurial  Value  of  Feeding  Stuffs 272 

Part  III. — Feeding  Farm  Animals 

XVIII.    Factors  Influencing  the  Work  of  the  Horse 281 

XIX.     Feeds  for  the  Horse 299 

XX.     Feeding  and  Caring  for  the  Horse 320 

XXI.     General  Problems  in  Dairy  Husbandry 338 

XXII.     Feeds  for  the  Dairy  Cow 358 

XXIII.  Records  of  Production  of  Dairy  Cows — Feed  Required  by  Cow  and 

Cost  of  Producing  Milk  and  Fat 387 

XXIV.  Feed  and  Care  of  the  Dairy  Cow 398 

XXV.     Raising  Dairy  Cattle 412 

XXVI.     General  Problems  in  Beef  Production 430 

XXVII.     Feeds  for  Fattening  Cattle 449 

XXVIII.     Raising  Beef  Cattle 484 

XXIX.     Counsel  in  the  Feed  Lot 493 

XXX.     General  Problems  in  Sheep  Husbandry 507 

XXXI.    Feeds  for  Sheep 521 


vi  CONTENTS 

Chapter  Page 

XXXII.     General  Care  of  Sheep  and  Lambs — Fattening — Hot-house  Lambs — 

Goats 548 

XXXIII.  General  Problems  in  Swine  Husbandry 568 

XXXIV.  Feeds  for  Swine 587 

XXXV.    Feed  and  Care  of  Swine 624 

Appendix 

Table      I.     Composition  of  American  Feeding  Stuffs 633 

Table     II.     Digestibility  of  Feeding  Stuffs 647 

Table  III.     Digestible  Nutrients  and  Fertilizing  Constituents  of  Feeding  Stuffs  653 

Table    IV.     The  Wolff-Lehmann  Feeding  Standards 667 

Table     V.     The  Modified  Wolff-Lehmann  Feeding  Standards 669 

Table   VI.     The  Mineral  Constituents  of  Feeding  Stuffs 672 

Table  VII.     The  Weight  of  Various  Concentrates  per  Quart 673 

Index 674 


INFORMATION  TO  THE  READER 


When  seeking  information  on  any  subject  presented  in  this  book,  the 
reader  should  first  consult  the  copious  index,  the  figures  of  which  refer 
to  the  page  on  which  the  topic  is  presented.  Additional  information  bear- 
ing on  the  subject  given  at  other  places  may  be  found  by  following  up  the 
numerous  references  set  in  black-face  figures  in  parentheses,  occurring  in 
the  body  of  the  text.  These  figures  refer  to  the  numbered  Mack-face  side- 
heads,  and  not  to  the  pages. 


INTRODUCTION 

LIVE  STOCK  AND  PROFITABLE  FARMING 

The  animals  of  the  farm  should  be  regarded  as  living  factories  that  are 
continuously  converting  their  feed  into  products  useful  to  man.  A  fact 
of  great  economic  importance  is  that  a  large  part  of  the  food  they  con- 
sume is  of  such  character  that  humans  can  not  directly  utilize  it  them- 
selves. Among  the  products  yielded  by  the  farm  animals  are  not  only 
articles  of  human  diet,  such  as  meat,  milk,  and  eggs,  but  also  such 
materials  as  wool,  mohair,  and  hides,  which  are  needed  for  clothing  and 
other  purposes.  Another  product  of  greater  aggregate  money  value  than 
any  one  of  these  is  the  work  performed  by  horses  and  other  draft  animals. 
Altogether,  the  farm  animals  of  the  United  States  yield  each  year 
products  worth  over  $5,000,000,000,  a  sum  nearly  as  great  as  the  value  of 
all  the  crops  annually  harvested  on  our  farms. 

As  the  population  of  our  country  becomes  more  dense,  most  naturally 
and  properly  a  smaller  portion  of  the  crops  raised  will  be  fed  to  animals 
and  a  larger  part  consumed  directly  by  humans.  This  change  must  come 
with  the  increased  demand  for  human  food,  since  even  high-producing 
animals  are  able  to  convert  only  a  part  of  the  feed  they  eat  into  food  for 
our  consumption.  Accordingly,  with  our  increasing  population,  we 
should  expect  the  census  statistics  to  show  that  the  number  of  animals 
on  our  farms  was  failing  in  some  small  degree  to  keep  pace  with  the  in- 
crease in  people.  The  actual  decrease  in  farm  animals  compared  with 
population  is,  however,  surprising.  While  the  population  of  the  United 
States  increased  21  per  ct.  during  the  decade  1900  to  1910,  the  number  of 
cattle  and  sheep  decreased,  and  the  number  of  swine  increased  but 
slightly.  This  indicates  that  if  animal  products  are  to  hold  their  present 
important  place  in  the  diet  of  our  people,  American  farmers  must  more 
thoroly  appreciate  the  basic  advantages  of  stock  farming  and  better 
understand  the  principles  and  methods  which  are  essential  to  its  success. 

1.  live-stock  farming  and  soil  fertility. — Lured  by  the  high  prices 
which  have  ruled  for  grain  and  other  crops  in  recent  years,  many  farmers 
all  over  the  country  have  sold  their  crops  for  cash,  rather  than  following 
the  wiser  plan  of  marketing  a  portion  thru  the  feeding  of  live  stock,  and 
thereby  maintaining  a  balanced  agriculture.  Seldom  have  they  realized 
that  with  every  ton  of  grain  thus  sold  they  are  removing  from  their  farms 
$7  to  $8  worth  of  fertility.  The  loss  thru  such  mining  of  the  soil  is  grad- 
ual, but  in  a  comparatively  few  years  there  will  result  none  the  less  surely 
worn-out  fields,  lacking  in  plant  food  and  humus,  which  must  ever  after- 
wards be  fed  with  fertilizers  to  secure  fair  crops.    On  the  other  hand,  if 


viii  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

a  part  of  the  crops  are  fed  to  live  stock  and  proper  care  taken  of  the 
resulting  manure,  most  of  the  fertility  may  be  retained  on  the  farm,  and 
the  need  of  commercial  fertilizers  long  delayed.  Under  intensive  stock 
farming,  where  more  or  less  milling  by-products  rich  in  fertilizing  con- 
stituents are  usually  purchased  and  fed  on  the  farm,  the  land  will  even 
become  richer  and  more  productive  year  by  year,  with  but  little  need  for 
commercial  fertilizers. 

When  the  great  South  comes  into  its  own,  cattle  raising  will  balance 
cotton  raising.  Neither  the  cotton  lint  nor  the  oil  obtained  from  the  seed, 
which  is  a  valuable  human  food,  takes  an  appreciable  amount  of  fertility 
from  the  soil.  On  the  other  hand,  cottonseed  meal  is  the  highest  in  fer- 
tilizing value  of  all  common  plant  products.  Fortunately,  it  is  at  the 
same  time  the  highest  in  feeding  value  for  cattle  of  all  our  commonly 
available  feeding  stuffs.  Therefore,  by  feeding  the  meal  resulting  from 
his  cotton  crop  to  live  stock  the  southern  farmer  may  bring  back  to  his 
fields  most  of  the  fertility  drawn  out  by  the  cotton  plants  in  their  growth. 
Thus  he  may  reap  a  double  profit. 

2.  Consumption  of  feed  otherwise  wasted. — In  exclusive  grain  farming 
there  is  no  successful  way  of  utilizing  the  large  amount  of  roughage,  such 
as  straw  and  corn  stover,  which  results  as  a  by-product  in  the  growing  of 
the  cash  crops.  Such  materials  are  merely  in  the  way  and  are  disposed 
of  in  the  easiest  manner,  often  by  burning,  without  regard  for  the  loss  of 
vegetable  matter,  so  much  needed  by  the  soil.  In  a  well-planned  system 
of  stock  husbandry  all  these  materials  are  utilized  for  feed  or  bedding. 
Much  forage  which  can  not  be  consumed  by  humans  and  would  otherwise 
be  wasted  is  thus  refined  thru  the  agency  of  animals  and  converted  into 
a  form  suitable  for  the  nourishment  of  man,  while  a  large  part  of  the 
organic  matter  is  returned  to  the  fields  in  the  resulting  manure.  Im- 
mense amounts  of  by-products  result  from  the  manufacture  of  the  cereals 
and  other  seeds  into  flour,  breakfast  foods,  vegetable  oils,  etc.  While 
unsuited  for  humans,  some  of  these  by-products  are  among  our  most 
valued  feeds  for  stock.  As  the  density  of  population  increases  and  the 
prices  of  foodstuffs  advance,  the  feed  supplied  our  farm  animals  must  to 
an  ever  increasing  extent  consist  of  substances  resulting  secondarily  from 
the  making  of  human  food,  whether  they  be  coarse  roughages  or  milling 
by-products. 

3.  Utilization  of  land  unsuited  for  tillage. — In  some  sections  of  our 
country  much  of  the  land  is  so  rough  or  stony  that  it  can  not  be  cropped 
economically.  Here  cattle  will  gather  the  grass  on  the  smoother  stretches 
and  sheep  will  search  out  the  herbage  on  the  more  inaccessible,  rocky 
slopes.  Over  great  areas  of  the  West  there  is  too  little  rainfall  to  warrant 
even  dry  farming,  and  irrigation  will  never  be  possible,  either  because  of 
lack  of  water  or  the  roughness  of  the  land.  Yet  stock  will  thrive  on  the 
scanty  but  highly  nutritious  grasses  and  other  forage.  Thru  well- 
planned  systems  of  grazing,  with  additional  feed  in  time  of  winter  storm 
or  parching  drought,  the  western  ranges  should,  at  no  far  distant  date. 


LIVE  STOCK  AND  PROFITABLE  FARMING  ix 

carry  even  more  stock  than  they  did  before  large  areas  were  broken  up 
into  farms.  In  the  cut-over  districts  of  our  country  large  areas  of  land 
may  be  profitably  grazed  by  live  stock  before  they  are  finally  brought 
under  tillage. 

4.  Distribution  of  labor. — Under  exclusive  grain  farming  the  chief  de- 
mand for  labor  is  confined  to  the  periods  of  preparing  the  land,  planting 
the  crops,  harvesting,  and  later  marketing  the  products.  During  the  rush 
seasons  labor  is  high-priced,  and  often  hard  to  secure  at  any  cost.  On  the 
other  hand,  live-stock  farming  offers  employment  thruout  the  entire  year. 
"Winter,  when  little  other  farm  work  can  be  done,  is  the  ver}'  season  when 
farm  animals  require  the  most  care  and  attention,  for  they  are  then 
usually  housed  instead  of  at  pasture.  Because  the  live-stock  farmer  can 
thus  offer  steady  employment  he  is  usually  able  to  secure  men  who  are 
both  more  efficient  and  more  reliable  than  he  would  otherwise  be  able 
to  obtain. 

5.  Intellig^eiit  and  progressive  a^culture. — The  whole  world  over,  the 
most  enlightened  and  progressive  agricultural  districts  are  found  where 
live  stock  provides  one  of  the  chief  sources  of  income.  This  is  due  to 
several  reasons :  The  live-stock  farmer  can  not  live  from  hand  to  mouth, 
but  must  providently  lay  in  a  store  of  feed  for  his  animals  thruout  the 
winter  months.  This  same  care  and  foresight  is  then  carried  into  his 
other  activities.  Under  some  systems  of  agriculture  the  returns  from  the 
year's  crops  all  come  in  at  once,  which  makes  for  extravagance  and  idle- 
ness, with  resultant  poverty  until  another  crop  is  harvested.  On  the 
other  hand,  under  most  systems  of  live-stock  farming,  income  is  secured 
several  times  during  the  year. 

The  care  and  control  of  domestic  animals,  which  are  intelligent  yet 
submissive  to  his  will,  tends  to  develop  the  best  instincts  in  man  and  make 
him  kindly,  self-reliant,  and  trustworthy.  The  good  stockman  grows 
proud  of  his  sleek,  well-bred  animals  and  derives  a  satisfaction  therefrom 
not  measured  in  money.  With  pride  he  may  hand  dovm  to  his  sons  his 
reputation  as  a  breeder.  He  is  also  able  to  leave  them  fertile  fields  which 
he  has  built  up  rather  than  robbed,  a  heritage  bequeathed  by  but  few 
grain  farmers. 

6.  Profitable  live-stock  farming. — In  the  early  days,  with  land  low  in 
price,  pasturage  abundant,  and  feed  and  labor  cheap,  making  a  profit 
from  live-stock  farming  was  comparatively  easy,  even  tho  one  possessed 
little  knowledge  of  the  principles  governing  the  feeding  and  care  of  stock. 
Conditions  have  now  changed.  The  great  western  prairies  no  longer 
offer  rich  fields  free  for  the  taking,  and  hence  thruout  the  country  fertile 
land  has  advanced  in  price.  No  less  marked  has  been  the  increase  in  the 
cost  of  labor  and  of  feeding  stuffs.  But  the  price  of  live-stock  products 
has  also  advanced,  so  that  satisfactory  profits  may  still  be  realized  from 
farm  animals.  However,  present  conditions  call  for  a  more  intelligent 
type  of  stock  farming  than  has  ruled  in  the  past.  Good  profits  are 
possible  only  when  all  the  operations  are  planned  intelligently  and  with 


X  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

good  judgment,  and  there  is  a  tlioro  appreciation  of  the  requirements  of 
the  various  classes  of  animals  for  food  and  care. 

In  the  pioneer  days  of  our  country  the  feeds  commonly  used  for  live 
stock  were  restricted  to  the  grains  and  forages  grown  on  the  farm. 
Knowledge  of  the  value  of  these  farm-grown  products  is  not  now  sufficient 
for  intelligent  feeding.  The  problem  is  complicated  by  the  host  of  by- 
products resulting  from  the  manufacture  of  articles  of  human  food  which 
are  offered  on  the  markets  as  feeding-stuffs  for  stock.  Many  of  these  are 
valuable  and  economical  supplements  to  the  feeds  raised  on  the  farm. 
However,  such  products  vary  considerably  in  price  and  even  more 
markedly  in  nutritive  value.  Most  economical  feeding  is  therefore 
possible  only  when  the  relative  value  of  these  different  products  com- 
pared with  each  other  and  with  the  farm-grown  crops  is  clearly  under- 
stood. In  seeking  a  knowledge  of  feeds  and  of  feeding  we  must  first 
consider  the  plant  substances  which  provide  the  nourishment  for  farm 
animals  and  study  the  manner  in  which  these  compounds  are  built  up  in 
the  living  plant.  Next  we  should  learn  how  the  food  consumed  by 
animals  is  digested  and  utilized  within  the  body  for  the  production  of 
meat,  milk,  work,  or  wool,  and  should  also  study  the  requirements  of  each 
class  of  animals  for  food,  water,  shelter,  and  exercise.  Only  then  are  we 
in  some  measure  in  a  position  to  understand  the  value  and  merits  for 
each  of  the  farm  animals  of  the  many  different  feeds,  and  finally  to  con- 
sider the  principles  of  care  and  management,  the  constant  observance  of 
which  is  essential  to  the  highest  success  in  animal  husbandry. 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Part  I 
PLANT  GROWTH  AND  ANIMAL  NUTRITION 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  PLANT;  HOW  IT  GROWS  AND  ELABORATES  FOOD 
FOR  ANIMALS 

I.  Plant  Growth 

Aside  from  air,  water,  and  salt,  plants  either  directly  or  indirectly 
supply  all  food  for  animals.  It  is  therefore  proper  in  beginning  these 
studies  to  consider  briefly  how  plants  grow  and  elaborate  this  food. 

7.  The  food  of  plants. — Of  the  80  or  more  elements  known  to  the  chem- 
ist, only  14  are  commonly  present  in  plants,  viz. :  carbon,  hydrogen, 
oxygen^  nitrogen,  sulfur,  phosphorus,  potassium,  calcium,  magnesium, 
iron^  sodium,  silicon,  chlorin,  and  manganese.  Iodine  also  is  present  in 
some  plants.  With  the  limited  exceptions  noted  further  on,  plants  can- 
not make  use  of  the  elements,  as  such,  for  food,  but  are  nourished  and 
supported  by  water,  carbon  dioxid  (carbonic  acid  gas),  and  mineral  salts 
which  contain  the  elements  in  chemical  combination. 

Water  is  the  largest  single  component  of  plants,  that  not  held  in  chemi- 
cal combination  constituting  from  75  to  90  per  ct.  of  their  fresh  weight. 
The  plant  obtains  practically  all  its  water  from  the  soil  thru  its  roots, 
only  a  smaU  amount  being  taken  from  the  air  by  the  leaves.  Soil  water, 
absorbed  by  the  roots,  enters  the  cells  of  which  the  plant  is  composed  and 
passes  onward  and  upward  thru  the  stem,  moved  by  capillarity  and  sap 
currents,  eventually  reaching  every  portion  of  the  structure,  being  es- 
pecially abundant  in  the  leaves  and  gromng  parts.  Thruout  its  existence 
the  plant  takes  great  quantities  of  water  from  the  soil,  giving  most  of  it 
off  again  to  the  air  thru  its  leaves  and  other  green  parts.  For  every 
pound  of  dry  matter  which  plants  produce  they  take  from  the  soil  thru 
their  roots  from  200  to  500  lbs.  of  water  in  humid  climates,  and  as  high 
as  1,800  lbs.  in  arid  regions. 

Next  to  water,  carbon  dioxid  or  carbonic  acid  gas  is  the  great  food 
material  of  plants.  Ten  thousand  parts  of  air  contain  3  to  4  parts  by 
volume  of  carbon  dioxid,  and  about  28  tons  of  this  gas  rests  over  each 


nWPERTT  UBRAKT 
iH.  C.  State  C^lkgt 


2  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

acre  of  the  earth's  surface.  The  supply  of  carbon  dioxid  is  never  ex- 
hausted from  the  air,  because  thru  the  decay  and  dissolution  of  plant 
and  animal  matter  it  is  being  constantly  returned  thereto.  On  the  under 
surface  of  plant  leaves  are  innumerable  minute  openings,  or  pores,  lead- 
ing inward  among  the  cells  of  the  leaf  structure.  The  air,  penetrating 
these  pores,  supplies  carbon  dioxid,  which  is  absorbed  into  the  cells  and 
thus  enters  the  plant  proper.  In  the  production  of  a  15-ton  crop  of  green 
corn  over  5  tons  of  carbon  dioxid  are  required,  to  obtain  which  the  plants 
must  take  in  over  12,000  tons  of  air. 

Nitrogen  abounds  in  the  living,  growing  parts  of  plants.  Despite  the 
fact  that  about  three-fourths  of  the  air  is  nitrogen  gas,  with  the  exception 
noted  farther  on  plants  cannot  take  it  up  as  such,  but  obtain  their  supply 
from  the  soil  by  means  of  their  roots,  either  in  the  form  of  nitrates  or  as 
ammonia,  chiefly  the  former. 

Plants  obtain  oxygen,  which  is  a  part  of  all  plant  compounds,  largely 
from  water  and  carbon  dioxid,  and  not  from  the  free  oxygen  gas  of  the 
air.  Some  free  oxygen  is  necessary,  however,  for  the  growth  of  green 
plants. 

The  mineral  substances  required  by  plants  are  taken  from  the  soil  thru 
the  roots.    They  may  be  grouped  as  follows : 


Sulfates 

"  potassium 

Phosphates 

calcium 

Nitrates 

>nf  < 

magnesium 

Chlorids 

» ux  - 

iron 

Silicates 

sodium 

Carbonates 

ammonium 

Sulfur,  in  small  amount,  is  a  component  of  plant  proteins.  Phos- 
phorus, likewise  in  small  amount,  is  present  in  the  life-holding  proto- 
plasmic protein  of  the  leaf  cells  and  also  abounds  in  the  protein  of  seeds. 
Potassium  is  necessary  in  the  formation  of  starch  and  sugar  by  plants. 
Magnesium  is  an  essential  part  of  chlorophyll,  the  green  coloring  matter 
of  plants,  which  is  necessary  for  their  growth.  Calcium  is  vital  to  plants, 
tho  its  use  is  not  well  understood.  Sodium,  silicon,  chlorin,  and  man- 
ganese, tho  commonly  present,  are  regarded  by  some  authorities  as  not 
essential  to  plant  life. 

Free  oxygen  gas  is  absorbed  by  seeds  during  germination,  and  a  small 
amount  is  being  constantly  absorbed  by  the  leaves  and  fruits  of  plants. 
Bacteria  inhabiting  nodular  growths  on  the  roots  of  leguminous  plants, 
such  as  clover,  alfalfa,  and  peas,  take  nitrogen  gas  from  the  air  and  pass 
it  on  in  combined  form  to  the  host  plant,  thus  indirectly  supplying  this 
important  element.  With  these  exceptions,  the  elements,  as  such,  are 
never  used  in  uncombined  form  by  plants,  but  serve  them  only  when  in 
chemical  combination. 

8.  Plant  building. — Living  matter  is  distinguished  from  non-living 
matter  by  its  power  to  grow,  to  repair  its  own  waste,  and  to  reproduce 


HOW  THE  PLANT  GROWS  3 

itself.  In  plants  the  life  principle  is  most  in  evidence  in  the  transparent, 
viscous  protoplasm  found  within  the  plant  cells.  Because  of  inherent 
differences  in  the  protoplasm,  each  plant  possesses  an  individuality  and 
is  able  to  grow  and  reproduce  itself  after  its  own  manner. 

The  interior  of  the  plant  is  everywhere  bathed  with  juice  or  sap,  which 
is  the  great  fluid  medium  for  conveying  the  chemical  compounds, 
gathered  by  leaf  and  root,  to  the  place  where  they  are  formed  into  or- 
ganized plant  substances  or  building  materials  proper,  and,  later,  for 
transporting  the  materials  thus  formed  to  all  parts  where  needed.  By 
means  of  this  sap,  the  green-colored  protoplasm  in  the  leaf  cells  is  sup- 
plied with  carbon  dioxid  taken  from  the  air  by  the  leaves,  with  water, 
and  with  nitrates  and  other  soluble  mineral  salts  taken  by  the  roots  from 
the  soil. 

In  some  mysterious  manner  chlorophyll,  the  sensitive  green  coloring 
matter  of  plants,  is  able,  under  the  influence  of  light,  to  decompose  car- 
bon dioxid  and  water  and  rearrange  their  atoms  to  form  primary  plant 
compounds.  The  excess  of  oxygen  resulting  from  this  union  of  carbon 
dioxid  and  water  is  given  back  to  the  air  as  a  free  gas.  It  is  not  definitely 
known  whether  the  first  product  formed  is  starch,  sugar,  or  some  simpler 
compound.  From  the  compounds  first  formed  the  plant  builds  up  its 
more  complex  substances,  some  of  which  contain  mineral  matter  taken 
from  the  soil  as  salts.  Sugar  and  starch  contain  much  energy  which  may 
be  set  free  as  heat  when  these  substances  are  burned  or  otherwise  broken 
up.  Carbon  dioxid  and  water,  on  the  other  hand,  have  little  internal 
energy,  and  so  on  being  decomposed  do  not  liberate  heat.  Energy  must 
therefore  be  supplied  whenever  sugar  and  starch  are  formed  out  of  the 
elements  contained  in  these  two  energy-poor  substances.  This  energy, 
used  by  the  active  life-holding  protoplasm  in  building  carbon  dioxid  and 
water  into  energy-holding  sugar  and  starch,  comes  from  the  sun,  as  light. 

9.  The  carbohydrates. — Sugar  and  starch  are  the  great  common  elemen- 
tary structural  substances  of  plants.  With  the  related  products,  the 
celluloses  and  pentosans,  they  constitute  the  major  portion  of  all  dry 
plant  substance.  They  are  grouped  under  the  term  carbohydrates,  mean- 
ing formed  of  carbon  and  the  elements  hydrogen  and  oxygen  in  the 
proportion  existing  in  water,  the  chemical  formula  for  which  is  H2O. 
The  molecular  composition  of  the  leading  carbohydrates  is  shown  in  the 
following  formulae : 

Glucose  I 

Fruit  sugar  ]     '^6^i2'^6 

Cane  sugar    j     p   tt   n 
Malt  sugar    \     ^i2-tl22t>ii 

Starch  )      /r«  tt   n  ^ 

Cellulose        j     {^,ti,,u,)x 

Pentosan  (C^HsOJx 

Pentose  C5H10O5 


4  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Chemists  hold  that  the  molecules  in  the  bracketed  groups  are  in  reality- 
far  more  complex  than  the  formulae  indicate,  the  actual  molecule  being 
many  multiples  of  the  group  here  given.  The  formulae  not  bracketed  are 
held  to  express  the  actual  atomic  composition  of  the  molecule. 

All  sugars — cane  sugar,  glucose,  malt  sugar,  fruit  sugar,  etc.  —  are 
soluble  in  the  juices  of  the  plant  and  constitute  the  common,  portable 
carbohydrate  building  material  of  plants,  capable,  by  diffusion  and  sap 
currents,  of  passing  to  all  parts  of  the  structure  as  needed.  Some  plants, 
the  beet  and  the  sugar  cane  for  example,  store  their  carbon  reserve  as 
sugar.  Starch,  however,  is  the  common  intermediate  carbohydrate  re- 
serve of  the  plant  world.  It  is  insoluble  in  the  juices  of  the  plant  and  so 
cannot  be  directly  transported  as  can  the  sugars.  Starch  abounds  in 
most  seeds,  closely  packed  about  the  germs,  as  in  the  kernels  of  wheat, 
Indian  corn,  etc.  Often  it  is  stored  in  the  underground  parts  of  plants, 
as  in  potato  tubers.  When  the  starch  thus  stored  is  needed  in  other  parts 
of  the  plant,  it  is  changed  by  an  enzyme,  or  ferment,  called  diastase  (37), 
thru  the  adding  on  of  water,  to  malt  sugar,  which  is  soluble  and  can  be 
further  changed  to  glucose  by  the  adding  on  of  more  water.  The  sugars 
so  formed  can  then  be  passed  from  cell  to  cell  until  their  destination  is 
reached,  where  they  may  be  again  changed  to  starch,  pentosans,  or  cellu- 
lose, as  required. 

Plants  are  primarily  composed  of  minute  cells,  variously  grouped  and 
modified,  the  walls  of  these  cells  being  formed  of  cellulose,  a  carbohy- 
drate. Cellulose  is  the  great  insoluble  building  substance  of  the  vegetable 
world,  constituting  as  it  does  almost  the  whole  of  the  skeleton  or  frame- 
work of  plants.  As  before  shown,  cellulose  is  similar  to  starch  and  sugar 
in  general  composition  and  originates  from  them.  In  the  dense  wood  of 
trees  the  cell  walls  are  thick,  in  some  cases  nearly  filling  the  entire  cell. 
In  the  more  tender  twigs  and  leaves  they  are  less  dense,  while  in  the  still 
softer  portions,  such  as  fruits  and  seeds,  they  are  thin  and  delicate.  More 
or  less  mineral  matter  or  ash  is  built  into  the  cell  walls  of  plants,  being 
especially  abundant  in  the  bark  of  trees,  as  is  shown  by  the  residue  when 
such  material  is  burned. 

The  pentoses  and  pentosans  are  carbohydrates  with  5  atoms  of  carbon 
in  the  molecule,  in  place  of  6  as  in  the  sugars  and  starches.  The  pentoses 
correspond  to  sugars,  and  the  pentosans  to  starches  and  cellulose.  The 
pentosans,  which  are  usually  associated  with  cellulose  in  the  more  woody 
portions  of  the  plant,  form  a  considerable  part  of  the  nitrogen-free  ex- 
tract of  roughages  and  other  feeds  high  in  fiber.  For  example,  hay  from 
the  grasses  and  the  straw  of  the  cereal  grains  usually  contain  over  20 
per  ct.  of  pentosans,  and  wheat  bran  about  24  per  ct.,  while  corn  grain 
contains  less  than  6  per  ct. 

10.  Vegetable  fats  and  oils. — In  some  cases  the  plant  stores  carbon  in 
the  form  of  fat,  which  is  solid  at  ordinary  temperatures,  or  of  oil,  which 
is  liquid.  Such  storage  is  entirely  possible  since  fats  and  oils  are  formed 
from  the  same  elements  that  exist  in  the  carbohydrates.     In  vegetable 


HOW  THE  PLANT  GROWS  5 

fats  and  oils  the  molecules  are  composed  of  a  larger  number  of  atoms 
than  are  those  of  the  sugars,  and  the  proportion  of  carbon  is  greater,  as 
the  following  formulae  of  3  common  vegetable  oils  or  fats  show : 

Stearin  C-,,B:^^^0^ 
Palmitin  CgiHgsOe 
Olein  Cs.Hio^Oe 

Vegetable  oils  and  fats  give  off  more  heat  on  burning  than  do  the  car- 
bohydrates, because  they  contain  relatively  more  carbon.  Oils  and  fats 
most  abound  in  the  seeds  of  plants  and  represent  carbon  energy  stored 
in  condensed  form.  When  seeds  containing  oil,  such  as  the  flax  seed, 
begin  to  grow,  the  oil  is  changed  over  into  products  which  nourish  the 
growing  plantlet  the  same  as  is  done  in  ordinary  seeds  by  the  sugar  which 
is  formed  from  the  stored  starch. 

11.  Nitrogenous  compomids. — ^We  have  learned  how  in  the  life-holding 
protoplasm  of  the  green  parts  of  plants,  especially  their  leaves,  the 
carbohydrates  and  fats  are  formed  from  the  elements  of  carbon  dioxid 
and  water  by  the  energy  of  the  sun.  To  these  life  centers,  with  their 
green  coloring  matter,  holding  sugar  and  starch,  the  sap  brings  nitrates 
and  other  mineral  salts  gathered  by  the  roots  from  the  soil.  Thru  the 
union  of  the  elements  of  the  nitrates  and  other  salts  with  those  of  the 
starches  and  sugars  there  is  formed  a  new  group  of  complex  compounds 
called  crude  proteins,  which,  in  addition  to  carbon,  hj'drogen,  and 
oxygen,  found  in  the  carbohydrates,  contain  nitrogen,  sulfur,  and  some- 
times phosphorus.  The  nitrogenous  compounds  are  the  most  complex  of 
all  plant  substances.  Osborne  of  the  Connecticut  Station  gives  the  fol- 
lowing as  the  probable  molecular  composition  of  legumin,  a  protein  found 
in  the  seed  of  the  field  pea,  and  hordein,  found  in  the  barley  grain : 

Legumin     C-18H1158O238N214S2 
Hordein      Ce-sHioi^Oig^NigiS^ 

Because  of  their  great  variety  and  complexity,  the  nitrogenous  com- 
pounds are  the  most  difficult  of  all  plant  substances  for  study  and  classi- 
fication. For  years  able  organic  chemists  have  been  attacking  the 
intricate  problems  of  their  structure  and  composition  with  great  energy 
and  patience.  Although  their  work  has  greatly  advanced  our  knowledge, 
yet  little  more  than  a  beginning  has  been  made  in  setting  forth  the 
differences  in  the  composition  of  the  various  nitrogenous  or  protein  com- 
pounds, and  in  pointing  out  their  relative  values  as  nutrients  for  animals. 
In  discussions  of  feeding  stuffs  and  the  nutrition  of  animals,  the  terms 
crude  protein,  protein,  and  amids  are  commonly  used  for  designating  the 
various  classes  of  nitrogenous  compounds. 

Crude  protein  is  the  term  employed  to  designate  all  the  nitrogenous 
compounds  of  the  plant.  The  chemist  finds  that  about  16  per  ct.  of  the 
plant  proteins  is  nitrogen.  Accordingly,  he  multiplies  the  nitrogen 
found  in  a  given  plant  substance  by  6.25  (100^-16:;=6.25)  and  calls  the 


6  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

product  crude  protein.  Crude  protein  embraces  2  great  groups  of 
nitrogenous  plant  compounds,  proteins  and  amids. 

The  amids  may  be  termed  the  building  stones  of  the  proteins,  for  from 
them  the  plant  constructs  the  more  highly  organized  proteins,  and  on 
decomposition  the  proteins  are  again  broken  down  into  these  more  simple 
bodies.  These  compounds  are  the  portable  building  compounds  of  the 
plant,  for  they  are  soluble  in  its  juices  and  hence  may  be  conveyed 
wherever  needed  thruout  the  plant  structure.  Commonly  included  under 
the  general  term  amids  are  compounds  which  the  chemist  calls  amino 
acids,  and  others  which  he  terms  true  amids.  In  this  work,  unless  other- 
wise stated,  amids  will  be  used  to  denote  both  classes  of  substances. 

Proteins  are  the  more  highly  organized  forms  of  crude  protein.  They 
are  not  always  soluble  and  therefore  in  many  cases  not  transportable  in 
the  juices  of  the  plant.  The  proteins  form  the  basis  of  the  living  pro- 
toplasm of  all  plants  and  animals,  and  so  are  essential  to  all  life. 

The  complexity  of  the  proteins  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  18  differ- 
ent amino  acids  have  already  been  identified,  which  may  enter  into  their 
composition.  Just  as  the  letters  of  the  alphabet  may  be  combined  into 
innumerable  words,  so  the  possibility  for  the  combination  of  the  amino 
acids  into  different  proteins  is  almost  limitless.  Thus  far  scores  of  differ- 
ent plant  and  animal  proteins  have  been  separated  and  examined  bj^  the 
chemists.  Some  of  these,  such  as  egg  albumin,  contain  all  the  known 
amino  acids,  while  others,  as  zein  of  corn  and  gliadin  of  wheat,  lack  one 
or  more  of  them.  As  will  be  shoAvn  later,  such  incomplete  proteins  may 
have  a  lower  value  for  animal  feeding  than  those  which  are  complete  in 
their  composition. 

During  the  period  of  the  plant's  life  when  active  growth  is  taking 
place,  amids  are  constantly  being  formed  in  the  living  protoplasm  out  of 
the  nitrates  and  other  mineral  salts  and  the  elements  composing  sugar  or 
starch.  These  amids  are  continually  being  transported  to  needed  points 
and  there  changed  into  the  proteins,  and  as  a  consequence  do  not  usually 
accumulate  in  the  plant.  Just  as  starch  and  sugar  may  be  changed  one 
into  the  other  in  the  plant,  so  the  proteins  and  amids  may  be  changed  one 
into  the  other  as  plant  necessity  may  require.  When  germination  starts 
in  a  seed,  an  enzyme,  or  ferment,  contained  therein  acts  upon  the  insolu- 
ble proteins  stored  in  and  about  the  germ  and  changes  them  to  soluble 
amids,  so  that  the  nitrogen  may  be  transported  to  the  newly  forming 
parts  of  the  plantlet.  When  corn  forage  is  placed  in  the  silo,  much  of 
the  protein  it  then  contains  is  changed  back  to  amids  thru  the  fermenta- 
tions which  occur. 

Very  little  crude  protein  is  found  in  the  older  woody  parts  of  plants, 
the  greater  portion  always  being  concentrated  at  the  point  of  growth; 
i.e.,  in  the  leaves,  seeds,  and  reproductive  parts.  The  germ  of  seeds  is 
largely  protein,  and  the  rich  nutritive  substances  in  the  grain  close  about 
it  usually  hold  much  protein.  It  is  in  the  life-holding  protoplasm  in  the 
green  parts  of  plants,  principally  in  their  leaves,  that  all  the  inorganic 


HOW  THE  PLANT  GROWS  7 

compounds  taken  up  by  the  plant  from  air  and  soil  are  elaborated  into 
true  plant  substances  by  sun  power.  The  life  processes  of  the  plant  are 
maintained  and  all  changes  are  wrought  thru  its  nitrogenous  or  protein 
compounds,  and  a  knowledge  of  such  fact  is  not  only  of  interest,  but  has 
many  practical  bearings  for  the  farmer  and  stockman. 

12.  Mineral  compounds. — The  elaboration  of  food  materials  in  the  pro- 
toplasmic masses,  as  well  as  the  development  of  young  plants  from  the 
seed,  requires  the  presence  of  mineral  matter,  or  ash,  which  is  found  in 
small  amount  everywhere  thruout  the  plant.  The  leaves  contain  more 
ash  than  do  the  other  parts,  due  to  the  life  processes  within  the  leaf  cells 
and  the  constant  evaporation  of  water  from  their  surfaces  by  which  the 
ash  in  solution  is  left  behind.  The  ash  content  of  the  bark  of  trees  and 
stems  of  plants  is  also  usually  high. 

13.  The  end  of  plant  effort. — If  we  study  the  life  history  of  a  plant,  we 
observe  that  its  first  effort  is  toward  self-establishment  and  enlargement. 
At  this  time  all  the  elaborated  material,  as  fast  as  formed,  is  transferred 
to  the  growing  parts  that  they  may  be  built  up  and  established.  As  the 
plant  approaches  maturity,  its  energies  are  changed  from  growth  to  re- 
production, or  the  perpetuation  of  its  kind.  The  nutrients  in  the  juices, 
which  were  formerly  directed  to  the  growing  portions,  are  now  turned 
toward  the  reproductive  parts.  First  come  the  blossoms,  then  the  young 
enlarging  fruits.  Into  these  the  sugars,  amids,  and  mineral  substances, 
all  elaborated  and  worked  over  by  the  plant  in  its  leaves,  are  poured  in  a 
steady  current.  The  wheat  plant  resulting  from  a  single  kernel  bears  a 
hundred  fruits  in  the  shape  of  seed  grains,  while  the  Indian  corn  plant 
may  produce  a  thousand-fold.  In  each  of  these  grains  is  a  miniature 
plant,  the  germ,  composed  largely  of  protein,  about  which  is  stored  a 
generous  supply  of  rich  nutriment — proteins,  starch,  sugar,  oil,  and 
mineral  matter — all  in  compact,  concentrated  form,  awaiting  the  time 
when  the  germ  shall  begin  life  on  its  own  account.  In  the  tuber  of  the 
potato  the  cells  are  packed  with  starch,  while  in  the  beet  root  the  stored 
material  is  largely  in  the  form  of  cane  sugar.  Each  germ,  or  reproduc- 
tive part,  is  surrounded  with  food  nutrients  stored  after  Nature's 
choicest  plan  to  aid  the  new  life  which  is  to  follow. 

14.  Plants  support  animal  life. — Nature  has  decreed  that  it  is  the  func- 
tion of  plants  to  build  inorganic  matter  taken  from  earth  and  air  into 
organic  compounds,  by  which  operation  the  sun  energy  employed  becomes 
latent.  Thru  the  life  processes  the  various  plant  compounds  used  as  food 
by  animals  are,  after  more  or  less  change,  built  into  the  animal  body,  or 
are  broken  do-^vn  within  it  to  give  heat  and  energy.  In  this  change  and 
dissolution  the  sun  energy  which  became  latent  or  was  hidden  in  the 
growing  plant  is  again  revealed  in  all  the  manifestations  of  animal  life. 
In  the  coal  burning  in  the  grate  we  observe  the  reappearance  of  the 
energy  of  the  sun  which  was  stored  in  the  plants  of  ages  ago.  In  the 
stalks  and  ears  of  corn  which  we  feed  our  cattle  we  are  furnishing  energy 
received  from  the  sun  and  rendered  latent  by  the  corn  plant  during  the 


8 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


previous  summer.  Thus  it  is  that  the  stockman,  when  supplying  plants 
and  seeds  to  the  animals  under  his  care,  observes  in  their  growing  bodies, 
warmed  by  internal  fires,  the  energy  of  the  sun  transmitted  by  the  plant 
to  the  animal.  To  the  plants  of  the  farm  the  stockman  turns  for  the 
nourishment  and  support  of  his  animals.  The  final  step  is  the  consump- 
tion of  the  flesh  or  milk  of  the  animals  by  man,  whereby  sun  energy 
finally  becomes  human  energy.  A  general  knowledge  and  full  realization 
of  how  plants  live  and  grow  is  therefore  not  only  of  interest,  but  also  may 
be  helpful  in  a  thousand  ways. 


II.  How  THE  Chemist  Groups  Plant  Substances 

In  the  following  table,  taken  from  Appendix  Table  I,  the  composition 
of  a  few  common  feeding  stuffs  is  arranged  after  the  manner  adopted  by 
agricultural  chemists.  The  first  column  gives  the  name  of  the  feeding 
stuff,  followed  by  others  showing  the  average  per  cent  of  the  several 
nutrients  which  the  feed  contains.  Last  is  a  column  giving  the  number 
of  analyses  from  which  the  average  composition  was  computed. 

Chemical  composition  of  typical  feeding  stuffs,  from  Appendix  Table  I 


Feeding  stuff 


Inorganic  matter 


Water  Ash 


Organic  matter 


Crude 
protein 


Carbohydrates 


N-free 
extract 


No.  of 
inalysea 


Concentrates 

Dent  corn 

Oats 

Wheat 

Wheat  bran 

Flax  seed 

Linseed    meal,    old 
process 

Roughages 

Timothy  hay 

Red  clover  hay 

Oat  straw 

Kentucky      bluegrass, 

green 

Corn     sUage,      recent 

analyses 

Mangels 


Per  ct. 

10.5 

9.2 

10.2 

10.1 

9.2 

9.1 


11.6 
12.9 
11.5 

68.4 

73.7 
90.6 


5.4 


4.9 
7.1 
5.4 

2.8 

1.7 
1.0 


Per  ct. 

10.1 
12.4 
12.4 
16.0 
22.6 

33.9 


6.2 

12.8 

3.6 

4.1 

2.1 
1.4 


Per  ct. 
2.0 

10.9 
2.2 
9.5 
7.1 

8.4 


29.9 
25.5 
36.3 

8.7 

6.3 

0.8 


Per  ct. 

70.9 
59.6 
71.2 
53.7 
23.2 

35.7 


45.0 
38.7 
40.8 

14.8 

15.4 
6.1 


Per  ct. 
5.0 

4.4 

2.1 

4.4 

33.7 

7.5 


2.5 
3.1 

2.4 


1.2 


440 

490 

858 

7,742 

50 

714 


221 
76 
41 


121 

38 


15.  "Water. — To  determine  the  amount  of  water  in  a  fodder  the  chemist 
places  a  small  quantity  of  the  material,  finely  divided,  in  a  dish  and  as- 
certains its  weight.  It  is  then  dried  in  an  oven  at  a  temperature  of  212° 
F.  for  several  hours  and  again  weighed.  The  difference  between  the  first 
and  last  weights  represents  the  amount  of  water  in  the  sample.  Volatile 
compounds,  such  as  some  of  the  substances  which  give  various  plants 


HOW  THE  PLANT  GROWS  9 

their  characteristic  odors,  are  also  driven  off  by  this  heating,  but  the 
weight  of  such  compounds  is  generally  insignificant.  From  the  second 
column  of  the  table  we  learn  that  even  such  "dry"  feeds  as  corn,  oats, 
wheat,  and  wheat  bran  contain  9  lbs.  or  more  of  water  per  100  lbs.  of  the 
feeding  stuff.  Timothy  and  clover  hay  contain  still  more  water,  and 
such  succulent  feeds  as  pasture  grass,  corn  silage,  and  mangels  are 
largely  water. 

16.  Ash,  or  mineral  matter, — The  chemist  next  burns  the  sample  and 
ascertains  the  weight  of  ash,  or  mineral  matter,  which  is  left.  From  the 
third  column  of  the  table  we  learn  that  100  lbs.  of  corn  or  wheat  con- 
tains less  than  2  lbs.  of  ash.  Oats,  with  their  strawy  hulls,  and  wheat 
bran,  consisting  of  the  outer  coats  of  the  wheat  grain,  carry  more  ash. 
The  hays  and  straws  are  higher  in  ash  than  such  grains  as  corn  or  wheat, 
due  to  the  accumulation  of  mineral  matter  in  the  leaves  during  growth, 
to  earthy  matter  washed  upon  the  growing  plants  by  rain,  and  to  dust 
settling  on  the  roughage  before  it  is  housed.  Such  foreign  material  is  not 
really  plant  ash,  but  of  necessity  is  reported  as  such.  OA^dng  to  their 
high  water  content,  the  ash  in  100  lbs.  of  fresh  grass,  silage,  and  mangels 
is  low.  The  ash  and  water  of  plants  together  constitute  the  so-called 
inorganic  matter;  the  other  components — crude  protein,  carbohydrates, 
and  fat — are  termed  the  organic  matter. 

17.  Crude  protein. — The  process  of  determining  the  nitrogenous  con- 
stituents of  feeding  stuffs  is  too  complicated  for  presentation  here. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  nitrogen  content  is  found,  and  the  result  multi- 
plied by  6.25  to  give  the  crude  protein,  since  about  16  per  ct.  of  plant 
protein  is  nitrogen  ( 100-^16=6.25).  From  the  table  we  learn  that  100 
lbs.  of  wheat  bran  contains  16.0  lbs.  of  crude  protein,  while  the  amount 
in  wheat  is  12.4  lbs.  and  in  dent  corn  only  10.1  lbs.  per  100  lbs.  Red 
clover  hay  contains  over  twice  as  much  crude  protein  as  timothy  hay. 

18.  Fiber. — The  woody  portion  of  a  feeding  stuff  is  determined  by 
boiling  a  sample  thereof  successively  in  weak  acid  and  alkali  and  wash- 
ing out  the  dissolved  matter.  That  which  remains  is  termed  fiber.  As 
is  shown  later  (48),  fiber,  which  consists  mostly  of  cellulose,  is  less  diges- 
tible and  hence  has  a  lower  nutritive  value  than  the  other  nutrients  of 
feeding  stuffs.  Corn  contains  but  2.0  and  wheat  only  2.2  per  ct.  of  fiber, 
while,  owing  to  the  woody  hulls,  oats  contain  10.9  per  ct.  Most  rough- 
ages, especially  the  straws,  are  much  higher  in  fiber  than  the  concentrates. 
Mangels  contain  but  0.8  per  ct.  fiber ;  were  they  dried  to  the  same  water 
content  as  oats  they  would  contain  only  7.7  per  ct.  fiber — less  than  oats. 

19.  Fat. — A  sample  of  the  pulverized  dried  fodder  is  treated  with 
ether,  which  dissolves  the  fats,  waxes,  resins,  chlorophyll,  or  green  color- 
ing matter,  and  similar  substances.  This,  called  ether  extract  in  works 
on  plant  analysis,  is  for  convenience  termed  fat  in  this  work.  The  ether 
extract  of  seeds  is  nearly  all  true  fat,  or  oil,  while  that  of  the  leaves  and 
stems  of  plants  contains  much  chlorophyll,  wax,  etc.  Corn  and  oats  carry 
more  fat  than  the  other  cereals.    Some  seeds,  such  as  flax  seed,  are  so 


10  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

rich  in  oil  that  it  may  be  extracted  from  them  by  crushing  and  subsequent 
pressure. 

20.  Nitrogen-free  extract. — The  nitrogen-free  extract,  expressed  in  the 
tables  in  this  book  as  N-free  extract,  embraces  the  substances  that  are  ex- 
tracted from  the  dry  matter  of  plants  by  treatment  with  weak  acids  and 
alkalies  under  standard  conditions,  less  the  crude  protein,  fat,  and  ash. 
It  is  determined  by  difference  and  not  by  direct  analysis.  The  total  dry 
matter  in  a  feeding  stuff  minus  the  sum  of  the  ash,  crude  protein,  fiber, 
and  fat,  equals  the  nitrogen-free  extract.  It  embraces  the  sugars, 
starches,  pentoses,  non-nitrogenous  organic  acids,  etc.,  of  the  plant.  The 
nitrogen-free  extract  is  more  soluble  and  hence  more  digestible  than  the 
fiber,  and  thus  has  a  higher  nutritive  value.  (48)  Over  70  per  ct.  of  both 
corn  and  wheat  is  nitrogen-free  extract,  largely  starch.  The  roughages, 
carrying  much  woody  fiber,  contain  less  of  these  more  soluble  carbohy- 
drates than  the  concentrates. 

21.  Carbohydrates. — The  nitrogen-free  extract  and  fiber  together 
constitute  the  carhohydrates. 

By  the  present  method  all  plant  substances  are  grouped  under  the 
terms  crude  protein,  fiber,  nitrogen-free  extract,  and  fat,  without  regard 
to  the  differences  in  composition  and  feeding  value  of  the  different  in- 
dividual proteins,  carbohydrates,  and  fats  which  make  up  these  classes. 
In  many  particulars  this  is  unsatisfactory.  In  time  chemists  will  work 
out  a  more  accurate,  tho  necessarily  more  complicated,  classification,  but 
at  present  for  the  great  majoritj^  of  feeds  there  is  nothing  better  than 
what  is  here  given. 

22.  Roughages  and  concentrates. — In  discussing  feeding  stuffs  it  is 
desirable  to  differentiate  between  those  which  are  of  coarse,  bulky  nature 
and  others  which  are  more  condensed  and  more  nutritious.  Accordingly, 
the  terms  "concentrate"  and  "roughage"  emploj^ed  in  the  first  edition 
of  this  book  are  retained,  since  they  are  now  widely  recognized  and  used. 

Concentrates  are  feeding  stuffs  of  condensed  nature,  which  are  low  in 
fiber  and  hence  furnish  a  large  amount  of  digestible  matter.  Examples 
of  this  class  of  feeds  are  the  various  grains,  as  Indian  corn,  wheat,  and 
oats,  and  milling  by-products  of  high  feeding  value,  as  wheat  bran,  lin- 
seed meal,  gluten  feed,  etc. 

Roughages  are  the  coarser  feeding  stuffs,  M'^hich  are  high  in  fiber  and 
supply  a  lower  percentage  of  digestible  matter.  Such  feeds  as  hay, 
corn  fodder,  straw,  and  silage  belong  to  this  class.  Some  of  the  low-grade 
milling  by-products,  such  as  oat  hulls,  ground  corncobs,  and  peanut 
hulls  are  roughages,  rather  than  concentrates,  for  they  are  lai'gely  fiber 
and  furnish  but  little  nutriment.  Koots  are  watery  and  bulky,  and 
contain  relatively  little  nutriment  per  pound,  yet  based  on  the  composi- 
tion of  the  dry  substance  they  are  more  like  concentrates  than  roughages, 
as  they  are  low  in  fiber.  They  are  really  watery,  or  diluted,  concentrates, 
tho  for  convenience  they  are  included  under  fresh  green  ro^ha^es  in 
Appendix  Table  I. 


HOW  THE  PLANT  GROWS 


11 


III.  The  Study  of  an  Acre  of  Coen 

The  great  basic  facts  in  plant  life,  briefly  set  forth  in  the  preceding 
pages,  are  admirably  illustrated  by  a  study  of  Indian  corn,  the  greatest 
of  our  agricultural  plants,  such  as  has  been  made  by  Ladd  at  the  New 
York  (Geneva)  Station^  and  Jones  at  the  Indiana  Station-. 

23.  Changes  in  a  growing  corn  crop. — Analyzing  the  plants  at  various 
stages  from  July  24,  when  they  were  about  4  feet  high,  until  Oct.  8,  when 
the  kernels  were  hard,  Jones  secured  the  following  data,  based  on  an 
average  stand  of  10,000  stalks  per  acre : 


Composition  of 

an  acre  of  Indian  corn  at  different  stages 

Stage  of  growth 

Total  wt. 

of  green 

crop 

Dry 
matter 
in  crop 

Ash 

Crude 
protein 

Fiber 

N-free 
extract 

Fat 

Four  feet  high,  July  24-.-  ■ 

First  tassels,  Aug.  6 

Silks  drying,  Aug.  28 
Com  and  cob . 

Lbs. 

5,138 

18,827 

4,839 
19,488 

Lbs. 

731 

2,245 

755 
3,812 

Lbs. 

90 
195 

24 

248 

Lbs. 
149 
360 

102 

334 

Lbs. 
170 
670 

147 
1,056 

Lbs. 

282 
977 

473 
2,133 

Lbs. 
40 
42 

9 
40 

StaUc,  blade,  etc 

Total 

24,327 

7,288 
19,422 

4,567 

2,268 
3,906 

272 

50 

278 

436 

252 

292 

1,203 

263 
1,098 

2,606 

1,648 
2,198 

49 

55 
40 

Milk  stage,  Sept.  10 
Corn  and  cob 

Stalk,  blade,  etc 

Total 

26,710 

8,620 
17,130 

6,174 

3,866 
4,238 

328 

66 
323 

544 

346 
220 

1,361 

312 
1,211 

3,846 

2,985 
2,440 

95 

158    • 
44 

Glazing  stage,  Sept.  24 

Stallc,  blade,  etc 

Total.. 

25,750 

9,292 
15,983 

8,104 

4,625 
4,304 

389 

72 
297 

566 

450 
210 

1,523 

324 

1,278 

5,425 

3,600 
2,484 

202 

179 
36 

Silage  stage,  Oct.  1 
Com  and  cob 

Stalk,  blade,  etc 

Total 

25,275 

9.259 
12,994 

8,929 

5,186 
4,226 

369         fifiO 

1,602 

368 
1,369 

6,084 

4,027 
2,309 

215 

Ready  to  shock,  Oct.  8 

76 
307 

492 
199 

223 
42 

Stalk,  blade,  etc 

Total 

22.253 

9,412 

383 

691 

1.737 

6,336 

265 

From  July  24,  at  a  stage  when  sometimes  fed  as  soilage,  to  Aug.  28, 
when  the  silks  were  drying,  the  crop  increased  over  19,000  lbs.  in  total 
weight  and  nearly  4,000  lbs.  in  dry  matter.  The  increase  in  total  weight 
was  thereafter  less  rapid,  reaching  the  maximum  when  the  kernels  were 
in  the  milk  stage.  After  this  the  gross  weight  decreased  by  over  4,000  lbs., 
due  to  drying  out  as  it  matured.  The  dry  matter,  however,  continued  to 
increase  rapidly  until  the  plants  were  fully  ripe.  Indeed  in  less  than  a 
month  following  Aug.  28  the  acre  of  corn  stored  over  3,000  lbs.  of  dry 
matter!  When  four  feet  high  the  crop  was  nearly  86  per  ct.  water 
»N.  Y.  (Geneva)   Rpt.  1889.  ==Ind.  Bui.  175. 


12  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

and  only  about  14  per  ct.  dry  matter ;  while  when  the  kernels  were  hard 
and  the  husks  dry  over  42  per  ct.  was  dry  matter.  On  Aug.  28  less 
than  17  per  ct.  of  the  total  dry  matter  was  in  the  ears;  by  Oct.  8  the 
ears  contained  over  half  the  dry  matter  in  the  total  crop. 

24.  Ash  or  mineral  matter. — The  total  ash  increased  rapidly  until  the 
plant  reached  its  full  height.  During  the  period  of  greatest  starch  for- 
mation, Aug.  28  to  Oct.  1,  the  increase  in  potash  was  especially  rapid. 

25.  Crude  protein. — The  most  rapid  increase  in  crude  protein,  the 
nitrogenous  portion,  occurred  before  the  plants  were  tasseled,  when  cell 
growth  was  more  active.  After  the  ears  were  silked,  as  is  shown  in  the 
following  table  from  Ladd,  the  amids — the  soluble  circulating  nitroge- 
nous compounds — did  not  increase. 

Changes  in  crude  protein  in  growing  corn  crop 

Amids        Protein 
Stage  of  growth  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Tasseled 69  171 

Silked 158  279 

Kernels  in  milk 102  377 

Kernels  glazed 152  491 

Ripe 109  569 

Altho  amids — the  building-stones  of  the  proteins — were  constantly 
being  formed  during  the  development  of  the  plants,  they  were  in  turn 
quickly  built  over  into  the  more  complex,  stable  proteins.  Thus,  there 
was  a  steady  and  marked  storage  of  proteins  up  to  maturity.  At  all 
stages  of  growth  nearly  all  the  amids  are  in  the  stalks  and  leaves,  the 
amids  in  the  ears  never  exceeding  1.5  lbs.  per  acre,  according  to  Jones. 
At  maturity,  Oct.  8,  over  71  per  ct.  of  all  the  protein  in  the  crop 
was  stored  in  the  ears,  principally  in  and  about  the  germs  of  the  kernels, 
ready  to  carry  on  the  vital  functions  whenever  the  grains  might  find 
lodgment  in  the  soil  and  begin  growth  to  form  new  corn  plants. 

26.  Fiber. — The  stalk  of  corn  must  be  strong  and  sturdy  to  carry  the 
abundant  foliage  and  especially  the  heav>'  ear — hence  the  increase  in 
fiber,  the  woody  framework  of  the  plant,  which  was  especially  rapid  till 
the  skeleton  of  the  plant  was  grown. 

27.  Nitrogen-free  extract. — The  nitrogen-free  extract,  the  most  valu- 
able portion  of  the  carbohydrates,  made  up  of  sugai'^,  starch,  and  the 
other  more  soluble  carbohydrates,  increased  more  than  2.5  tons  between 
tasseling  and  ripening.  As  is  sho\\Ti  in  the  following,  Ladd  found  that 
after  the  milk  stage  there  was  practically  no  increase  of  either  glucose 
or  sucrose,  but  a  large  storage  of  starch. 

Changes  in  glucose,  sucrose,  and  starch  of  growing  corn  crop 

Glucose  Sucrose       Starch 

Stage  of  growth  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Tasseled 58  9  122 

Silked 300  111  491 

In  milk 665  129  707 

Glazed 720  95  1,735 

Ripe 538  149  2,853 


HOW  THE  PLANT  GROWS  13 

The  table  shows  that,  altho  sugars  were  being  steadily  formed  in 
the  leaves  of  the  plant  from  tasseling  to  ripening,  they  were  continuously 
being  transferred  to  other  parts,  especially  the  swelling  kernels  of  the 
ear.  Here  a  large  portion  Avas  changed  to  insoluble  starch  and  com- 
pactly stored  about  the  germs  to  serve  as  food  for  the  future  plantlets. 
Another  portion  of  the  sugars  was  changed  into  cellulose  to  form  the 
woody  framework  of  the  plant  structure.  The  elements  of  a  third  portion 
were  combined  with  nitrates  and  other  mineral  matter  from  the  soil  to 
form  the  nitrogenous  amids  and  proteins.  It  was  because  of  such  con- 
tinuous transference  and  change  that  the  sugars  showed  no  material 
increase. 

Up  to  the  milk  stage  starch  formed  only  a  small  part  of  the  total 
nitrogen-free  extract;  after  this  it  increased  rapidly  until  by  maturity 
nearly  a  ton  and  a  half  of  starch  had  been  formed.  Ladd  found  that 
the  other  soluble  carbohydrates,  which  increased  up  to  the  glazing  stage, 
consisted  chiefly  of  pentoses  and  the  more  soluble  pentosans  and  cellu- 
loses. A  study  of  the  several  tables  shows  most  plainly  the  heavy  losses 
of  valuable  nutrients  which  are  sure  to  occur  when  a  crop  of  Indian  corn 
is  harvested  before  it  has  fully  ripened. 

In  producing  this  acre  of  corn,  probably  not  over  10  lbs.  of  seed  was 
placed  in  the  ground  in  the  spring  time.  From  this  insignificant  begin- 
ning, by  the  following  October,  about  130  days  later,  the  resultant  plants 
had  gathered  inorganic  matter — carbon  dioxid  from  the  air,  and  water, 
nitrogen,  and  mineral  matter  from  the  soil — and  built  all  these,  first 
into  primary  organic  forms,  and  finally  into  complex  organic  parts  of 
their  structure.  The  product  of  such  building  amounted  to  over  11  tons 
of  green  or  4.7  tons  of  dry  matter,  all  largely  available  for  nourishing 
the  animals  of  the  farm  and,  thru  them,  man.  This  is  a  forceful  illustra- 
tion of  Nature's  wonderful  processes  of  food  production  occurring  all 
about  us  under  the  guiding  mind  of  man. 

The  reader  who  will  thoroly  familiarize  himself  with  this  study  of  the 
growing  corn  plant  can  readily  extend  his  acquirement  to  all  the  other 
crops  of  the  farm.  Thus  equipped  he  is  in  position  to  study  the  compo- 
sition of  the  bodies  of  farm  animals  and  consider  how  they  are  built  up 
and  maintained  by  food  derived  from  plants,  as  later  presented. 


CHAPTER  II 

COMPOSITION   OF   THE   ANIMAL   BODY— DIGESTION- 
METABOLISM 

I.  Composition  of  the  Animal  Body 

Division  III  of  the  preceding  chapter  sets  forth  the  yield  and  compo- 
sition of  an  acre  of  Indian  corn,  thereby  showdng  how  the  several 
nutrients  of  feeding  stuffs  are  elaborated  by  the  plants  of  the  farm. 
We  vnW  next  consider  the  nature  and  composition  of  the  bodies  of  farm 
animals,  which  are  built  up  and  nourished  by  plants. 

28.  The  animal  body. — The  unit  of  the  animal  body  is  the  protoplasmic 
life-holding  cell,  which,  associated  with  myriads  of  others  and  modified 
in  innumerable  ways,  makes  up  the  body  structure.  Both  the  cell  envelop 
and  its  contents  are  of  nitrogenous  material  in  most  complex  combination. 

In  studying  the  higher  animals  we  may  regard  their  bodies  as  consist- 
ing of  a  bony  skeleton  of  mineral  character  surrounded  by  an  elaborate 
muscular  system.  Fatty  tissue  permeates  the  bones  and  muscles,  filling 
in  and  rounding  out  the  body  form,  and  around  all  is  the  enveloping 
skin.  Within  the  body  cavity  are  the  various  special  organs,  such  as  the 
heart,  stomach,  etc.,  designed  for  dissolving,  assorting,  distributing,  and 
utilizing  the  nutritive  matters  of  the  food  and  for  conveying  and  dis- 
posing of  the  waste.  All  these  organs  are  nitrogenous  or  protein  in 
nature,  as  are  also  a  part  of  the  organic  matter  of  the  bones  and  a  large 
portion  of  the  nerves,  which  control  and  direct  all  body  activities.  We 
have  seen  that  in  plants  the  great  structural  material  is  cellulose,  a 
carbohydrate,  and  that  the  common  stored  reserve  material  is  starch, 
also  a  carbohydrate.  In  the  animal  body,  however,  while  the  glucose 
in  the  blood  and  tissues  and  the  glycogen  in  the  liver  and  other  organs 
perform  important  functions,  these  carbohydrates  at  no  time  form  an 
appreciable  part  of  the  animal's  weight.  (60) 

29.  Composition  of  animal  bodies. — To  aid  in  a  study  of  the  compo- 
sition of  the  bodies  of  farm  animals  we  have  the  following  invaluable 
data  gathered  by  Lawes  and  Gilbert^  of  the  Rothamsted  (England) 
Experiment  Station,  whose  classic  investigations  stand  as  models  in 
agricultural  research.  The  first  division  of  the  table  shows  the  compo- 
sition of  the  entire  body  (fasted  weight)  of  the  several  animals,  and  the 
second  part  the  composition  of  their  carcasses.  Store  animals  are  those 
in  thrifty  condition,  but  not  fat. 

>Jour.  Roy.  Agr.  See.  Eng.,  1898;    U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Office  Expt.  Sta.,  Bui.  22. 

14 


THE  ANIMAL  BODY— DIGESTION— METABOLISM 


15 


Due  to  the  fact  that  the  gains  during  fattening  are  chiefly  fat (122),  the 
animals  of  each  kind  contain  a  higher  percentage  of  protein  and  a  much 
lower  percentage  of  fat  before  being  fattened.  Thus  while  14.8  per  ct. 
of  the  body  of  the  store  sheep  is  protein  and  18.7  per  ct.  fat,  the  extra- 
fat  sheep  contains  45.8  per  ct.  fat  and  only  10.9  per  ct,  protein.  The 
third  column  shows  that  in  general  the  percentage  of  mineral  matter, 
or  ash,  decreases  as  the  animal  fattens,  because  fatty  tissue  is  low  in  ash. 
Due  to  the  relatively  light  skeleton,  the  body  of  the  pig  in  store  condition 
contains  but  2.67  per  ct.  ash  and  only  1.65  per  ct.  when  fat,  the  lowest 
of  any  of  the  farm  animals. 

Composition  of  the  entire  bodies  and  carcasses  of  farm  animals 


Description  of  animal 


Mineral 
matter 
(ash) 


Total 
dry  sub- 
stance 


Contents  of 
stomach  and 
intestines  in 
moist  state 


Division  I.     Per  cent  in  the  entire  animal  (fasted  live  weight) 


Fat  calf.  .  . 
Half -fat  ox . 
Fat  ox ... . 


Fat  lamb 

Store  sheep 

Half -fat  old  sheep . 

Fat  sheep 

Extra-fat  sheep .  .  . 


Store  pic 
Fat  pig. 


15.2 
16.6 
14.5 

12.3 

14.8 
14.0 
12.2 
10.9 

13.7 
10.9 


14.8 
19.1 
30.1 

28.5 
18.7 
23.5 
35.6 

45.8 

23.3 

42.2 


3.80 
4.66 
3.92 

2.94 
3.16 
3.17 
2.81 
2.90 

2.67 
1.65 


33.8 
40.3 

48.5 

43.7 
36.7 
40.7 
50.6 
59.6 

39.7 
54.7 


63.0 
51.5 
45.5 

47.8 
57.3 
50.2 
43.4 
35.2 

55.1 
41.3 


3.17 
8.19 
5.98 

8.54 
6.00 
9.05 
6.02 
5.18 

5.22 
3.97 


Average  of  all . 


13.5 


28.2 


3.17 


44.9 


49.0 


13 


Division  II.    Per  cent  in  carcass 


Fat  calf .  .  . 
Half -fat  ox . 
Fat  ox 


Fat  lamb 

Store  sheep 

Half -fat  old  sheep . 

Fat  sheep 

Extra-fat  sheep .  .  . 


Store  pig . 
Fat  pig... 


16.6 
17.8 
15.0 

10.9 
14.5 
14.9 
11.5 
9.1 

14.0 
10.5 


16.6 
22.6 
34.8 


23.8 
31.3 

45.4 
55.1 

28.1 
49.5 


4.48 
5.56 
4.56 

3.63 
4.36 
4.13 
3.45 

2.77 

2.57 
1.40 


37.7 
46.0 
54.4 

51.4 
42.7 
50.3 
60.3 
67.0 

44.7 
61.4 


62.3 
54.0 
45.6 


57.3 
49.7 
39.7 
33.0 

55.3 
38.6 


Average  of  aU. 


13.5 


34.4 


3.e 


51.6 


The  fourth  and  fifth  columns,  giving  the  percentages  of  total  dry 
substance  and  water,  show  that  in  all  but  the  extra-fat  sheep  and  the 
fat  pig,  water  is  the  largest  single  constituent  of  the  body.  For  all  the 
animals  studied,  on  the  average  49  lbs.  in  every  100  of  the  body  weight, 
or  nearly  half,  is  water.    This  brings  out  strikingly  the  great  importance 


16 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


of  water  in  the  animal  body.  The  percentage  of  water  both  in  the  entire 
body  (Division  I  of  table)  and  in  the  carcass  (Division  II)  is  higher  in 
the  fat  calf  than  in  the  fat  ox,  and  also  higher  in  the  fat  lamb  than  in  the 
fat  sheep.  All  animals  contain  a  higher  percentage  of  water  when  lean 
than  when  fattened. 

30.  Nitrogen  and  ash. — The  following  table  shows  the  nitrogen  and 
the  principal  ash  constituents  in  the  fasted  live  weight  of  the  animals 
analyzed  at  Rothamsted,  and  also  in  milk  and  unwashed  wool : 

Ash  and  nitrogen  in  1000  lbs.  of  farm  animals,  milk,  and  unwashed  wool 


Fat  calf 

HaM-f  at  ox ...  . 

Fat  ox 

Fat  lamb 

Store  sheep .  .  .  . 

Fat  sheep 

Store  pig 

Fat  pig 

Milk 

Unwashed  wool 


Nitrogen 
(N) 


Lbs. 
24.64 
27.45 
23.26 
19.71 
23.77 
19.76 
22.08 
17.65 

5.76 
54.00 


Phosphoric 
acid 
(PzOs) 


Lbs. 

15.35 

18.39 

15.51 

11.26 

11.88 

10.40 

10.66 

6.54 

2.00 

0.70 


Potash 
(K2O) 


Lbs. 

2.06 
2.05 
1.76 
1.66 
1.74 
1.48 
1.96 
1.38 
1.70 
56.20 


Lime 
(CaO) 


Lbs. 

16.46 

21.11 

17.92 

12.81 

13.21 

11.84 

10.79 

6.36 

1.70 

1.80 


Magnesia 
(MgO) 


Lbs. 
0.79 

0.85 
0.61 
0.52 
0.56 
0.48 
0.53 
0.32 
0.20 
0.40 


The  table  shows  that  the  nitrogen  in  each  1000  lbs.  (fasted  live  weight) 
of  the  bodies  of  farm  animals  varies  from  about  17  to  27  lbs.,  being 
least  in  the  fat  pig  and  greatest  in  the  half-fat  ox.  Lime,  the  largest 
mineral  constituent  of  the  bones,  ranges  from  about  6  lbs.  per  1000  lbs. 
of  carcass  in  the  fat  pig  to  over  21  lbs.  in  the  ox.  Phosphoric  acid 
almost  equals  lime  in  quantity,  while  potash  runs  only  from  1  to  2  lbs. 
per  1000  lbs.  of  animal,  and  magnesia  still  less.  Soda,  silica,  iron,  etc., 
are  found  in  small  quantities. 

31.  Plants  and  animals  compared. — One  of  the  fundamental  differences 
between  plants  and  animals  is  that  in  plants  the  walls  of  the  cells  of 
which  they  are  composed  are  of  carbohydrate  material,  while  in  animals 
the  walls  of  the  body  cells  are  of  protein  substances.  Thus  plants  are 
on  a  carbon  and  animals  on  a  nitrogen  foundation.  The  higher  plants 
are  nourished  by  inorganic  matter,  while  animals  live  upon  both  organic 
and  inorganic  substances,  principally  the  former.  Plants  absorb  thru 
their  leaves  great  quantities  of  carbonic  acid  gas,  composed  of  carbon 
and  oxygen,  retaining  the  carbon  and  giving  off  the  oxygen  as  waste. 
Animals  take  free  oxygen  thru  their  lungs  and  combine  it  with  carbon 
to  form  carbonic  acid  gas,  which  is  thrown  off  as  waste  in  the  breath. 
Thus  the  two  great  classes  of  living  objects  are  interdependent. 

In  the  animal  body  the  organic  material  derived  from  plants  may  be 
built  into  still  other  highly  organized  compounds,  usually  protein  in 
character.  Thus  built,  matter  has  reached  its  last  high  stage  of  organized 
existence,  and  its  fall  or  descent  soon  occurs.    In  the  daily  waste  of  the 


THE  ANIMAL  BODY— DIGESTION— METABOLISM         17 

body  or  upon  the  withdrawal  of  life,  this  highly  endowed  organic  matter 
is  broken  down  into  inorganic  compounds,  to  begin  again  the  eternal 
round  of  Nature. 

II.  Digestion 

32.  Digestion. — The  changes  which  food  undergoes  within  the  digestive 
tract  of  the  animal  to  prepare  it  for  absorption  and  ultimate  use  in  build- 
ing new  tissues,  repairing  body  waste,  and  as  a  source  of  energy  are 
collectively  known  as  digestion.  Digestion  is  effected  by  enzymes,  or 
ferments,  elaborated  by  glands  of  the  mouth,  stomach,  pancreas,  and 
small  intestines,  and  by  the  bile,  secreted  in  the  liver.  Bacteria  inhabit- 
ing certain  parts  of  the  digestive  tract  attack  the  woody  cellulose  of  the 
food,  breaking  it  down  and  thereby  freeing  nutrients.  In  addition  to 
the  action  of  the  secretions  and  bacteria,  the  food  in  its  course  thru  the 
digestive  tract  is  subjected  to  mechanical  processes  which  tend  to  reduce 
it  to  a  fine  state  of  division,  the  object  of  the  whole  process  being  to 
separate  from  the  useless  matter  those  constituents  which  are  to  nourish 
the  body. 

33.  Nutrients. — The  term  nutrient  is  applied  to  any  food  constituent, 
or  group  of  food  constituents,  of  the  same  general  chemical  composition, 
that  may  aid  in  the  support  of  animal  life.  Crude  protein,  the  car- 
bohydrates, and  fat  constitute  the  generally  recognized  primary  classes 
of  nutrients,  altho  air,  water,  and  mineral  matter  might  likewise  be 
so  termed. 

The  term  digestible  nutrient  covers  that  portion  of  each  nutrient  which 
is  digested  and  taken  into  the  body,  as  determined  by  digestion  trials 
with  various  mature  animals.     (66) 

34.  Concerning  rations. — On  the  farm  a  ration  is  the  feed  allowed  or 
set  apart  to  maintain  a  given  animal  during  a  day  of  24  hours,  whether 
all  thereof  is  administered  or  fed  at  one  time  or  in  portions  at  different 
times. 

A  balanced  ration  is  the  feed  or  combination  of  feeds  furnishing  the 
several  nutrients — crude  protein,  carbohydrates,  and  fat — in  such  pro- 
portion and  amount  as  will  properly  and  without  excess  of  any  nutrient 
nourish  a  given  animal  for  24  hours. 

A  maintenance  ration  is  one  that  furnishes  enough,  but  no  more,  of 
each  and  all  of  the  several  nutrients  than  is  required  to  maintain  a  given 
resting  animal,  so  that  it  will  neither  gain  nor  lose  in  weight. 

35.  The  alimentary  tract. — The  digestive  tract  is  a  long,  tortuous  tube 
passing  thru  the  animal  from  mouth  to  vent,  enlarged  in  places  for  the 
storage  of  food  or  waste.  Within  its  linings  are  secretory  organs  fur- 
nishing various  fluids  of  digestion,  and  into  it,  from  other  specific  secre- 
tory organs  located  near  by,  pour  still  other  digestive  fluids.  Within  its 
walls  are  nerves  controlling  its  action,  arteries  which  nourish  it  with 
fresh  blood,  and  veins  and  lymphatics  which  absorb  and  carry  from  its 
interior  the  products  of  digestion,  as  well  as  water,  mineral  matter,  and 


18 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


gases.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  contents  of  the  stomach  and 
intestines  are  really  outside  the  body  proper.  Only  when  a  substance  has 
passed  into  or  thru  the  walls  of  the  digestive  tract  has  it  actually  entered 
the  body  of  the  animal. 

Ruminants  (animals  which  chew  the  cud),  including  the  ox,  sheep, 
and  goat,  have  much  more  complicated  digestive  tracts  than  other 
animals.  In  the  horse  and  pig  the  gullet  is  a  simple  muscular  tube 
passing  from  the  mouth  to  the  stomach.  On  the  other  hand,  in  ruminants 
the  gullet  is  expanded  just  before  the  true  stomach,  or  abomasum,  is 
reached  into  3  compartments  of  great  aggregate  capacity,  the  first  of 
which  is  the  paunch,  or  rumen ;  the  second,  the  honeycomb,  or  reticulum ; 
and  the  third,  the  manyplies,  or  omasum.  Of  the  4  stomachs  the  paunch 
is  by  far  the  largest. 

The  length  and  capacity  of  the  intestines  and  the  capacity  of  the 
stomachs  of  different  mature  farm  animals  are  shown  in  the  following 
table.  Obviously  these  values  will  vary  widely,  depending  on  the  size 
of  the  animal. 

Capacity  of  stomach  and  capacity  and  length  of  intestines  of  farm  animals 


Animal 

Capacity  of 

stomach  and 

intestines 

Average 
length  of 
intestines 

Animal 

Capacity  of 

stomach  anj 

intestines 

Average 
length  of 
intestines 

Horse 

Stomach* 

Small  intestine . 
Large  intestine . 

Quarts 

19.0 
67.4 
137.4 

Feet 
73  .6 

24.5 

Ox 

All  4  stomachs. . 
Small  intestine. 
Large  intestine. 

Total 

Hog 

Stomach 

Small  intestine. 
Large  intestine. 

Total 

Quarts 

266.9 
69.7 
40.1 

Feet 

150 .9 
36.3 

Total 

223.8 

98.1 

376.7 

187.2 

Sheep 

Rumen 

Reticulum 

ManjTjlies 

Abomasum  .... 

24.7 
2.1 
1.0 
3.5 

8.5 
9.7 
10.8 

60.0 
17.1 

29.0 

77.1 

All  4  stomachs . 

Small  intestine . 
Large  intestine . 

31.3 

9.5 
5.9 

85.9 
21.4 

Total 

46.7 

107.3 

*  Chauveau,  Comparative  Anatomy  of  the  Domestic  Animals,  places  the  capacity  at  3  to  3.5  gallons. 

While  the  stomach  of  the  horse  holds  only  19.0  qts.,  the  4  stomachs  of 
the  ox  have  a  capacity  of  266  qts.,  or  14  times  as  much.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  large  caecum,  or  blind  gut,  of  the  horse,  a  part  of  the  large 
intestine,  gives  the  large  intestine  a  capacity  of  137.4  qts.,  compared  with 
40.1  qts.  for  the  ox. 

In  young  ruminants  the  first  3  stomachs  are  less  developed  than  in 
mature  animals.  Colin  found  that  the  first  stomach,  or  the  paunch,  of  a  calf 
held  2.6  lbs.  of  water ;  the  honeycomb  0.22  lb. ;  the  omasum  0.35  lb. ;  and 
the  true  stomach  7.7  lbs.    As  the  diet  of  the  growing  calf  changes  to  more 


THE  ANIMAL  BODY— DIGESTION— METABOLISM         19 

solid  food,  such  as  grass,  hay,  and  grains,  the  rumen,  or  paunch,  gradually 
increases  in  size,  until  in  the  grown  ox  it  holds  4  times  as  much  as  the 
other  3  stomachs  combined. 

The  alimentary  tract  of  the  sheep  is  similar  in  structure  to  that  of 
the  ox.  The  hog  has  neither  the  4  stomachs  of  the  ruminant  nor  the 
large  caecum  of  the  horse,  and  is  hence  not  fitted  to  consume  large 
amounts  of  roughage. 

36.  Mastication. — In  the  mouth  of  the  animal  food  is  crushed  and 
ground  by  the  teeth  and  at  the  same  time  is  moistened  by  the  alkaline, 
somewhat  slimy  saliva,  moist  and  slippery  masses  being  formed  which 
pass  readily  thru  the  gullet  into  the  stomach.  Mingling  saliva  with  the 
food  during  mastication,  or  chewing,  aids  the  sense  of  taste  by  dissolving 
small  amounts  of  food  which  affect  the  nerve  ends  of  the  tongue.  Colin- 
found  that  a  horse  fed  on  hay  secreted  11  to  13  lbs.  of  saliva  per  hour. 
Oats  require  a  little  more  than  their  ovm  weight,  green  fodders  half, 
and  dry  fodders  4  times  their  weight  of  saliva  during  mastication.  If 
the  ration  for  a  horse  amounts  to  11  lbs.  of  hay  and  11  lbs.  of  other  dry 
fodder,  this  will  require  4  times  its  weight  of  saliva,  or  88  lbs.,  to  which 
must  be  added  4.4  lbs.  secreted  during  rest,  making  92.4  lbs.  in  all. 

Ruminants  while  eating  chew  their  food  only  enough  to  moisten  it,  if 
dry,  and  form  it  into  masses  of  suitable  size  to  be  swallowed.  "When 
hunger  is  satisfied  they  seek  a  quiet  place,  if  possible,  and  proceed  to 
return  the  food  in  ''cuds"  to  the  mouth,  chewing  each  thoroly  before 
reswallowing.  The  gullet  of  ruminants  opens  into  the  first  3  stomachs 
thru  a  slit  (called  the  esophageal  groove),  w^hich  has  an  exceedingly 
important  function  in  the  process  of  rumination.  "When  the  ox  swallows 
the  masses  of  solid  food,  which  are  so  large  as  to  distend  the  gullet,  on 
coming  to  the  slit  they  are  pressed  out,  just  as  would  be  the  case  if  one 
tried  to  force  thru  a  rubber  tube  with  a  slit  an  object  which  fitted  it  tight- 
ly. These  masses  of  food  are  usually  pushed  into  the  paunch  until  it  is 
full,  and  then  into  the  honeycomb  instead. 

When  the  animal  ruminates,  or  ''chews  the  cud,"  the  food  is  forced 
back  to  the  mouth  in  masses,  or  "cuds,"  thru  the  same  slit  by  contrac- 
tions of  the  muscular  paunch,  the  honeycomb,  and  of  the  gullet  itself.  The 
ox  chews  each  cud  of  about  4  ounces  for  a  little  less  than  a  minute, 
adding  saliva  until  the  finely  divided  material  becomes  more  or  less  soup- 
like. On  being  reswallowed,  this  finely  divided  material  usually  flows 
along  the  gullet  past  the  slit,  and  directly  into  the  third  stomach,  from 
which  it  passes  into  the  fourth  or  true  stomach.  "Water  or  liquid  food 
may  not  be  forced  thru  the  slit  into  the  paunch  but  may  pass  at  once 
to  the  third  stomach. 

Animals  do  not  ruminate  during  sleep,  while  working,  when  excited, 
or  if  in  pain.  The  fact  that  the  ox  requires  7  to  8  hours  daily  for  rumina- 
tion handicaps  him  somewhat  as  a  work  animal,  for  if  his  hours  of  work 
are  long  he  must  dispense  with  sleep  to  masticate  his  food. 

'Smith,  Physiol.  Dom.  Anim.,  p.  286. 


20  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

37.  The  saliva. — In  addition,  to  preparing  the  food  for  swallowing, 
with  most  animals  the  saliva  performs  a  highly  important  digestive 
function  thru  the  enzyme,  called  ptyalin,  which  it  contains. 

Enzymes  are  mysterious  organic  compounds  which  are  able  to  change 
or  break  down  other  organic  compounds  without  themselves  being  broken 
down. 

38.  Ptyalin. — The  first  enzyme  of  digestion,  ptyalin,  converts  the  insol- 
uble starches  of  food  into  malt  sugar.  The  proteins  and  fats  of  food 
are  not  changed  by  the  action  of  the  saliva. 

Since  most  of  the  changes  which  food  substances  undergo  during 
digestion  are  effected  thru  enzymes,  their  general  nature  should  be  under- 
stood by  the  student,  and  ptyalin  action  serves  as  an  example.  If  a 
quantity  of  starch  is  treated  with  saliva  and  the  whole  kept  at  body 
temperature,  the  starch  so  treated  will  gradually  dissolve,  and  after  a 
time  malt  sugar  will  be  found  in  its  stead.  The  complex  starch  molecule 
has  been  cleaved  or  split  into  simpler  ones  by  the  action  of  the  ptyalin. 
The  enzyme  causing  this  change  is  itself  not  altered  in  character  or 
function,  however,  or  seemingly  exhausted  in  energy  thereby,  but  is 
still  capable  of  changing  more  starch  into  sugar.  So  far  as  kno^n,  there 
is  no  limit  to  the  amount  of  sugar  which  a  given  quantity  of  ptyalin 
will  produce  if  the  supply  of  starch  is  maintained  and  the  resultant 
sugar  is  continuously  removed  from  the  solution.  If  the  saliva  is  heated 
above  176°  F.,  it  will  no  longer  possess  this  power.  At  the  temperature 
of  ice  water  its  action  ceases,  altho  the  enzyme  is  not  destroyed,  for  on 
warming  it  becomes  active  again.  Acids  destroy  ptyalin  if  added  much 
beyond  the  point  of  neutrality.  Each  of  the  several  enzymes  of  digestion 
is  capable  of  acting  on  only  one  of  the  groups  of  nutritive  substances — 
on  either  proteins,  carbohydrates,  or  fats.  Some  act  only  in  the  presence 
'of  acids,  and  others  only  in  neutral  or  faintly  alkaline  solutions.  Kecent 
investigations^  show  that  the  saliva  of  some  animals  contains  little  or 
no  ptyalin.  The  saliva  of  man,  monkeys,  rabbits,  rats,  and  mice  has  the 
greatest  starch  digesting  power  and  that  of  swine  contains  a  fair  amount 
of  ptyalin,  while  the  saliva  of  horses  contains  but  a  small  quantity  and 
that  of  dogs  and  oxen  little  or  none. 

39.  Digestion  in  the  simple  stomach. — ^With  such  animals  as  the  horse 
and  pig,  which  have  simple  stomachs,  the  food  passes  directly  from  the 
mouth,  where  it  remains  but  a  comparatively  short  time,  thru  the  gullet 
to  the  single  stomach.  There  it  is  acted  on  by  the  gastric  juice,  which 
consists  of  water  containing  the  enzymes,  pepsin  and  rennin,  and  from 
0.2  to  0.5  per  ct.  of  hydrochloric  acid. 

Pepsin,  which  acts  only  in  weak  acid  solutions,  converts  the  very  com- 
plex proteins  into  soluble  and  simpler,  tho  still  complex,  products  known 
as  proteoses  and  peptones.  Proteoses  and  peptones  are  soluble  nitroge- 
nous compounds,  simpler  than  the  proteins  from  which  they  originate. 
They  are  the  result  of  the  partial  cleavage  of  proteins  with  the  addition 
of  water. 

«Oppenheimer,  Handb.  der  Biochem.,  1910,  III,  Part  II,  p.  38. 


THE  ANIMAL  BODY— DIGESTION— METABOLISM         21 

Rennin  is  the  enzj'ine  which  curdles  milk.  The  membranous  lining 
of  the  stomachs  of  calves  yields  the  rennet  of  commerce,  which  contains 
this  enzyme.  One  part  of  rennin  will  coagulate  400,000  parts  of  milk. 
This  enzyme  is  an  interesting  provision  of  nature  for  changing  milk  into 
a  solid  form  so  the  animal  may  get  the  full  value  from  it.  Altho  liquid, 
milk  is  not  in  condition  to  be  taken  directly  into  the  animal  system,  but, 
like  solid  foods,  must  first  undergo  digestion.  Milk  being  liquid,  the 
stomach  would  naturally  pass  it  quickly  on  to  the  small  intestine,  but  if 
this  occuirred  it  would  not  be  sufficiently  acted  on  by  the  pepsin.  Rennin 
quickly  converts  the  milk  into  a  solid  curd  which  is  easily  retained  by 
the  stomach  until  dissolved  by  the  action  of  the  digestive  juice. 

Acid  destroys  the  power  of  ptyalin  to  convert  starch  into  sugar.  The 
construction  of  the  stomach,  however,  is  such  that  the  action  of  ptyalin 
on  the  food  after  it  reaches  that  organ,  following  mastication,  is  not  too 
promptly  checked.  The  first  portion  of  the  stomach,  into  which  the  gullet 
directly  leads,  secretes  pepsin  but  no  acid.  The  action  of  ptyalin  on 
the  starches  of  the  foods  continues,  therefore,  in  this  part  of  the  stomach. 
The  intestinal  or  rear  end  of  the  stomach,  on  the  other  hand,  secretes 
little  pepsin  but  much  hydrochloric  acid.  Here  the  conversion  of  the 
starches  into  malt  sugar  by  the  ptyalin  ceases,  and  pepsin  digestion 
becomes  active.  Only  the  preliminary  steps  of  digestion  are  accomplished 
in  the  stomach,  and  relatively  little  absorption  of  the  digested  nutrients 
takes  place  from  it.  Sugars  may  be  absorbed  to  some  extent,  but  the 
proteoses  and  peptones  produced  from  the  breaking  up  of  protein,  and 
also  the  fats,  are  mostly  carried  into  the  small  intestine  along  with  the 
other  matter. 

Soon  after  the  food  reaches  the  stomach  that  organ  begins  a  series  of 
orderly  movements  for  the  delivery  of  its  contents  into  the  small  intes- 
tine. In  this  delivery  the  stomach  contracts  at  the  middle  region,  and 
the  wave  of  contraction  proceeds  slowly  and  regularly  toward  the  intes- 
tinal end,  one  wave  following  another.  When  digestion  has  progressed 
to  some  extent,  every  time  the  contraction  reaches  the  rear  end  of  the 
stomach,  the  ring  of  muscles  which  keeps  the  stomach  shut  off  from  the 
small  intestine  relaxes  and  allows  a  small  quantity  of  the  semi-liquid 
contents  of  the  stomach  to  spurt  thru  into  the  intestine.  After  this  the 
ring  of  muscles  again  contracts,  thereby  closing  the  entrance.  The 
stomach  in  turn  slowly  relaxes,  and  after  a  certain  length  of  time,  vary- 
ing in  different  animals,  the  process  is  repeated.  By  this  means  the 
fluid  portions  of  the  contents  of  the  stomach  are  squeezed  out  and  carried 
into  the  small  intestine,  while  the  more  solid  portions  remain  behind 
for  further  action  by  the  gastric  juice.  In  animals  with  a  simple  stomach 
little  or  no  churning  or  mixing  of  the  food  is  produced  by  the  movements 
of  the  stomach.  The  contents  are  simply  pushed  gradually  toward  the 
intestinal  end  of  the  stomach  by  the  waves  of  muscular  contraction. 

40.  Digestion  of  ruminants. — The  first  3  stomachs  of  ruminants  are 
important  organs  of  digestion,  although  they  secrete  no  enzymes,  but 
only  water.     The  nutritive  substances  within  the  cells  of  plants  are 


22  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

enclosed  within  the  cellulose  cell  walls.  Where  the  cell  walls  are  formed 
of  hard,  thickened  cellulose,  the  nutritive  substances  within  are  not 
readily  reached  and  attacked  by  the  fluids  of  digestion.  As  stated  before, 
when  solid  food  is  first  swallowed  it  passes  chiefly  into  the  paunch.  Here 
it  is  softened  by  the  moisture,  slowly  but  thoroly  mixed  by  muscular 
contractions,  and  even  macerated  by  being  ground  against  the  rough 
lining. 

In  the  first  stomachs,  especially  in  the  paunch,  the  fermentation  of 
cellulose  by  bacteria  takes  place,  the  walls  of  the  cells  being  thereby 
more  or  less  broken  down  and  their  contents  set  free,  thus  becoming 
available  for  digestion.  In  this  fermentation  gases  are  given  off,  which 
are  ordinarily  absorbed  into  the  blood  and  carried  away.  When  fresh, 
easily  fermented  forage,  such  as  green  clover  or  alfalfa,  is  eaten,  gases 
may  be  evolved  so  rapidly  that  the  blood  circulation  cannot  take  them 
up  as  fast  as  formed,  and  "hoven,"  or  "bloat,"  results.  No  enzymes 
of  the  digestive  tract  are  able  to  digest  the  pentosans,  which  are  present 
in  considerable  amount  in  roughages  and  other  feeds  high  in  fiber.  (9) 
Like  cellulose,  however,  these  compounds  are  digested  by  the  bacteria  in 
the  paunch  and  thus  serve  as  nutrients.  Not  only  are  the  fiber  and 
pentosans  broken  down,  but  when  the  food  contains  sugars  these  also 
are  sometimes  attacked  by  bacteria  in  the  paunch,  which  action  is  detri- 
mental, for  in  such  cleavage,  or  breaking  down,  a  considerable  percentage 
of  their  energy  is  lost  as  heat  and  gas.  (84)  The  fact  that  only  a 
small  amount  of  ptyalin  is  present  in  the  saliva  of  the  ox  and  sheep,  or 
that  it  is  entirely  absent,  as  is  claimed  by  some,  is  thus  advantageous. 
If  their  saliva  easily  converted  starch  into  sugar,  a  large  amount  of  sugar 
would  be  formed  in  the  paunch,  which  would  then  in  turn  be  attacked 
by  bacteria,  with  much  resultant  loss  of  nutriment.  Besides  the  diges- 
tion in  the  paunch  caused  by  bacteria,  more  or  less  is  also  undoubtedly 
effected  by  the  enzymes  which  are  contained  in  some  foods,  such  as  the 
cereal  grains,  for  the  moisture  and  warmth  of  the  paunch  are  favorable 
to  enzyme  action  in  general. 

After  rumination  the  reswallowed  food  passes  chiefly  into  the  many- 
plies,  or  third  stomach,  where  it  is  further  ground  between  the  muscular 
folds  before  being  forced  into  the  fourth,  or  true  stomach.  In  the 
latter  the  digestive  processes  are  similar  to  those  in  the  simple  stomach, 
as  previously  described. 

41.  The  small  intestine. — In  the  small  intestine  the  work  of  digestion 
proceeds  even  more  vigorously  than  in  the  stomach.  All  classes  of 
nutrients  are  attacked  by  the  fluids  it  holds,  and  in  it  the  digestive 
processes  come  to  a  close.  The  contents  of  the  stomach,  when  received 
into  the  small  intestine,  consist  of  a  semi-liquid  mixture  of  undigested 
proteins,  partially  digested  nutrients — proteoses  and  peptones,  fats, 
sugars,  starches,  and  celluloses — and  waste  matter.  The  small  intestine 
receives  digestive  fluids  from  2  outside  organs,  the  liver  and  the  pancreas, 
whose  functions  in  nutrition  are  of  the  highest  importance,  and  the  food 
is  also  mixed  with  a  secretion  containing  several  enzymes  which  are  pro- 


THE  ANBIAL  BODY— DIGESTION— METABOLISM         23 

duced  by  the  intestine  itself.  Immediately  on  entering  the  small  intestine 
the  inpouring  material  is  changed  from  an  acid  to  an  alkaline  character 
thru  rapid  addition  of  the  bile  and  pancreatic  juice,  both  alkaline. 

42.  The  pancreas. — The  pancreas,  or  sweetbread,  is  a  slender  gland 
lying  just  beyond  the  stomach  and  connected  with  the  small  intestine  by 
a  duct.  Its  secretion,  the  pancreatic  juice,  varies  in  different  animals, 
being  thin,  clear,  and  watery  in  some,  and  thick,  viscous,  and  slimy  in 
others.  The  pancreatic  juice  contains  3  enzymes — trypsin,  amylase,  and 
lipase. 

Trypsin  is  an  enzyme  which,  like  pepsin,  converts  protein  into  pro- 
teoses and  peptones.  It  has  the  power  of  further  cleaving  these  2 
partially  digested  substances  into  amino  acids,  which  constitute  the  ulti- 
mate useful  nutrients  which  come  from  the  cleavage  of  all  the  proteins 
of  food  stuffs  thru  digestion.  The  digestion  of  protein  goes  on  much  more 
thoroly  in  the  small  intestine  under  the  influence  of  trypsin  than  it  does 
in  the  stomach  with  pepsin.  It  is  most  interesting  that  trypsin  is  secreted 
by  the  pancreas  in  an  inactive  form,  which  will  not  digest  protein.  As 
soon  as  the  pancreatic  juice  comes  in  contact  with  the  intestinal  wall, 
intestinal  juice  is  produced,  which  contains  a  substance  that  changes 
the  trypsin  into  the  active  digesting  form. 

Amylase,  formerly  called  amylopsin,  is  a  pancreatic  enzyme  which 
converts  starch  into  glucose-like  sugars. 

Lipase,  formerly  called  steapsin,  is  a  pancreatic  enzyme  which  splits 
fats  into  fatty  acids  and  glycerin. 

Ordinarily,  when  digestion  is  not  going  on  there  is  no  secretion  by 
the  pancreas.  It  has  been  found  that  if  the  mucous  lining  of  the  first 
part  of  the  small  intestine  is  treated  with  dilute  hydrochloric  acid,  the 
pancreas  at  once  pours  out  its  secretion.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the 
contents  of  the  stomach,  at  the  time  of  their  ejection  from  that  organ 
into  the  small  intestine,  are  strongly  acid  because  of  the  hydrochloric  acid 
of  the  gastric  juice.  This  acid  when  it  pours  into  the  small  intestine, 
acting  on  the  lining  of  the  latter,  produces  something  which,  when 
absorbed  into  the  blood,  calls  forth  the  pancreatic  secretion  just  when 
needed — a  forceful  illustration  of  how  all  the  organs  of  the  complicated 
digestive  tract  work  in  harmony. 

43.  The  liver. — The  liver,  the  largest  organ  in  the  body,  has  numerous 
duties  in  the  digestion  and  metabolism  of  nutrients.  While  some  of  its 
functions  will  be  dealt  with  in  a  later  chapter,  attention  is  here  directed 
to  its  function  in  the  digestion  and  absorption  of  the  fats  of  foods. 

Bile,  the  product  of  the  liver,  is  a  clear,  greenish  or  golden  colored 
fluid,  alkaline  in  reaction,  and  extremely  bitter  in  taste.  The  bile  fur- 
nishes the  alkalies  which  are  necessary  for  the  conversion  of  the  fats  of 
the  food  into  soaps,  that  is,  for  changing  them  from  an  unabsorbable  into 
a  water-soluble  and  readily  absorbable  condition.  It  is  of  such  nature 
that  it  readily  forms  an  emulsion  with  fats,  and  in  this  form  the  latter 
present  a  very  large  surface  for  the  action  of  the  lipase  of  the  pan- 
creatic juice.     The  process  of  the  decomposition  of  the  fats  into  fatty 


24  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

acids  and  glycerin  is  greatly  hastened  by  this  means.  In  the  presence 
of  bile  the  fatty  acids  take  on  alkali  and  form  soaps,  which  are  soluble 
in  water  and  can  be  absorbed  into  the  walls  of  the  intestine.  After 
performing  this  important  function  the  bile  is  not  wholly  excreted  with 
the  contents  of  the  intestine,  but  is  in  part  taken  up  by  the  circulation 
and  again  utilized.  According  to  Colin,  the  liver  of  the  horse  secretes 
over  13  lbs.,  of  the  ox  5.7  lbs.,  and  of  the  sheep  0.75  lb.  of  bile  during 
each  24  hours. 

44.  The  intestinal  secretion. — The  digestive  fluid  secreted  by  the  mucous 
membrane  of  the  small  intestine  contains  several  enzymes,  the  most 
important  of  which  are  erepsin  and  the  invertases. 

Erepsin  is  an  enzyme  of  great  digesting  power  which  attacks  and  still 
further  splits  or  cleaves  those  proteoses  and  peptones  which  have  escaped 
such  action  by  trypsin,  likewise  converting  them  into  amino  acids,  the 
ultimate  digestion  products  of  the  proteins. 

The  invertases,  sucrase,  maltase,  and  lactase,  are  enzymes  which  con- 
vert cane-,  malt-,  and  milk-sugars  into  the  more  simple  glucose-like  sugars. 

Thus  into  the  small  intestine  are  poured  the  complex  bile ;  the  3  diges- 
tive enzymes  from  the  pancreas — trypsin,  amylase,  and  lipase;  and 
finally  erepsin  and  the  invertases  from  its  own  walls.  Water  is  also 
freely  poured  into  the  small  intestine  from  its  walls. 

While  in  the  small  intestine,  the  food,  which  has  been  masticated  in 
the  mouth  and  partially  digested  in  the  stomach,  is  acted  on  by  all  the 
various  fluids  above  described.  That  part  of  the  food  which  thus  far 
has  escaped  digestion  is  now  vigorously  and  variously  attacked,  so  that 
under  ordinary  conditions  little  that  is  useful  is  lost.  The  larger  portion 
of  all  the  digested  material  is  absorbed  from  the  intestine  into  its  walls, 
and  thus  enters  the  body  proper,  as  will  be  shown  in  the  next  chapter. 

45.  The  large  intestine. — The  large  intestine  receives  the  contents  of 
the  small  intestine  after  the  latter  organ  has  ceased  further  effort  at 
digestion.  These  contents  consist  of  undigested  matter,  bits  of  indigest- 
ible substances  of  all  kinds  taken  in  with  the  food,  bile  salts  which  have 
escaped  resorption,  water,  mineral  salts,  and  fragments  of  the  mucous 
lining  of  the  small  intestine.  Mixed  with  these  are  some  of  the  digestive 
juices  of  the  small  intestine.  The  large  intestine  elaborates  little,  if  any, 
digestive  fluid,  but  its  walls  contribute  water  and  certain  metabolic  waste 
products,  especially  certain  inorganic  salts  common  to  the  tract.  It  is 
possible  that  some  digestion  may  occur  in  the  large  intestine  owing  to 
traces  of  digestive  enzymes  coming  from  the  small  intestine,  but  such 
digestion  is  insignificant  in  amount.  There  is  a  constant  interchange 
of  water  between  the  contents  of  the  large  intestine  and  the  blood  circu- 
lation, which  results  in  the  absorption  of  any  soluble  products,  nutritive 
or  otherwise,  which  may  be  formed  in  the  large  intestine  either  by  diges- 
tion or  bacterial  action. 

46.  Special  provision  for  the  horse. — The  horse,  tho  eating  coarse  food 
like  the  ox,  has  a  small  stomach  and  no  paunch  for  specially  preparing 

nopEirrr  uBiUitr 
N.  C.  State  College 


THE  ANIMAL  BODY— DIGESTION— METABOLISM         25 

such  food  for  digestion.  In  partial  compensation  it  has  a  large  caecum, 
or  blind  gut,  which  is  a  greatly  enlarged  portion  of  the  alimentary  tract, 
linking  the  small  and  large  intestine.  Into  the  caecum  is  passed  much 
of  the  undigested  matter,  together  with  the  enzymes  of  the  small  intestine. 
Here  the  digestive  processes  of  the  small  intestine  are  prolonged,  thus 
making  up  for  his  small  stomach  and  lack  of  a  paunch.  The  caecum  of 
other  farm  animals  is  small  and  unimportant  in  digestion. 

47.  Digestion  of  fat. — Since  the  steps  by  which  the  food  is  prepared 
thru  digestion  for  final  use  by  the  body  are  so  numerous  and  complicated, 
it  is  well  to  now  review  the  subject,  dealing  with  the  nutrients  and  what 
occurs  with  them,  rather  than  considering  the  organs  and  solvents 
employed. 

As  has  been  stated,  the  fats  of  foods,  no  matter  how  finely  divided, 
cannot  directly  enter  the  circulation,  but  must  be  changed  in  the  follow- 
ing manner:  One  of  the  enzj^mes  produced  by  the  pancreas  is  the  fat- 
splitting  lipase,  which  breaks  some  of  the  fats  in  the  food  into  glycerin 
and  fatty  acids.  The  bile  is  largely  made  up  of  alkaline  salts,  and  with 
these  the  fatty  acids  react  and  fonn  soaps.  These  soaps  in  turn  form  an 
emulsion  with  the  unchanged  fats,  the  emulsified  fats  presenting  a  large 
surface  on  which  the  lipase  may  act.  Thus,  it  is  believed  that  the  fat 
which  is  finally  absorbed  is  split  into  glycerin  and  fatty  acids,  the  latter 
and  the  alkali  of  the  bile  forming  soaps.  These  soaps  and  the  glycerin 
are  absorbed  by  the  intestinal  wall,  in  the  cells  of  which  they  are  reunited 
into  fats  and  are  contributed  as  such  to  the  circulation.  Some  authorities 
hold,  however,  that  a  part  of  the  fatty  acids  and  glycerin  formed  by  the 
splitting  of  neutral  fats  by  lipase  may  be  absorbed  as  such,  without 
being  first  changed  to  soaps. 

48.  Carbohydrate  digestion. — The  digestion  of  either  starch  or  sugars 
(other  than  those  of  glucose-like  form)  consists  in  converting  them  into 
glucose  or  glucose-like  sugars,  which  are  the  only  forms  of  carbohydrates 
that  can  be  used  in  the  body.  Since  the  carbohydrates  constitute  a  large 
portion  of  the  food  of  animals,  nature  provides  for  their  digestion  in 
several  parts  of  the  alimentary  tract.  Carbohydrate  digestion  begins 
with  the  action  of  ptyalin  on  the  starches  of  foods  in  the  mouth,  whereby 
they  are  converted  into  maltose.  Ptyalin  action  continues  in  the  first 
portion  of  the  stomach,  but  ceases  in  the  latter  part  of  that  organ.  Sugars 
of  glucose  form  may  be  absorbed  from  the  stomach.  Even  the  compound 
cane-,  malt-,  and  milk-sugars  may  without  change  be  absorbed  from  the 
alimentary  canal  in  small  amounts.  If  these  compound  sugars  remain 
in  the  digestive  tract  an  appreciable  time,  as  usually  happens,  they  are 
changed  to  glucose  and  glucose-like  sugars.  Thus  most  of  the  carbohy- 
drates are  absorbed  from  the  alimentary  tract  in  the  form  of  glucose. 
Nearly  all  the  carbohydrates  are  carried  on  from  the  stomach  into  the 
small  intestine,  which  is  the  principal  organ  concerned  in  their  final 
digestion.  Here  the  starches  which  have  escaped  digestion  in  the  mouth 
and  stomach  are  acted  upon  by  amylase,  and  the  compound  cane-,  malt-, 


26  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

and  milk-sugars  are  converted  by  the  invertases  into  simpler  glucose-like 
sugars. 

When  a  human  eats  bread,  or  an  animal  consumes  hay  or  corn,  the 
starch  of  such  food  must  all  be  changed  to  sugars  before  it  can  enter 
the  body  proper.  With  trifling  exceptions  all  compound  sugars  are 
converted  into  glucose-like  sugars.  It  is  even  held  that  milk  sugar  has 
no  food  value  with  birds,  because  their  digestive  tract  provides  no  enzyme 
for  breaking  it  up  into  glucose-like  sugars  which  may  be  absorbed. 

In  the  digestive  tract  no  enzyme  has  been  found  which  acts  on  cellulose 
or  on  the  pentosans.  Bacteria  inhabiting  the  alimentary  canal,  however, 
attack  these  substances,  especially  in  the  paunch  of  ruminants  and  the 
caecum  of  the  horse.  Among  the  products  of  such  bacterial  decomposi- 
tion are  organic  compounds,  such  as  acetic  and  lactic  acid,  besides  gases — 
marsh  gas,  carbon  dioxid,  and  hydrogen.  While  these  gases  are  of  no 
value  to  the  animal,  there  is  little  doubt  that  the  other  cleavage  products 
are  absorbed  from  the  digestive  tract  and  serve  as  nutrients.  Smith* 
suggests  that  cellulose  digestion  may  be  brought  about  by  ferments  con- 
tained in  the  food  itself.  When  artificially  digested  with  strong  sulphuric 
acid,  cellulose  is  converted  into  a  gummy  product  and  finally  into  glucose. 
Because  the  goat  and  the  ox  can  subsist  for  long  periods  on  coarse  straw, 
which  consists  largely  of  cellulose  and  pentosans,  it  is  reasonable  to  hold 
that  these  substances  have  considerable  nutritive  value,  tho  the  manner 
of  their  digestion  is  not  yet  fully  understood. 

49.  Protein  digestion. — In  the  process  of  digestion  the  protein  com- 
pounds in  the  food  are  attacked  first  by  pepsin  in  the  stomach,  and  later 
by  trypsin  and  erepsin  in  the  small  intestine.  The  action  of  these  enzymes 
is  to  cleave  the  very  complex  protein  molecules  into  simpler  ones,  during 
which  process  the  split  molecules  take  up  water  and  become  soluble.  Pro- 
teoses and  peptones  are  products  of  the  cleavage  of  proteins,  an  example 
of  which  may  be  seen  in  the  following  experiment :  If  a  fragment  of  the 
white  part  of  a  hard-boiled  egg,  which  is  a  protein  substance,  is  placed 
in  a  dish  with  dilute  hydrochloric  acid,  a  little  pepsin  added,  and  the 
whole  kept  at  body  temperature,  in  a  short  time  the  edges  of  the  opaque 
egg  mass  will  become  swollen  and  transparent,  the  change  gradually 
extending  thru  the  whole  fragment.  After  a  time  the  mass  will  have 
entirely  disappeared,  and  in  its  stead  there  will  remain  a  clear  solution. 
If  this  peptone  solution  is  evaporated  to  dryness  there  will  be  left  a 
yellowish,  transparent  mass  resembling  the  dried  white  of  an  unboiled 
egg.  This  dry  digested  material,  now  a  mixture  of  proteoses  and  pep- 
tones, is  soluble  in  water  the  same  as  the  white  of  egg ;  but  if  dissolved 
in  water  it  will  not  solidify  on  heating,  as  does  ordinary  white  of  egg. 
This  shows  that  the  substance  has  been  changed  to  something  other  than 
the  protein,  which  coagulates  or  solidifies  on  heating.  These,  pro- 
teoses and  peptones  have  resulted  from  the  cleavage  or  splitting  of  the 
very  complex  egg  protein  into  simpler  molecules,  which  upon  such  cleav- 
age have  taken  up  chemically  a  large  amount  of  water  and  become  sol- 

*  Manual  of  Vet.  Physiol.,  1908. 


THE  ANIMAL  BODY— DIGESTION— METABOLISM         27 

able.  When  a  piece  of  lean  meat  or  hard-boiled  egg  is  taken  into  the 
human  stomach,  the  pepsin,  acting  in  the  presence  of  hydrochloric  acid, 
gradually  dissolves  such  meat  or  egg,  changing  it  to  soluble  peptones  and 
proteoses.  If  it  escapes  solution  in  the  stomach,  it  is  usually  dissolved 
later  in  the  small  intestine. 

The  soluble  proteoses  and  peptones  are  not  yet  in  suitable  form  for 
use  in  the  body  of  the  animal,  and  so  are  not  absorbed,  but  are  retained 
in  the  small  intestine  until  they  have  undergone  further  enzj'me  action. 
This  is  effected  by  trypsin,  which  can  not  only  attack  protein  directly  and 
convert  it  into  proteoses  and  peptones,  as  does  pepsin  in  the  stomach, 
but  can  also  attack  the  peptones  and  proteoses  and  cleave  them  further. 
Erepsin,  an  enzyme  of  the  small  intestine,  is  of  powerful  action.  It 
attacks  nitrogenous  substances  after  they  have  become  proteoses  and 
peptones.  By  the  action  of  these  last  2  enzymes  the  proteoses  and 
peptones  have  their  molecules  further  cleaved  into  simpler  but  still  com- 
plex molecules,  water  being  again  taken  up  as  in  the  first  cleavage.  The 
simplest  products  of  such  cleavage  of  the  proteins  of  food  substances  are 
the  amino  acids. 

The  amino  acids  are  the  common  final  nitrogenous  nutritive  materials 
of  the  digestive  tract,  resulting  from  the  cleavage  of  the  complex  mole- 
cules of  the  food  proteins.  They  are  soluble  in  the  juices  of  the  small 
intestine  and  are  ready  for  transference  thru  the  intestinal  walls  into  the 
body  proper.  These  acids  are  still  relatively  complex  in  structure,  but 
are  much  simpler  than  the  proteoses  and  peptones  from  which  they  are 
derived.  The  amino  acids,  derived  from  the  nitrogenous  portion  of  foods, 
constitute  the  great  primary  nitrogenous  building  material  out  of  which 
the  protein  tissues  of  the  animal  body  are  built.  So  far  as  known,  protein 
compounds  taken  as  food  cannot  be  broken  apart  further  than  into  amino 
acids  and  remain  useful  in  body  building. 

50.  Tissue  building. — The  process  of  protein  digestion  is  the  breaking 
down  of  complex  nitrogenous  bodies  into  simpler  ones.  A  good  picture 
of  what  takes  place  can  be  had  by  likening  the  protein  molecule  to  a 
house  being  taken  down  hy  a  builder  in  order  that  he  may  construct 
another  from  the  materials.  An  animal  eating  protein  compounds  cannot 
use  the  protein  molecules  in  the  form  in  which  the  plant  has  built  them 
up  into  its  own  substance,  but  must  first  take  them  apart  to  a  greater  or 
less  extent,  and  from  the  parts  reconstruct  another  kind  of  protein  mole- 
cule suitable  for  its  own  use.  In  other  words,  its  protein  molecules  must 
have  a  different  architecture  from  those  of  the  plants  which  serve  as  its 
food.  The  proteoses  and  peptones  may  be  likened  to  the  roof  and  walls 
of  the  house.  These  walls  and  the  roof  can  be  broken  down  into  bricks 
and  tiles,  which  are  represented  by  the  amino  acids;  and  from  these 
the  animal,  beginning  anew,  can  construct  new  proteins  of  the  specific 
architecture  its  body  may  require. 

51.  Bacteria. — In  the  stomach  bacteria  find  unfavorable  conditions 
for  growth  because  of  the  free  acid  of  the  gastric  juice,  and  in  the 
smaU  intestine  the  presence  of  bile  rapidly  causes  the  death  of  bacteria. 


28  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Consequently  bacteria  play  little  or  no  part  in  digestion  in  either  the 
acid  stomach  or  the  alkaline  small  intestine.  They  do  act,  however,  on 
the  woody  fiber  or  cellulose,  and  in  some  cases  on  soluble  carbohydrates, 
in  the  first  three  stomachs  of  ruminants  and  in  the  caecum  of  the  horse. 
In  the  large  intestine  there  develops  a  profuse  bacterial  growth  of  various 
forms  which  thrive  in  the  absence  of  air.  The  presence  of  more  or 
less  undigested  food,  together  with  moisture,  warmth,  and  the  faint 
alkaline  reaction,  furnishes  ideal  conditions  for  bacterial  growth.  Some 
cellulose  is  decomposed  by  the  bacteria  with  the  liberation  of  carbon 
dioxid,  marsh  gas,  and  hydrogen.  Sulfureted  hydrogen  is  also  produced 
thru  putrefaction  of  protein  substances.  Some  nitrogen  is  found,  but 
this  has  its  source  in  the  air  taken  in  with  the  food.  Much  of  the  gas 
is  doubtless  absorbed  into  the  circulation  and  eliminated  from  the  lungs. 
Products  other  than  gas  which  are  mostly  toxic  or  poisonous  to  the 
animal  result  in  small  quantity  from  bacterial  growth  in  the  large  intes- 
tine. To  these  substances  the  odor  of  the  feces  is  largely  due.  If  the 
functions  of  the  bowels  are  impaired,  the  contents  may  remain  for  an 
undue  length  of  time,  in  which  case  excessive  putrefaction  may  cause 
the  animal  to  suffer  from  poisoning  due  to  the  absorption  of  the  products 
formed. 

52.  Feces. — The  solid  excrement,  or  dung,  of  farm  animals  is  that 
waste  which  finally  escapes  from  the  large  intestine,  the  solids  of  which, 
for  the  most  part,  have  never  been  within  the  body  proper.  It  is  com- 
posed principally  of  cellulose,  or  woody  fiber,  from  the  undigested  por- 
tions of  straw,  hay,  and  grasses;  and  also  of  seeds,  grains,  or  parts  of 
the  food  that  have  escaped  proper  mastication  and  digestion.  Matter 
not  properly  food,  such  as  hair  and  dirt  of  various  kinds  taken  into  the 
alimentary  tract,  escapes  thru  this  exit.  Finally  there  are  cast  away 
traces  of  bile  salts  and  some  mucus  from  the  lining  of  the  intestines, 
together  with  much  water. 

53.  Amid  digestion. — The  nitrogenous  bodies  of  plants  which  are  known 
collectively  as  "amids"  are,  as  before  stated,  simpler  nitrogenous  com- 
pounds than  proteins.  They  are  either  on  their  way  to  be  built  into 
proteins,  or  result  from  the  cleavage  of  proteins  in  the  plant  for  the 
purposes  of  transportation,  or  are  formed  in  the  partial  breaking  down 
and  decay  of  protein.  Very  little  is  actually  known  of  their  chemical 
nature,  but  they  are  probably  similar  in  character,  in  many  instances 
at  least,  to  certain  intermediary  products  of  digestion  in  the  animal  body. 
Since  amids  may  result  from  enzyme  action  in  the  plant,  their  digestion 
in  the  animal  may  be  looked  upon  as  similar  to  that  of  proteins. 

54.  Mineral  matter. — So  far  as  known,  the  mineral  matter,  or  ash,  in 
foods  is  absorbed  principally  from  the  small  intestine  and  is  usually  un- 
changed in  chemical  composition.  Changes  which  occur  in  the  different 
inorganic  salts,  or  mineral  matter,  are  entirely  due  to  such  chemical 
reactions  as  would  have  taken  place  outside  the  intestine  under  the  same 
conditions.    Insoluble  mineral  matter  in  food  may  become  soluble  because 


THE  ANIMAL  BODY— DIGESTION— METABOLISM         29 

of  the  hydrochloric  acid  in  the  gastric  juice  of  the  stomach,  but  this  is 
hardly  to  be  regarded  as  digestion. 

55.  The  work  of  the  digestive  glands. — The  brilliant  studies  of  the  Rus- 
sian physiologist,  Pawlow,^  and  his  associates,  followed  by  others  along 
similar  lines,  have  thrown  much  light  upon  the  subjects  of  digestion, 
appetite,  and  palatability.  In  order  to  study  the  processes  of  digestion, 
operations  such  as  the  following  were  performed  on  many  dogs:  (1) 
The  ducts,  or  tubes,  which  deliver  the  saliva  into  the  mouth  were  cut, 
turned  outward,  and  healed  into  the  cut  edges  of  the  skin,  so  that  when 
saliva  was  secreted  it  poured  out  thru  the  opening  and  could  be  caught 
in  glass  tubes  attached  to  the  dog's  head.  (2)  The  gullet,  which  carries 
food  from  the  mouth  to  the  stomach,  was  cut  across,  led  outward,  and 
healed  in  the  skin  at  the  throat,  so  that  when  food  was  swallowed  it 
would  pass  out  at  the  severed  end  and  fall  back  into  the  dish  out  of  which 
he  was  feeding.  Food  so  eaten  was  called  a  ' '  false  meal. ' '  In  many  cases 
a  dog  with  a  gullet  thus  severed  would  chew  and  swallow  the  "false 
meal"  again  and  again  with  apparent  satisfaction.  (3)  An  opening  was 
made  thru  the  side  of  a  dog  and  into  his  stomach.  On  the  healing  of  the 
stomach  wall  with  the  cut  in  the  skin,  the  investigator  was  enabled  to 
pass  food  directly  into  the  stomach  and  study  the  processes  of  digestion 
occurring  within  that  organ.  (4)  A  portion  of  the  stomach  was  con- 
stricted and  made  into  a  small  separate  chamber,  which  likewise  opened 
out  thru  the  side  of  the  dog.  Here  the  flow  of  juices  could  be  studied 
independent  of  admixture  with  food  placed  in  the  other  portion  of  the 
stomach.  (5)  The  small  intestine  was  drawn  to  the  side  of  the  dog,  and 
an  opening  made  in  it  the  same  as  in  the  stomach.  (6)  The  pancreatic 
duct  was  cut  and  led  outward,  so  that  its  secretion  could  likewise  be 
studied.  The  animals  usually  yielded  readily  to  the  operations  and  lived 
comfortable  lives,  so  that  the  results  were  normal. 

It  was  found  that  the  sight,  smell,  or  taste  of  food  not  only  started 
the  flow  of  saliva  in  the  mouth,  but  the  gastric  juice  also  began  to  pour 
from  the  walls  of  the  stomach  in  about  5  minutes  even  when  there  was 
no  food  in  that  organ.  The  gastric  secretions  which  are  brought  forth 
by  the  sight,  taste,  or  smell  of  food  are  designated  by  Pawlow  as  ' '  psychic 
secretions."  For  example,  when  a  dog  was  given  a  false  meal,  and  the 
swallowed  food  fell  out  of  the  fistula,  or  opening,  in  the  throat  and  back 
into  the  dish  out  of  which  the  dog  was  eating,  the  stomach  would  never- 
theless pour  forth  its  fluids  (psychic  secretions),  as  tho  the  food  had 
reached  it.  The  more  eagerly  the  dog  ate  his  false  meal  the  greater  was 
the  amount  of  gastric  secretions,  and  the  richer  they  were  in  both  acid 
and  pepsin.  The  gastric  secretions  were  strongest  and  most  copious  with 
that  food  which  was  liked  best,  and  food  given  in  small  portions  called 
forth  stronger  juices  than  when  the  whole  ration  was  given  at  one  time. 

These  psychic  secretions  do  not  last  long  enough  to  explain  the  long 
continued  secretion  of  gastric  juice  when  a  normal  meal  is  eaten. 

"The  Work  of  the  Digestive  Glands. 


30  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

In  studying  other  causes  which  might  produce  the  secretion,  it  was 
found  that  no  flow  could  be  started  by  such  mechanical  stimulation  as 
passing  a  feather  or  a  glass  rod  over  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  stom- 
ach. Water  caused  a  moderate  flow  of  gastric  juice,  but  when  fat,  egg 
albumin,  starch,  or  sugar  was  introduced  with  water  no  greater  flow  re- 
sulted than  -wdth  water  alone.  The  juice  of  meat,  however,  called  forth  a 
marked  flow.  This  explains  the  continuance  of  the  secretion  after  the 
psychic  secretion  ceases.  The  gastric  juice  secreted  as  a  result  of  the 
mental  stimulus  digests  some  of  the  protein  of  the  food,  thereby  forming 
soluble  nitrogenous  compounds,  which  in  tuna  stimulate  the  glands  to 
further  secretion. 

The  saliva  secreted  was  thin  and  watery  when  sand  or  dry,  powdered 
biscuit  was  placed  in  the  dog's  mouth,  and  much  more  concentrated 
when  stones  were  introduced,  which  the  dog  could  swallow  without  the 
aid  of  a  large  amount  of  saliva.  The  amount  of  saliva  and  gastric  juice 
also  depended  on  the  nature  of  the  food  fed.  Pawlow's  work  indicated 
that  the  enzyme  content  of  the  digestive  juices  depended  on  the  kind  of 
food,  the  glands  being  guided  by  a  form  of  instinct,  so  that,  for  example, 
the  pancreatic  juice  would  contain  more  trypsin  when  meat  was  fed  than 
when  starch  was  supplied.  However  fascinating  this  idea  is,  after  numer- 
ous more  recent  investigations  the  consensus  of  opinion  is  now  against 
such  an  adaptation  of  the  digestive  juices  to  the  food. 

It  is  indeed  fortunate  that  the  character  of  the  digestive  juices  of  an 
animal  are  not  changed  with  variations  in  the  food  consumed.  Between 
meal  times  the  secretory  cells  are  elaborating  the  enzymes  which  are  to 
be  contained  in  the  secretions  that  will  be  poured  forth  to  digest  the 
next  meal.  If  the  cells  formed  only  enzymes  suited  to  digestion  of  the 
previous  meal,  and  the  animal  then  consumed  food  of  a  different  kind  at 
the  following  meal,  the  juices  might  be  unsuited  to  its  digestion.  It  is 
therefore  wise  that  no  matter  what  food  the  animal  consumes,  the  diges- 
tive glands  pour  forth  the  enzymes  needed  for  the  digestion  of  all  the 
various  nutrients. 

56.  Palatability. — So  vague  and  illusive  is  the  subject  of  the  palatabil- 
ity  of  food  that  it  would  be  a  waste  of  space  to  discuss  it  at  any  length 
in  this  work.  "What  is  one  man's  meat  is  another  man's  poison"  is  an 
old  saying,  to  which  might  be  added,  "and  what  is  one  man's  meat  to-day 
may  be  his  poison  to-morrow";  for  desire,  appetite,  and  digestion  are 
not  the  same  with  any  given  individual  at  all  times  and  under  all  circum- 
stances. Even  with  farm  animals  palatability  is  greatly  influenced  and 
controlled  by  familiarity  and  habit  or  custom.  When  corn  silage  is  first 
placed  before  cows,  not  infrequently,  after  snifiing  it,  they  Avill  let  it 
alone  for  a  time.  They  then  usually  begin  nibbling  at  it,  and  later  may 
gorge  themselves  thereon  if  permitted.  In  such  cases  food  that  at  first 
seems  unpalatable  suddenly  becomes  palatable. 

In  his  early  experience  the  senior  author  was  feeding  2  lots  of  fat- 
tening steers,  one  on  shelled  corn  and  wheat  bran,  the  other  on  wheat 


THE  ANIMAL  BODY— DIGESTION— METABOLISM         31 

bran  and  shelled  corn  ground  to  a  meal.  After  some  weeks  of  successful 
feeding,  the  rations  for  the  2  lots  were  reversed.  The  steers  changed 
from  corn  meal  to  whole  corn  showed  a  strong  dislike  for  the  new  ration, 
eating  so  little  at  first  that  they  shrank  materially  in  weight.  From  this 
the  general  conclusion  might  have  been  drawn  that  shelled  corn  is  less 
palatable  than  corn  meal  for  fattening  steers.  But  the  steers  given  corn 
meal  in  place  of  shelled  corn  were  equally  dissatisfied.  This  shows  that 
custom  and  habit — something  entirely  extraneous  to  the  food — are  pos- 
sible factors  in  palatability. 

While  palatability  has  a  bearing  on  digestibility,  the  reverse  is  not 
necessarily  true,  for  humans  and  animals  often  show  fondness  for  kinds 
of  food  that  are  indigestible  or  worse.  Even  poisonous  substances  may 
be  palatable,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  food  which  the  human  or  animal 
does  not  relish  or  even  dislikes  may  have  high  nutritive  value  provided 
the  repugnance  thereto  is  overcome. 

Despite  the  complexities  of  the  subject,  every  practical  stockman  knows 
that  to  get  the  best  results  he  must  at  all  times  provide  feed  for  his 
animals  which  is  palatable  and  altogether  acceptable.  This  may  be  accom- 
plished in  considerable  degree  by  steadily  using  the  same  feeds  and  feed 
combinations,  and  in  always  avoiding  sudden  and  violent  changes  in 
their  character  and  in  the  manner  of  feeding. 


III.  Metabolism 

In  the  preceding  division  we  learned  how  digestion  prepares  the  nu- 
trients of  feeding  stuffs  for  the  nourishment  of  the  animal  body.  In  what 
follows  there  is  briefly  set  forth  how  the  digested  materials  are  brought 
into  the  body  proper  and  what  becomes  of  them.  Chemists  and  phys- 
iologists, working  together  with  skill  and  great  patience,  have  been  able 
quite  fully  to  set  forth  and  explain  the  processes  of  digestion.  "When 
the  nutrients  leave  the  alimentary  tract  and  enter  the  body,  the  difficulties 
of  following  them  and  learning  what  becomes  of  them  are  much  greater. 
Many  of  the  changes  that  occur  in  the  body  have  been  revealed  by  per- 
severing scientists,  but  concerning  others,  only  little  of  a  definite  nature 
can  yet  be  told. 

57.  Metabolism. — The  processes  by  which  the  digested  nutrients  of  the 
food  are  utilized  for  the  production  of  heat  and  work,  or  built  up  into 
the  living  matter  of  the  body,  in  turn  being  broken  down  and  once  more 
becoming  non-living  matter,  are  termed  metabolism.  Constructive  metab- 
olism, or  the  building-up  processes,  is  termed  anabolism,  while  the 
breaking-down  and  wasting  processes  are  styled  catahoUsm. 

58.  The  circulative  canals  of  the  body. — The  body  of  the  animal  is 
made  up  of  innumerable  cells,  which,  grouped  and  modified  in  myriads 
of  ways,  ultimately  form  all  its  organs  and  parts.  Everywhere  among 
the  cells  are  minute  spaces  called  lymph  spaces,  which  are  connected 
with  the  lymphatics,  a  set  of  vessels  which  permeate  most  parts  of  the 


32  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

body.  In  some  respects  the  lymphatics  resemble  the  veins,  but  they  are 
thinner  and  more  transparent  and  drain  in  only  one  direction — toward 
the  heart.  Within  these  vessels  is  a  clear  fluid  called  lymph.  These 
vessels  unite  with  one  another,  forming  a  network  in  many  places.  Here 
and  there  a  trunk  subdivides  into  five  or  six  smaller  vessels,  and  the 
latter  enter  a  nodule-like  body  called  a  lymphatic  gland.  From  this  gland 
come  several  small  vessels,  w^hich,  after  a  short  space,  again  unite  to  form 
a  trunk.  Gradualh^  these  trunks  unite,  forming  larger  trunks  until  a 
large  duct  and  another  smaller  one  are  formed  which  enter  veins  in  the 
neck. 

The  other  set  of  canals  is  the  arteries  and  veins,  which  permeate  every 
portion  of  the  body,  the  former  carrying  the  blood  away  from  the  heart, 
and  the  latter  carrying  it  to  the  heart.  At  the  extremities  of  the  arteries 
are  still  more  minute  tubes,  called  capillaries,  which  connect  them  with 
the  veins.  If  one  extends  his  arms  in  front  of  him  with  his  finger  tips 
touching,  his  body  will  represent  the  heart,  while  one  arm  will  represent 
an  artery  carrying  blood  from  the  heart,  and  the  other  a  vein  conveying 
blood  to  the  heart.  The  touching  fingers  will  correspond  to  the  capillaries 
connecting  the  arteries  with  the  veins,  and  the  space  all  about  the  fingers 
will  represent  the  surrounding  body  tissues.  In  general,  neither  the 
veins  nor  the  arteries  allow  any  substance  within  them  to  escape  thru 
their  walls  proper.  It  is  thru  the  capillaries  that  the  nutritive  matter 
carried  by  the  blood  finds  its  way  into  the  body  tissues  for  their  nourish- 
ment, and  thru  the  capillaries  and  the  lymphatics,  in  turn,  the  waste  of 
the  body  drains  back  into  the  blood  circulation.  The  cellular  tissues  of 
which  the  body  is  composed  are  thus  everywhere  permeated  by  the  ducts 
of  the  lymphatic  system  and  the  capillaries  of  the  blood  system.  The  cells 
of  the  body  are  bathed  by  lymph,  which  is  the  fluid  that  receives  and 
temporarily  holds  all  the  nutritive  substances  and  the  body  waste.  The 
mucous  membrane  lining  the  small  intestine  has  a  velvety  appearance, 
caused  by  innumerable  minute,  cone-like  projections,  or  tongues,  called 
villi,  which  project  into  the  interior  of  the  intestinal  tube,  thereby 
coming  into  contact  with  its  fluid  contents.  Within  each  villus  are 
lacteals,  or  drainage  tubes  of  the  lymphatic  system,  and  capillaries  of 
the  blood  system. 

59.  Absorption  of  fat. — As  before  told,  in  the  small  intestine  a  part  of 
the  fat  of  the  food  is  split  into  fatty  acids  and  glycerin  by  the  action  of 
lipase.  These  acids  and  the  alkalies  in  bile  combine  to  form  soaps 
which  aid  in  emulsifying  the  remaining  fat,  so  that  it  also  is  rapidly  acted 
on  by  the  lipase  and  changed  into  fatty  acids  and  glycerin.  Modem 
investigation  supports  the  view  that  the  fats  are  all  absorbed  as  soaps 
and  glycerin.  In  the  intestinal  wall  these  are  reconverted  into  neutral 
fats  which  enter  the  lacteals,  forming  with  the  lymph  a  milky  substance 
called  chyle.  This  is  carried  in  the  lymphatics  and  poured  into  a  vein 
near  the  shoulder,  thus  entering  the  blood  circulation. 

60.  Absorption  of  carbohydrates;  formation  of  glycogen. — The  glucose 
and  glucose-like  sugars  taken  up  from  the  intestinal  contents  by  the 


THE  ANIMAL  BODY— DIGESTION— METABOLISM        33 

capillaries  pass  into  the  veins,  and  thence  by  way  of  the  portal  vein  into 
the  liver.  Here  they  are  for  the  most  part  withdrawn  from  the  blood 
and  temporarily  stored  in  this  organ  as  glycogen,  a  carbohydrate  which 
is  closely  related  to  starch  and,  having  the  same  percentage  composition, 
is  sometimes  called  animal  starch.  Normally  from  1.5  to  4.0  per  ct.  of 
the  weight  of  the  liver  consists  of  glycogen.  The  glycogen  stored  in  the 
liver  is  gradually  changed  back  into  glucose,  and  then  doled  out  to  the 
system  as  required,  the  amount  of  glucose  in  the  blood  being  kept  at 
about  1  part  in  1,000.  The  property  of  converting  glucose  into  glycogen 
is  not  possessed  by  the  liver  alone,  but  by  the  tissues  of  the  body  gen- 
erally, especially  the  muscles.  "When  work  is  being  done  the  glycogen 
in  the  muscles  is  first  drawn  upon  to  furnish  glucose,  and  after  this  store 
has  been  exhausted,  the  glycogen  in  the  liver  furnishes  the  needed 
glucose. 

61.  Absorption  of  proteins. — It  was  formerly  supposed  that  the  amino 
acids,  the  products  of  protein  digestion,  which  are  absorbed  from  the 
small  intestine  thru  the  villi,  were  joined  together  while  still  within  the 
intestinal  walls,  thereby  forming  the  complex  proteins  of  the  blood 
called  serum  albumin  and  serum  globulin.  Thru  refinement  of  experi- 
mental methods  Van  Slyke,®  and  Folin  and  Denis^  have  been  able 
to  prove  that  the  amino  acids  are  not  necessarily  thus  built  into  blood 
proteins  in  the  intestinal  wall,  but  that  they  may  pass  into  the  blood 
stream  without  being  united.  They  are  then  carried  into  the  general 
circulation,  and  from  the  blood  stream  each  of  the  various  tissues  of  the 
body — muscles,  organs,  etc. — absorbs  a  certain  amount  of  the  amino  acids 
for  growth,  or  the  repair  of  the  daily  waste  of  protein  matter. 

Mineral  matter  is  taken  up  from  the  small  intestines,  and  water  is 
absorbed  all  along  the  alimentary  tract,  from  the  stomach  to  the  large 
intestine. 

62.  Distribution  of  absorbed  nutrients. — ^We  have  seen  that  the  digested 
fats  which  are  to  nourish  the  body  are  poured  into  the  blood  current  by 
way  of  the  lymphatics,  while  the  glucose  and  the  amino  acids  enter  the 
blood  directly  thru  the  capillaries  and  veins.  The  veins  from  the  small 
intestine  unite  and  become  the  portal  vein,  which  passes  the  blood  thru 
the  liver  and  on  into  the  heart.  The  various  nutrient  materials,  having 
been  mingled  with  the  blood,  are  carried  thru  the  circulation  to  the  capil- 
laries. 

These  are  so  constructed  that,  when  the  blood  finally  reaches  them, 
the  nutritive  substances  it  carries  pass  thru  their  walls  and  are  mingled 
with  lymph  that  bathes  the  myriad  body  cells.  In  this  manner  all  the 
nutrients,  having  been  especially  prepared  and  transported,  are  available 
for  the  nourishment  of  every  portion  of  the  body.  Oxygen  is  taken  into 
the  blood  thru  the  lungs,  and  water  and  mineral  matters  are  absorbed 
from  the  digestive  tract.  All  are  carried  by  the  arteries  and  pass  thru 
the  capillaries  into  the  lymph. 

•Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  12,  1912,  399-410;  16,  1913,  187-233. 

^Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  11,  1912,  87-95;   12,  1912,  141-162. 


34  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

63.  Use  of  the  absorbed  nutrients. — The  absorbed  nutrients,  thus 
transferred  to  all  the  tissues  of  the  body,  may  be  oxidized,  or  burned,  to 
warm  the  animal,  or  to  produce  energy  to  carry  on  the  vital  processes 
and  to  perform  work,  as  shown  in  the  following  chapters.  In  case  more 
nutrients  are  supplied  than  are  required  for  these  purposes,  the  excess 
may  be  transformed  into  body  tissue  proper,  as  shown  in  Chapter  V. 
The  glucoses  may  be  converted  into  fats  and  stored  as  body  fat,  as  may 
also  the  fats  derived  directly  from  the  food  fats.  The  amino  acids  may 
be  built  up  into  body  protein  or,  if  not  needed  for  this  purpose,  a  portion 
of  their  carbon,  hydrogen,  and  oxygen  may  be  converted  into  fat,  while 
the  nitrogen  is  excreted,  chiefly  in  the  form  of  urea.  The  highest  use 
of  the  proteins,  however,  is  the  formation  of  nitrogenous  tissues — the 
muscles,  brain,  nerves,  skin,  hair,  and  various  organs  of  the  body. 

64.  Disposal  of  body  waste. — In  breaking  up  the  food  nutrients  within 
the  body  proper  for  the  production  of  heat,  and  in  the  changes  which 
occur  in  building  them  into  body  tissues,  carbon  dioxid  is  evolved. 
Most  of  this  escapes  into  the  capillaries  and  is  carried  in  the  blood  by  the 
veins  to  the  lungs,  where  it  is  eliminated  in  breathing,  a  portion,  however, 
escaping  by  way  of  the  skin.  Some  of  the  marsh  gas  produced  by  fer- 
mentations in  the  stomach  of  herbivora  is  absorbed  into  the  blood  and 
thro-WTi  out  by  the  lungs. 

Nearly  all  of  the  nitrogenous  waste,  representing  the  breaking  down  of 
protein  material  in  the  body,  is  excreted  in  the  urine  thru  the  kidneys, 
tho  a  trace  is  given  off  in  the  sweat  and  a  more  appreciable  amount  in 
the  feces.  In  mammals  this  waste  takes  the  form  principally  of  urea. 
In  calculating  the  total  amount  of  protein  metabolism  it  is  customary  to 
determine  the  total  nitrogen  in  the  urine  and  multiply  this  by  6.25.  This 
gives  the  amount  of  protein  broken  down,  since  it  is  assumed  that,  on 
the  average,  nitrogen  forms  16  per  ct.  of  the  total  weight  of  the  protein 
molecule.  (17) 

A  great  variety  of  other  end-products  of  metabolism  are  likewise 
eliminated  by  the  kidneys  thru  the  urine.  The  inorganic  salts,  such  as 
common  salt,  also  escape  from  the  body  principally  in  the  urine.  Small 
amounts  of  most  of  the  substances  eliminated  in  the  urine  are  also 
excreted  by  the  skin  thru  the  sweat  glands.  A  considerable  portion  of 
certain  inorganic  salts  containing  calcium,  magnesium,  and  phosphorus 
is  eliminated    by  way  of  the  intestines. 

65.  Summary. — In  Chapter  I  we  learned  how  the  various  inorganic 
compounds  taken  by  plants  from  earth,  air,  and  water  are  built  into 
organic  plant  compounds,  and  how  in  such  building  the  energy  of  the 
sun  becomes  latent  or  hidden  in  the  substance  of  the  plant.  In  this 
chapter  we  have  learned  how  the  animal,  feeding  on  plants,  separates 
the  useful  from  the  waste  by  mastication  and  digestion,  and  how  the 
digested  nutrients,  after  undergoing  more  or  less  change,  are  conveyed 
from  the  alimentary  tract  to  the  body  tissues  and  used  for  building  the 
body,  for  warming  it,  or  in  performing  work.    All  the  energy  manifested 


THE  ANIMAL  BODY— DIGESTION— METABOLISM         35 

by  living  animals  and  the  heat  evolved  in  their  bodies  represent  the 
energy  of  the  sun  originally  stored  in  food  substances  by  plants.  With 
the  breaking  down  of  the  nutrient  matters  in  the  bodies  of  animals,  and 
in  the  decay  of  the  animal  substance  itself,  the  organic  matter  loses  the 
condition  of  life  and  falls  back  to  the  inorganic  condition,  once  more  be- 
coming a  part  of  the  earth,  air,  and  water  as  inert  matter.  After  this 
degradation  it  is  again  gathered  up  by  the  plants  and  once  more  starts 
on  the  upward  path.  Such  is  the  eternal  round  of  Nature,  in  which 
plants,  animals,  the  energj-  of  the  sun,  and  the  mysterious  guiding  prin- 
ciple of  life  all  play  their  parts. 


CHAPTER  III 

MEASURING  THE  USEFULNESS  OF  FEEDS 


I.  Digestibility  of  Feeds 

In  determining  the  relative  usefulness  of  different  feeding  stuffs  to  the 
animal  it  is  necessary  to  find  a  means  of  measuring  the  amount  of 
nutrients  which  each  actually  furnishes.  The  most  simple  means  for 
such  measurement  is  to  determine  the  digestibility  of  the  several 
nutrients  of  a  feed ;  i.e.,  the  percentage  of  the  total  crude  protein,  fiber, 
nitrogen-free  extract,  and  fat  which  is  digested  by  the  animal.  The 
digestible  matter  is  obviously  the  only  portion  of  the  feed  which  is  of  use, 
since  the  remainder  passes  out  in  the  feces  without  ever  having  really 
entered  the  body.  In  studying  the  digestibility  of  a  given  feed  the 
chemist  first  determines  by  analysis  the  percentage  of  each  nutrient  it 
contains.  Weighed  quantities  of  the  feed  are  then  given  to  the  animal, 
and  the  feces  voided  during  a  stated  period  are  saved  and  weighed,  and 
samples  are  analyzed.  The  difference  between  the  amount  of  each 
nutrient  fed  and  that  found  in  the  feces  resulting  therefrom  represents 
the  digested  portion. 

66.  A  digestion  trial  with  sheep. — To  show  how  the  digestibility  of  a 
feed  is  determined,  the  follomng  results  are  given  from  an  actual  diges- 
tion trial  conducted  by  Armsby  at  the  Wisconsin  Station.^  Desiring  to 
ascertain  the  digestibility  of  clover  hay  and  malt  sprouts,  2  wethers 
weighing  87  lbs.  each  were  confined  in  specially  constructed  apartments 
and  fed  from  zinc-lined  boxes  to  prevent  waste.  Each  day's  allowance 
was  weighed  and  samples  analyzed.  The  feces  voided  by  the  wethers 
were  collected  in  rubber-lined  bags  attached  to  their  hind  quarters  by  a 
light  harness.  These  bags  were  emptied  each  24  hours,  and  the  contents 
weighed  and  analyzed.  Feeding  progressed  6  days  before  the  trial  prop- 
er began,  in  order  that  all  residues  of  previous  feed  might  have  passed 
from  the  alimentary  tract.  During  the  first  period  each  sheep,  as  shown 
in  the  table,  was  fed  700  grams  (about  1.5  lbs.)  of  clover  hay  daily,  which 
was  consumed  without  waste. 

Digestion  trial  with  sheep  fed  clover  hay;  average  for  1  day 


Dry 

matter 

Crude 
protein 

Carbohydrates 

Fiber 

N-free 
extract 

Fat 

Fed  700  grams  hay,  containing .  . 
Excreted    610.6    grams  feces, 
containing 

Grams 

586.1 
288.6 

Grams 

77.7 
40.4 

Grams 

191.5 
101.5 

Grams 

276.7 
119.4 

Grams 

10.7 
7.9 

Digested                            

297.5 
50.8 

37.3 
48.0 

90.0 
47.1 

157.3 
56.8 

2  8 

Per  cent  digested 

26.2 

'Wis,  Rpt.  1884. 


36 


MEASURING  THE  USEFULNESS  OF  FEEDS 


37 


The  table  shows  that  the  700  grains  of  hay  fed  contained  586.1  grams 
of  dry  matter,  and  that  the  feces  for  1  day,  which  represented  the  un- 
digested portion  of  the  ration,  contained  288.6  grams.  The  difference, 
297.5  grams,  or  50.8  per  ct.,  is  held  to  be  the  ary  matter  digested.  The 
average  dry  matter  digested  in  2  such  trials  was  51.2  per  ct.  Of  the  77.7 
grams  of  crude  protein  supplied,  40.4  grams  appeared  in  the  feces.  The 
difference,  37.3  grams,  or  48  per  ct.,  represenis  the  digested  crude  pro- 
tein. In  like  manner  the  percentage  of  the  other  nutrients  digested  was 
determined. 

The  average  percentage  of  each  nutrient  digested  in  a  feeding  stuff  is 
termed  the  coefficient  of  digestibility,  or  digestion  coefficient,  for  that 
nutrient  in  the  feed. 

67.  Digestibility  determined  by  difference. — Ruminants  and  horses  are 
not  normally  fed  on  concentrates  alone.  Therefore,  when  it  is  desired  to 
determine  the  digestibility  of  a  concentrate,  the  animal  is  first  fed  rough- 
age alone  and  the  amount  digested  determinea.  The  concentrate  to  be 
studied  is  then  added  to  the  roughage,  and  the  total  nutrients  digested 
from  both  feeds  are  found.  By  difference,  the  amount  of  digestible 
nutrients  coming  from  the  concentrate  is  computed. 

To  determine  the  digestibility  of  malt  sprouts,  the  sheep  used  in  the 
above  trial  were  next  fed  a  ration  of  600  grams  of  clover  hay  and  175 
grams  of  malt  sprouts,  as  shown  below : 


Trial  with  sheep  to  ascertain  the  digestibility  of  malt  sprouts 

Dry 

matter 

Crude 
protein 

Carbohydrates 

Fiber 

N-free 
extract 

Fat 

Fed  600  grams  hav 

Grams 

500.9 
154.1 

Grams 

67.4 
36.8 

Grams 

163.3 
21.0 

Grams 

236.3 

87.5 

Grams 
9  4 

Fed  175  grams  malt  sprouts 

2.2 

Total 

655.0 
295.2 

104.2 
41.5 

184.3 
100.6 

323.8 
129.0 

11  6 

5.5 

Digested,  total 

Digested  from  hay 

359.8 
256.4 

62.7 
33.2 

83.7 
76.8 

194.8 
135.2 

6.1 

3  8 

Digested  from  malt  sprouts 

103.4 
67.1 

29.5 
80.2 

6.9 
32.9 

59.6 
68.1 

2.3 
104.5 

The  digestibility  of  malt  sprouts  was  determined  indirectly  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner:  The  dry  matter  of  the  clover  hay  and  malt  sprouts 
together  equaled  655  grams.  The  excreted  dry  matter  from  this  equaled 
295.2  grams,  so  that  the  total  quantity  digested  was  the  difference,  or 
359.8  grams.  In  the  previous  trial  it  was  found  as  the  average  of  2 
periods  that  51.2  per  ct.  of  the  dry  matter  in  clover  hay  was  digestible. 
Taking  51.2  per  ct.  of  500.9  grams  gives  256.4  grams,  which  is  the 
probable  quantity  of  dry  matter  that  was  digested  from  the  hay.    Sub- 


38  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

tracting  256.4  from  359.8  grams,  there  is  left  103.4  grams,  or  67.1  per  ct., 
which  is  taken  as  the  per  cent  of  dry  matter  digested  from  the  malt 
sprouts.  In  a  similar  manner  the  other  digestion  coefficients  for  malt 
sprouts  are  determined.  The  table  reports  104.5  per  ct.  of  the  fat  of 
malt  sprouts  digested — an  absurdity.  The  total  quantity  of  fat  in  the 
feeds  used  in  this  trial  was  so  small  that  an  error  like  this  could 
easily  occur. 

In  digestion  trials  it  is  commonly  assumed  that  all  matter  appearing 
in  the  feces  has  escaped  the  action  of  the  digestive  ferments  and  so  rep- 
resents the  indigestible  part  of  the  food.  Tho  substantially  correct,  there 
are  exceptions  to  this  assumption.  The  feces  contain  some  waste  from 
the  body  itself,  such  as  bile  residues,  matter  which  sloughs  off  from  the 
walls  of  the  alimentary  tract,  and  unabsorbed  digestive  juices.  In  a 
metabolism  trial  with  a  goat  at  the  Wisconsin  Station  fed  a  ration  of 
straw,  which  is  low  in  protein,  Steenbock,  Nelson,  and  Hart-  found  more 
nitrogen  in  the  feces  than  in  the  original  feed,  due  to  the  absorption  of 
digestive  juices  by  the  bulky  straw.  Yet  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
protein  contained  in  the  straw  must  have  been  digested. 

By  treating  the  feces  with  an  acid  solution  of  pepsin,  all  the  nitroge- 
nous compounds  except  the  true  undigested  food  protein  may  be  dissolved 
therefrom,  and  the  actual  digestion  coefficient  thus  found  for  the  protein. 
In  a  few  digestion  trials  in  recent  years  this  method  has  been  employed. 

Armsby  has  shown^  that  ruminants  feeding  on  coarse  forage  convert 
much  of  the  fiber  into  marsh  gas,  or  methane,  which  has  no  nutritive 
value.  In  such  cases  digestion  trials  will  show  too  high  a  value  for 
the  fiber. 

In  digestion  studies  the  ether  extract,  or  so-called  fat,  is  determined 
by  the  use  of  ether,  which  dissolves  not  only  the  true  fat,  but  also 
chlorophyll,  wax,  bile  residues,  and  other  substances  which  are  not  true 
fat.  Due  to  this,  and  because  the  fats  in  feeding  stuffs  are  usually  in 
relatively  small  amount,  errors  are  liable  to  occur  in  their  determination. 
Fraps  and  Rather*  at  the  Texas  Station,  on  studying  the  ether  extract 
obtained  from  18  different  forage  plants,  found  that  only  42  per  ct.  was 
true  fat.  The  digestibility  of  the  true  fat  averaged  66.4  per  ct. ;  while 
only  29.1  per  ct.  of  the  remainder  (not  true  fat)  was  digestible.  The 
ether  extract  of  seeds,  which  is  nearly  all  true  fat,  is  highly  digestible. 

68.  Coefficients  of  digestibility. — The  coefficients  of  digestibility  for  the 
various  feeding  stuffs,  as  determined  by  the  experiment  stations  of  this 
country,  have  been  compiled  by  the  authors  and  are  presented  in  Appen- 
dix Table  II.  In  the  case  of  feeds  for  which  American  data  are  not 
available,  coefficients  from  European  sources  have  been  included.  From 
this  extensive  table  the  following  examples  are  taken  to  show  the  diges- 
tibility of  typical  feeds : 

"Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  19,  1914,  p.  399.        "Tex.  Bui.  150. 

*  Cyclopedia  Am.  Agr.,  Ill,  p.  65. 


MEASURING  THE  USEFULNESS  OF  FEEDS 


39 


Coefficients  of  digestibility  of  typical  feeding  stuffs,  from  Appendix 
Table  II 


Feeding  stuS 


Concentrates 

Dent  corn 

Oats 

Wheat,  ground 

Wheat  bran 

Flax  seed 

Linseed  meal,  old  process 
Roughages 

Timothy  hay 

Red  clover  hay 

Oat  straw 

Kentucky  bluegrass, 
green 

Com  silage 

Mangels 


No.  of 
trials 


Dry 

matter 


Per  ct. 

90 
70 

87 
65 
77 
79 

55 
59 

54 

56 
66 

87 


Crude 
protein 


Per  ct. 
74 
78 

74 
78 
91 
89 

48 
59 

28 

57 
51 
70 


Carbohydrates 


Per  ct. 
57 

35 
59 
31 

60 
57 

50 
54 
60 


N-free 
extract 


Per  ct. 
94 
81 
93 

72 
55 

78 

62 
66 
51 

61 

71 
95 


Per  ct. 
93 

87 
72 


The  table  shows  that  for  dent  corn  90  per  ct.  of  the  total  dry  matter, 
74  per  ct.  of  the  crude  protein,  57  per  ct.  of  the  fiber,  94  per  ct.  of  the 
nitrogen-free  extract,  and  93  per  ct.  of  the  fat  is  digestible.  Feeds  which 
contain  little  fiber,  such  as  corn  and  wheat,  show  high  digestibility,  be- 
cause their  nutrients  are  not  protected  from  the  action  of  the  digestive 
juices  by  thick  cell  walls  of  cellulose,  or  fiber.  Owing  to  their  larger  fiber 
content,  oats  and  wheat  bran  are  less  digestible  than  corn  or  wheat.  As 
a  class  the  roughages  are  high  in  fiber,  and  therefore  much  less  digestible 
than  the  concentrates.  This  will  be  noted  on  comparing  the  digestion 
coefficients  for  timothy  hay  and  oat  straw  with  those  for  corn  and  wheat. 
The  dry  matter  of  mangels  is  as  well  digested  as  that  of  wheat,  again 
showing  that  roots  are  more  like  concentrates  than  roughages. 

69.  Digestible  nutrients  in  feeding  stuffs. — To  determine  the  digestible 
nutrients  in  any  feeding  stuff  the  total  amount  of  each  nutrient  in  100 
lbs.  thereof  is  multiplied  by  the  digestion  coefficient  for  that  nutrient. 
For  example,  100  lbs.  of  dent  corn  contain  10.1  pounds  of  crude  protein 
(Appendix  Table  I),  of  which  74  per  ct.  is  digestible,  as  shown  by  the 
preceding  table.  Accordingly,  there  are  7.5  lbs.  of  digestible  protein  in 
100  lbs.  of  this  grain.  By  this  method  the  data  contained  in  the  exten- 
sive Table  III  of  the  Appendix  have  been  computed.  The  following 
examples  are  here  taken  from  this  table  for  illustration  and  study. 

In  Appendix  Tables  I  and  II  the  fiber  and  nitrogen-free  extract  are 
given  in  separate  columns,  for,  tho  of  the  same  chemical  composition, 
these  components  often  differ  widely  in  digestibility.  In  preparing  the 
tables  showing  the  digestible  nutrients  in  feeding  stuffs,  the  digestible 
fiber  and  digestible  nitrogen-free  extract  are  determined  separately  and 
the  results  combined  under  the  term  carbohydrates,  as  is  done  in  this 


40 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


table.  The  digestible  carbohydrates  m  dent  corn  are  computed  as  fol- 
lows: According  to  Appendix  Table  I,  100  lbs.  of  dent  com  contains 
2.0  lbs.  of  fiber,  57  per  ct.  of  which  is  digestible,  as  shown  in  Appendix 
Table  II.  Likewise  there  are  70.9  lbs.  of  nitrogen-free  extract,  94  per  ct. 
of  which  is  digestible.  Multiplying  in  each  case  and  adding  the  products, 
we  have  67.8  lbs.,  which  is  placed  in  the  column  marked  "digestible 
carbohydrates. ' ' 

Digestible  nutrients  in  100  lbs.  of  typical  feeding  stuffs,  from  Appendix 

Table  III 


Feeding  stuff 


Concentrates 

Dent  corn 

Oats 

Wheat 

Wheat  bran 

Flax  seed 

Linseed  meal,  old  process 
Roughages 

Timothy  hay 

Red  clover  hay 

Oat  straw 

Kentucky  bluegrass, 
green 

Com  silage,  recent 

analyses 

Mangels 


Total 

dry 

matter 

Digestible 

nutrients 

Crude 
protein 

Carbo- 
hydrates 

Fat 

Total 
(inc.  fat 
X  2.25) 

Lba. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

89.5 
90.8 
89.8 
89.9 
90.8 
90.9 

7.5 

9.7 

9.2 

12.5 

20.6 

30.2 

67.8 
52.1 
67.5 
41.6 
17.0 
32.6 

4.6 
3.8 

1.5 

3.0 

29.0 

6.7 

85.7 

70.4 
80.1 
60.9 
102.8* 
77.9 

88.4 
87.1 
88.5 

3.0 
7.6 
1.0 

42.8 
39.3 
42.6 

1.2 
1.8 
0.9 

48.5 
51.0 
45.6 

31.6 

2.3 

14.8 

0.6 

18.5 

26.3 
9.4 

1.1 
1.0 

15  0 
6.1 

0.7 
0.1 

17.7 
7.3 

Nutritive 
ratio 


1:10.4 


6.3 
7.7 
3.9 
4.0 
1.6 


1:15.2 
1:  5.7 
1:44.6 

1:  7.0 

1:15.1 
1:  6.3 


♦The  high  value  for  flaxseed  is  due  to  the  fact  that  its  29.0  lbs.  of  digestible 
fat  equals  65  lbs.  of  digestible  carbohydrates  (29.0x2.25=65.2). 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  tji^ical  feeds  presented  in  this  table  show 
w4de  differences  in  the  amount  of  different  digestible  nutrients  they 
furnish.  Corn  and  wheat  are  high  in  digestible  carbohydrates  and 
rather  low  in  digestible  protein,  while  wheat  bran  and  linseed  meal  are 
high  in  digestible  protein  but  low  in  digestible  carbohydrates.  Linseed 
meal  contains  more  digestible  protein  and  less  than  one-fourth  as  much 
digestible  fat  as  the  flax  seed  from  which  it  comes.  The  roughages  range 
lower  in  digestible  nutrients  than  the  concentrates.  Oat  straw  is  es- 
pecially low  in  digestible  protein,  while  immature  and  actively  growing 
pasture  grass  will  contain  nearly  as  much  digestible  protein  as  wheat 
bran,  if  cut  and  dried  to  the  same  water  content. 

70.  Nutritive  ratio. — As  protein  serves  special  uses  in  the  body,  in 
discussions  of  feeding  stuffs  and  rations  the  term  nutritive  ratio  is  used 
to  show  the  proportion  of  digestible  protein  contained  in  comparison 
with  the  other  nutrients.  By  nutritive  ratio  is  meant  the  ratio  which 
exists  in  any  given  feeding  stuff  between  the  digestible  crude  protein  and 
the  combined  digestible  carbohydrates  and  fat.    It  is  determined  in  the 


MEASURING  THE  USEFULNESS  OF  FEEDS  41 

following  manner:  The  digestible  fat  in  100  lbs,  of  the  given  feed  is 
multiplied  by  2,25,  because  fat  will  produce  2.25  times  as  much  heat  on 
being  burned  in  the  body  as  do  the  carbohydrates.  The  product  is  then 
added  to  the  digestible  carbohydrates  and  the  sum  is  divided  by  the 
amount  of  digestible  crude  protein,  the  quotient  being  the  second  factor 
of  the  ratio.  The  manner  of  computing  the  nutritive  ratio  of  dent  com 
is  as  follows : 

Second  factor  of 
Diges.  fat                               Heat  equiv.                         Diges.  carbohy.  nutritive  ratio 
(4.6                X                2.25)               +               67.8 
=  10.4 

7.5 

Diges.  crude  protein 

Nutritive  ratios  are  expressed  with  the  colon,  thus,  1 :10.4.  The  nutri- 
tive ratio  of  dent  com  is  therefore  1 :10.4  (read  1  to  10.4)  ;  i.e.,  for  each 
pound  of  digestible  crude  protein  in  corn  there  are  10.4  lbs.  of  digestible 
carbohydrates  or  fat  equivalent.  A  feed  or  ration  having  much  crude 
protein  in  proportion  to  carbohydrates  and  fat  combined  is  said  to  have 
a  narrow  7iutritive  ratio;  if  the  reverse,  it  has  a  wide  nutritive  ratio. 
Oat  straw  has  the  extremely  wide  nutritive  ratio  of  1 :44.6,  because  of 
its  low  content  of  digestible  protein  compared  with  the  carbohydrates 
and  fat ;  oats  the  medium  one  of  1 : 6.3 ;  and  protein-rich  linseed  meal  the 
very  narrow  ratio  of  1:1.6,  the  carbohydrates  being  less  than  twice  the 
crude  protein. 

When  the  total  digestible  nutrients  (including  fat  X  2.25)  in  a  feed 
or  ration  are  given,  as  in  Appendix  Table  III  and  this  sample  table,  the 
nutritive  ratio  may  be  computed  by  simply  subtracting  the  digestible 
crude  protein  from  the  total  digestible  nutrients,  and  dividing  the  re- 
mainder by  the  digestible  crude  protein.  For  example,  the  nutritive 
ratio  of  dent  corn  may  be  found  thus:  (85,6—7.5)  -^  7.5  =  10.4,  second 
term  of  nutritive  ratio. 

The  term  carbonaceous  feed,  which  has  recently  come  into  common 
use,  is  a  convenient  designation  for  a  feeding  stuff  having  a  wide  nutri- 
tive ratio.  Similarly,  the  term  nitroge^ious  feed  designates  a  feeding 
stuff  having  a  narrow  nutritive  ratio. 

II.  Respiration  Studies 

Tables  of  digestible  nutrients  tell  what  part  of  the  food  may  be 
digested  and  absorbed  and  thus  really  enter  the  body  of  the  animal,  but 
they  throw  no  light  on  the  use  or  disposition  made  of  the  nutrients  when 
once  they  are  within  the  body.  To  obtain  such  information  the  respira- 
tion apparatus  has  been  devised.  This  is  an  air-tight  chamber,  arranged 
in  such  manner  and  with  such  devices  that  all  that  enters  and  comes 
from  the  body  of  the  animal  placed  within  it  can  be  accurately  measured 
and  studied.  In  some  cases  mechanical  work  is  performed,  while  in  others 
the  subject  is  at  rest.     Everything  which  passes  into  the  animal — air. 


42 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


food,  and  water — is  carefully  measured  and  analyzed  so  that  the  exact 
intake  of  the  body  is  known.  The  air  is  in  turn  drawn  from  the  chamber 
and  analyzed,  and  the  solid  and  liquid  excrements  passed  by  the  animal 
are  all  likewise  weighed  and  analyzed.  If  the  intake  is  larger  than  the 
outgo,  the  animal  has  increased  in  body  substance;  if  less,  it  has  lost. 
The  respiration  apparatus  has  been  used  for  studying  the  production  of 
work  and  the  formation  of  the  tissues  of  the  body,  both  the  lean  flesh  and 
the  body  fat.  Thru  this  means  scientists  have,  in  some  measure,  been 
able  to  determine  what  becomes  of  the  food  animals  consume. 

71.  A  respiration  study. — The  use  of  the  respiration  apparatus  is  illus- 
trated by  the  following  example  from  Henneberg^  of  the  Weende  Station, 
Germany.  A  full-grown  ox  weighing  1,570  lbs.  was  placed  in  the  respira- 
tion chamber.  During  one  day  of  the  trial  it  was  fed  11.1  lbs.  clover  hay, 
13.2  lbs.  oat  straw,  8.2  lbs.  bean  meal,  and  2.13  oz.  salt,  and  drank  123.7 
lbs.  water.  The  intake  and  outgo  of  the  body  for  the  day  are  shown  in 
the  following  table : 


One  day's  study  with  a  1570-lh 

.  ox  in 

2  respiration  apparatus 

Mineral 
matter 

Carbon 

Hydro- 
gen 

Nitro- 
gen 

Oxygen 

A.  Intake  of  body 

156 .25  lbs.  feed  and  water,  containing 

27.94  lbs.  dry  matter 

128  31  lbs.  water 

Lbs. 
1.96 

Lbs. 

12.84 

Lbs. 

1.65 
14.26 

Lbs. 
0.68 

Lbs. 

10.81 
114.05 

15.99 

172  24  lbs    total  intake 

1.96 

1.27 
0.67 

12.84 

5.69 
0.49 

5.89 
0.04 

15.91 

9.28 
3.26 

0.02 
3.11 

0.68 

0.23 
0.37 

140.85 

B.  Outgo  from  body 
120.25  lbs.  excrements,  viz: 

89  61  lbs.  feces 

73.14 

25.85 

49  .71  lbs.  respiration  products,  viz: 

21 .61  lbs.  carbon  dioxid 

0 .06  lb.  methane  gas 

28  04  lbs  water       

15.72 
24.93 

IfiQ  Qfi  Ihs    total  out^'O 

1.94 

12.11 

15.67 

0.60 

139.64 

A-B.  Production  in  body 

0 .48  lb.    dry  lean  meat 

n  62  lb     fat                      

0.02 

0.25 
0.48 

0.03 
0.08 

0Vl"3 

0.08 

0.12 
0.06 

1.03 

2 .28  lbs.,  total  remaining  in  body 

0.02 

0.73 

0.24 

0.08 

1.21 

72.  Intake  of  the  body.— The  first  part  of  the  table  (A)  shows  that 
during  the  24  hours  of  the  trial  the  ox  confined  within  the  respiration 
apparatus  took  into  his  digestive  tract  27.94  lbs.  of  dry  matter  in  his 
food  and  128.31  lbs.  of  water  in  food  and  drink,  and  breathed  in  air 


'Neue  Beitrage,  Gottingen,  I,  1870,  p.  XIX;  Kraft,  Lehrb.  Landw.,  Ill,  p.  17. 


MEASURING  THE  USEFULNESS  OF  FEEDS  43 

containing  15.99  lbs.  of  oxygen,  a  total  intake  for  the  day  of  172.24  lbs. 
The  amounts  of  mineral  matter,  carbon,  hydrogen,  nitrogen,  and  oxygen 
taken  into  the  body  in  air,  food,  and  water  are  shown  in  the  respective 
columns  of  the  table. 

73.  Outgo  from  the  body. — The  next  division  of  the  table  (B)  shows 
that  during  the  day  there  passed  from  the  ox  120.25  lbs.  of  excrements, 
of  which  89.61  lbs.  was  feces  and  30.64  lbs.  urine.  From  the  lungs  and 
skin  there  was  exhaled  49.71  lbs.  of  gas  and  vapor,  somewhat  less  than 
half  of  which  was  carbon  dioxid;  a  trace,  methane  gas;  and  the  re- 
mainder, water. 

Of  the  12.84  lbs.  of  carbon  contained  in  the  ration,  there  was  voided  in 
the  undigested  matter  of  the  feces  5.69  lbs.,  or  about  two-fifths  the  total 
amount.  Similarly,  about  one-third  of  the  nitrogen  in  the  food  never 
entered  the  body  proper  from  the  stomach  and  intestines,  but  passed 
away  in  the  voidings.  That  part  of  the  food  which  was  digested  and 
absorbed  into  the  body  was  used  to  carry  on  the  life  functions  and  to 
repair  the  body  tissues,  or  was  stored  as  body  substance. 

The  30.64  lbs.  of  urine  excreted  contained  0.37  lb.  of  nitrogen.  This 
nitrogenous  waste  came  either  from  the  food  which  the  ox  had  consumed 
during  the  day,  or  resulted  from  the  small,  continuous  wastage  of  the 
protein  tissues  of  the  body.  Since  about  16  per  ct.  of  such  protein  matter 
as  was  contained  in  the  food  or  composed  the  body  tissues  of  the  ox  was 
nitrogen,  by  multiplying  the  0.37  lb.  of  nitrogen  by  100/16,  or  6.25  (17), 
we  find  that  2.31  lbs.  of  the  protein  of  the  feed  or  from  the  body  was 
broken  down  and  passed  away  in  the  urine  during  the  day. 

74.  Production  in  the  body. — By  subtracting  the  total  outgo  of  the  body 
from  the  total  intake,  we  obtain  the  figures  in  the  last  part  of  the  table, 
A-B.  These  show  that  out  of  172.24  lbs.  of  food,  water,  and  air  taken  in 
by  the  ox  during  the  day,  2.28  lbs.  remained  as  some  part  of  the  animal 
body.  Of  this,  0.02  lb.  was  mineral  matter  or  ash ;  0.73  lb.  carbon ;  0.24 
lb.  hydrogen,  0.08  lb.  nitrogen,  and  1.21  lb.  oxygen.  By  multiplying 
the  0.08  lb.  of  nitrogen  (more  exactly,  0.077  lb.)  by  6.25  we  find  that  the 
steer  gained  0.48  lb.  of  protein  or  dry  lean  meat.  As  protein  is  a  little 
over  half  carbon,  about  0.25  lb.  of  carbon  was  built  into  the  lean  meat, 
leaving  0.48  lb.  of  carbon  to  be  stored  as  fat.  Pure  fat  is  about  three- 
fourths  carbon,  hence  the  0.48  lb.  of  carbon  represents  about  0.62  lb.  of 
fat,  which  was  stored  during  the  day.  As  fresh  lean  meat  is  nearly 
two-thirds  water,  the  0.48  lb.  of  dry  lean  meat  equaled  1.25  lbs.  of  fresh 
lean  meat.  The  body  fat  of  the  ox  is  about  two-thirds  fat  and  one-third 
water;  hence  the  ox  stored  about  1.0  lb.  of  fatty  tissues  during  the  day. 

From  this  most  instructive  study  we  learn  that  a  1570-lb.  ox  confined 
in  a  respiration  chamber  for  24  hours  consumed  during  that  time  11.1 
lbs.  of  clover  hay,  13.2  lbs.  of  oat  straw,  8.2  lbs.  of  bean  meal,  and  2.13  oz. 
of  salt;  drank  123.7  lbs.  of  water;  and  breathed  in  16  lbs.  of  oxygen  gas. 
From  all  this  it  gained  2.28  lbs.  of  body  weight,  of  w^hich  about  1.12  lbs. 
was  dry  lean  meat,  fat,  and  mineral  matter,  and  1.16  lbs.,  or  over  one- 
half  was  water. 


44  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

III.  The  Energy  of  Food 

The  living  mature  animal  may  be  compared  to  a  steam  engine,  in  which 
part  of  the  power  derived  from  the  fuel  is  used  for  the  operation  of  the 
engine  itself,  i.e.,  the  movement  of  flywheel,  piston,  etc.,  while  the  sur- 
plus may  perform  useful  work.  The  steam  engine  derives  its  energy 
from  coal  or  wood  burned  under  the  boiler;  the  animal,  from  the  feed 
it  consumes.  Both  require  a  small  amount  of  repair  material — steel, 
brass,  etc.,  for  the  engine,  and  protein  and  mineral  matter  for  the 
animal — but  the  largest  demand  with  engine  and  animal  alike  is  for  fuel. 
It  is  therefore  both  important  and  interesting  to  consider  the  relative 
value  of  feeds  in  terms  of  the  fuel  they  furnish  the  body. 

75.  Fuel  value  of  feeds. — The  value  of  any  feeding  stuff  as  fuel  for  the 
animal  depends  on  the  amount  of  energy  which  it  will  furnish  when 
burned.  As  with  coal,  the  fuel  value  of  a  feed  is  determined  by  burning 
a  weighed  quantity  of  it  in  pure  oxygen  gas  under  pressure  in  an  appara- 
tus called  a  calorimeter.  The  heat  evolved  is  taken  up  by  water  sur- 
rounding the  burning  chamber  and  measured  with  a  thermometer,  the 
units  of  measure  employed  being  the  Calorie  and  the  therm. 

A  Calorie  (C.)  is  the  amount  of  heat  required  to  raise  the  temperature 
of  1  kilogram  of  water  1°  C,  or  1  lb.  of  water  nearly  4°  F. 

A  therm  (T.)  is  1,000  Calories,  or  the  amount  of  heat  required  to  raise 
1,000  kilograms  of  water  1°  C,  or  1,000  lbs.  of  water  nearly  4°  F. 

The  fuel  value  of  100  lbs.  of  various  substances,  or  the  heat  evolved 
on  burning  them,  is  as  follows : 

Therms 
Anthracite  coal 358 .3 

Timothy  hay,  contaimng  15  per  ct.  moisture 175 .1 

Oat  straw,  containing  15  per  ct.  moisture 171 .0 

Corn  meal,  containing  15  per  ct.  moisture 170 .9 

Linseed  meal,  containing  15  per  ct.  moisture 196 .7 

Pure  digestible  protein 263 . 1 

Pure  digestible  carbohydrates 186 .0 

Pure  digestible  fat 422 .0 

The  table  shows  that,  on  burning,  100  lbs.  of  anthracite  coal  yields 
858.3  therms,  or  enough  heat  to  raise  the  temperature  of  358,300  lbs.  of 
water  4°  F. ;  or  about  8,000  lbs.  of  water  from  32°  F.,  or  freezing,  to 
212°  F.,  or  boiling  temperature.  One  hundred  pounds  of  timothy  hay 
likewise  burned  yields  175.1  therms,  or  about  half  as  much  as  coal.  Lin- 
seed meal  has  a  higher  fuel  value  than  corn  meal  because  it  contains  more 
oil.  Digestible  protein  yields  considerably  more  heat  than  the  carbohy- 
drates, and  fat  over  tmce  as  much  as  the  carbohydrates. 

The  energy  evolved  on  burning  a  substance  may  be  expressed  by  the 
work  it  will  do  in  lifting  a  weight,  the  unit  of  such  measurement  being 
the  foot-ton.  This  is  the  amount  of  energy  required  to  raise  a  weight  of 
1  ton  1  foot  against  the  force  of  gravity.     A  Calorie  will  furnish  the 


MEASURING  THE  USEFULNESS  OF  FEEDS  45 

energy  required  to  raise  a  weight  of  1.53  tons  1  foot.    A  therm  (1,000 
Calories)  will  thus  raise  a  weight  of  1,530  tons  1  foot,  or  1  ton  1,530  feet. 

76.  Available  energy. — The  fuel  value  of  any  feed  does  not  necessarily 
measure  its  nutritive  value  to  the  animal,  because  feeds  which  yield  the 
same  number  of  heat  units  in  the  calorimeter  may  vary  in  the  amount 
of  available  energy  which  they  can  furnish  to  the  body.    This  is  because : 

1.  A  part  of  the  food  consumed  passes  thru  the  alimentary  tract 
undigested.  This  may  be  compared  to  bits  of  coal  dropping  thru  the 
grate  of  the  boiler  unburned. 

2.  The  carbohydrates,  especially  woody  fiber,  undergo  fermentations 
in  the  intestines  and  paunch,  combustible  gases  being  evolved  which  are 
without  fuel  value  to  the  animal.  (48)  Even  in  well-constructed  engines 
a  similar  loss  of  energy  occurs  in  the  combustible  gases  which  escape 
thru  the  chimney  without  being  burned. 

3.  When  the  protein  substances  in  the  body  are  broken  down  they 
form  urea,  a  nitrogenous  compound  which  is  excreted  by  the  kidneys. 
(64)  Urea  has  fuel  value  which  is  lost  to  the  body.  Again  we  may 
liken  this  loss  to  that  which  occurs  in  the  boiler  thru  the  creosote  which, 
tho  having  fuel  value,  is  not  burned  in  the  fire  box  but  escapes  or  is 
deposited  in  the  chimney. 

The  fuel  value  of  any  food  which  remains  after  deducting  these  three 
losses  represents  the  available  energy  of  the  food  (or  as  it  is  now  often 
called,  the  metabolizable  energy).  This  is  the  portion  which  the  animal 
can  use  for  body  purposes. 

77.  Net  energy. — The  available  energy  of  the  food  measures  its  value 
for  heat  production  in  the  animal,  but  does  not  represent  its  true  value 
for  other  purposes.  The  animal  must  expend  a  part  of  the  total  available 
energy  of  any  food  in  extracting  the  real  fuel  material  from  the  rela- 
tively large  proportion  of  useless  material  which  it  must  excrete,  and 
in  converting  the  digested  material  into  forms  which  can  be  used  by  the 
body.  In  other  words,  the  work  of  masticating  and  digesting  the  food 
and  of  assimilating  the  digested  nutrients  requires  considerable  energy. 
The  energy  so  expended  finally  takes  the  form  of  heat,  but  is  not  available 
for  other  purposes  in  the  body,  since  the  animal  has  no  power  to  convert 
heat  into  other  forms  of  energy.  That  portion  of  the  energy  which  re- 
mains after  masticating,  digesting,  and  assimilating  the  food  is  termed 
the  net  energy  of  the  food.  This  net  energy  is  used  by  the  animal,  first  of 
all,  in  the  work  of  the  heart,  lungs,  and  other  internal  organs,  and  in 
case  a  surplus  of  net  energy  remains  after  satisfjdng  the  requirement  of 
the  animal  for  mere  body  maintenance,  such  surplus  may  be  used  for 
producing  gro"Ri;h,  fat,  milk,  or  wool,  or  in  the  performance  of  ex- 
ternal work. 

The  losses  of  energy  due  to  mastication,  digestion,  and  assimilation 
may  be  compared  to  the  losses  which  would  occur  if  a  gasoline  engine 
had  to  distil  its  own  gasoline  from  crude  petroleum  and  then  get  rid  of 
the  impurities  which  it  could  not  use. 


46 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


78.  Net  energy  of  feeding  stuffs. — The  respiration  apparatus,  previ- 
ously described,  furnishes  a  means  by  which  the  chemist  may  calculate 
the  net  energy  of  feeds  from  the  amount  of  fat,  protein,  etc.,  deposited  by 
the  animal  within  its  body  during  an  experiment.  In  recent  years  the 
respiration  apparatus  of  the  earlier  times  has  been  improved  by  adding 
thereto  means  for  accurately  measuring  the  heat  given  off  by  the  animal 
while  under  study.  The  new  apparatus  is  styled  the  respiration  calo- 
rimeter. The  first  respiration  calorimeter  in  the  United  States  was 
constructed  by  Atwater  with  the  aid  of  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture,  at  Middletown,  Connecticut.  It  was  for  human  nutrition 
studies  only.  The  first  and  only  respiration  calorimeter  for  animals  in 
this  country  was  erected  by  Armsby  some  years  since  in  a  special  build- 
ing at  the  Pennsylvania  State  College,  thru  the  joint  efforts  of  the  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture  and  the  Pennsylvania  Station.® 

For  many  years  Kellner'^  of  the  Mockern  Station,  Germany,  employed 
the  respiration  chamber  in  animal  studies.  His  studies  and  those  of 
Armsby^  with  the  respiration  calorimeter  have  been  for  the  most  part 
with  the  mature  ox.  In  these  investigations  not  only  was  a  record  kept 
of  all  the  feed  consumed  and  water  drank,  but  of  everything  that  passed 
from  the  animal,  including  the  so-called  solid  excrement,  urine,  carbonic 
acid  gas,  and  water,  and  in  the  case  of  Armsby 's  experiments,  all  the 
heat  given  off  by  the  body.  While  studies  of  this  kind  have  really  only 
begun,  they  have  already  brought  out  facts  of  great  interest  and  im- 
portance. The  following  table  sets  forth  some  of  their  findings  with 
reference  to  what  becomes  of  the  digestible  nutrients  and  3  common 
feeding  stuffs  when  fed  to  the  ox. 

Net  energy  from  100  Ihs.  of  digestible  nutrients  and  common 
feeding  stuffs 


Total 
energy 

Energy  lost 

Net  en- 
ergy re- 
maining 

Nutrients  or 
feeding  stuffs 

In  feces 

In 

methane 
gas 

In  urine 

In  pro- 
duction 
processes 

Total 
loss 

Digestible  nutrients 
Peanut  oil  (fat) 

Therms 

399.2 
263.1 
186.0 

170.9 
179.3 
171.4 

Per  ct. 
100 
100 
100 

Therms 

0.0 
0.0 
0.0 

15.7 
87.7 
93.9 

Per  ct. 
9.2 
48.9 
54.8 

Therms 

0.0 
0.0 
18.8 

15.9 
6.8 
15.5 

Per  ct. 
9.3 
3.8 
9.0 

Therms 

0.0 
49.2 
0.0 

6.6 
5.5 
4.3 

Per  ct. 
3.9 
3.1 
2.5 

Therms 

174.4 
118.3 

62.0 
52.9 
47.4 

Per  ct. 
36.3 
29.5 
27.7 

Therms 

174.4 
167.5 
87.5 

100.2 
152.9 
161.1 

Per  ct. 
58.7 
85.3 
94.0 

Therms 
224.8 

Wheat  gluten  (protein). .  . 
Starch  (carbohydrate) .... 

Common  feeding  stuffs 

95.6 
98.5 

70.7 

Timothy  hay             

26.4 

10.3 

Expressed  in  per  cent 

Per  ct. 
41.3 

14.7 

6.0 

^  For  a  popular  description  of  these  calorimeters,  see  Century  Magazine,  July, 
1887,  and  the  Experiment  Station  Record,  July,  1904. 
'Land.  Vers.  Stat,  53,  1900,  pp.  440-468. 
*U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  Anim.  Ind.,  Bui.  101. 


MEASUKING  THE  USEFULNESS  OF  FEEDS  47 

This  table  sets  forth  some  of  the  highest  and  most  instructive  attain- 
ments of  the  scientists  working  on  problems  in  animal  nutrition.  The 
first  column  shows  the  total  amount  of  energy  which  would  be  produced 
on  burning  100  lbs.  of  the  digestible  nutrients  or  of  typical  feeding 
stuffs.  With  the  digestible  nutrients  no  further  loss  occurs  in  the  feces, 
but  all  are  absorbed  out  of  the  small  intestine  and  go  into  the  body 
proper.  The  oil  contained  no  nitrogen,  and  so  no  nitrogenous  waste  from 
it  appeared  in  the  urine,  nor  did  any  of  it  form  methane  gas  in  the  in- 
testines. To  digest  and  assimilate  this  100  lbs.  of  oil  required  174.4 
therms  of  energy,  leaving  224.8  therms  which  might  be  stored  in  the  body, 
either  temporarily  in  the  lymph  bathing  the  tissue  cells,  or  more  per- 
manently as  body  fat. 

When  100  lbs.  or  263.1  therms  of  wheat  gluten,  which  is  principally 
protein,  was  digested  and  absorbed  into  the  body,  a  loss  of  49.2  therms 
occurred  in  the  urine,  this  loss  coming  from  the  breaking  do\\Ti  of  this 
protein  nutrient  within  the  body,  or  from  the  breaking  down  of  body 
tissue  which  was  replaced  by  new  protein  from  this  source.  In  all  167.5 
out  of  263.1  therms  in  100  lbs.  of  gluten  were  lost  either  in  the  urine  or 
in  carrying  on  the  work  of  mastication,  digestion,  and  assimilation,  leav- 
ing 95.6  therms  which  might  be  temporarily  or  permanently  stored  in 
the  body.  This  amount  of  protein  was  available  for  building  protein 
tissues  or  lean  meat,  which  would  be  its  highest  use,  or  it  could  serve  for 
the  production  of  body  fat,  etc. 

79.  Losses  in  undigested  matter,  methane,  and  urine. — Studying  the 
lower  division  of  the  table  we  obsei've  that  if  the  total  energy  of  corn 
meal  is  placed  at  100,  then  9.2  per  ct.  of  its  heat  value  passed  from  the 
ox  in  the  undigested  matter  of  the  solid  excrement.  This  loss  we  may 
compare  to  bits  of  coal  passing  unburned  thru  the  grate  bars  of  a 
furnace.  While  undergoing  digestion,  large  quantities  of  methane  gas 
were  formed.  This  combustible  gas  was  taken  from  the  intestines  by 
the  blood  and  given  off  thru  the  lungs  and  skin,  a  loss  of  9.3  per  ct.  re- 
sulting. There  was  a  further  loss  of  3.9  per  ct.  in  the  urea  which  left 
the  body  in  the  urine  by  way  of  the  kidneys.  The  sum  of  these  three 
losses  is  22.4  per  ct.,  which  measures  that  portion  of  the  total  fuel  value 
of  the  corn  meal  which  was  of  no  value  to  the  ox,  but  really  worse  than 
useless,  because  work  was  required  in  passing  it  thru  the  alimentary 
tract.  The  remaining  77.6  per  ct.  represents  the  available  energy  of 
the  corn. 

80.  Losses  due  to  mastication,  digestion,  and  assimilation. — From  this 
77.6  per  ct.  of  available  energy  must  be  deducted  the  energy  expended 
in  the  work  of  mastication,  digestion,  and  assimilation,  amounting  to 
36.3  per  ct.  of  the  total  fuel  value  of  the  corn.  Subtracting  this  last  sum 
and  the  previous  losses  from  100,  there  remains  41.3  per  ct.  as  the  net 
energy  value  of  the  corn,  or  the  amount  which  the  animal  may  use  for 
repairing  body  tissue,  for  growth,  for  the  laying  on  of  fat,  or  for  the 
production  of  external  work.    In  the  case  of  timothy  hay  only  14.7  per 


48  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

ct.,  and  with  wheat  straw  but  6  per  ct.,  of  its  original  fuel  value  remains 
as  finally  available  for  such  purposes.  About  one-half  of  the  total  fuel 
value  of  these  two  feeds  passed  off  as  undigested  matter,  this  portion 
never  having  been  inside  the  body  proper. 

In  noting  the  heavy  losses  sho-wii  under  the  column  headed  "Produc- 
tion processes, ' '  the  following  points  are  of  interest :  Zuntz  found  that 
the  work  of  the  horse  in  chewing  hay  and  preparing  it  for  swallowing 
required  4.5  per  ct.  of  the  total  energy  in  the  hay,  oats  only  a  little  over 
1  per  ct.,  and  corn  but  one-third  of  1  per  ct.  He  estimates  that  with  the 
horse  the  work  of  digestion  calls  for  about  9  per  ct.  of  all  the  energy 
in  the  digestible  portion  of  the  food.  He  further  found  that  each  100 
lbs.  of  fiber,  or  the  woody  part  of  feeding  stuffs,  in  passing  thru  the 
animal,  whether  digested  or  not,  required  about  118  therms  for  the  work 
of  disposing  of  it. 

Such  roughages  as  straw,  hay,  and  com  stover,  because  of  their  coarse, 
woody  character  due  to  the  fiber  they  contain,  place  much  work  on  the 
animal  in  digesting  them  and  passing  the  waste  out  of  the  body.  This 
means  an  evolution  of  heat.  Therefore  where  the  animal,  such  as  an  idle 
horse  in  winter,  is  doing  no  work  and  needs  little  net  energy,  no  harm 
but  rather  economy  in  cost  of  keep  may  result  from  living  on  such  rough- 
ages, because  the  large  amount  of  heat  necessarily  evolved  in  the  diges- 
tion and  assimilation  of  this  food  helps  keep  the  animal  warm.  On  the 
other  hand,  animals  at  hard  work  and  those  producing  milk  or  being 
fattened  cannot  profitably  subsist  chiefly  on  coarse  forage,  for  they  need 
large  amounts  of  net  energj^  in  their  rations. 

The  data  of  the  table  we  have  been  studying  are  as  a  whole  correct, 
interesting,  and  helpful  in  extending  our  knowledge  of  a  difficult,  tho 
most  important,  subject  in  animal  nutrition.  In  details  they  are  more 
or  less  imperfect,  and  the  student  should  not  regard  the  figures  in  each 
division  of  the  table  as  exact  and  final,  but  rather  as  approximate  to  the 
facts.  Taken  in  the  right  spirit,  these  data  are  of  the  highest  value  in 
setting  forth  what  portions  of  the  food  consumed  by  the  animal  are  lost 
at  each  step  in  their  progress  thru  the  body,  and  showing  how  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the  value  of  the  food  is  required  to  carry  on  the  work 
of  mastication,  digestion,  and  metabolism,  leaving  a  relatively  small 
portion  ultimately  available  for  building  the  body  or  for  external  work. 
The  marvel  is  that  the  scientists  have  been  able  to  go  so  far  in  solving 
these  most  complicated  problems,  and  that  their  zeal  is  still  unabated. 


IV.  Factors  Influencing  the  Nutritive  Value  of  Feeds 

81.  Differences  in  composition  of  feeding  stuffs. — The  figures  given  in 
Appendix  Table  I  for  the  composition  of  any  feed  are  in  most  instances 
averages  of  all  analyses  of  normal  samples  of  that  feed  which  have  been 
reported  by  the  various  stations.  It  is  obviously  important  to  learn 
what  variations  from  these  averages  may  be  expected  in  the  case  of 


MEASURING  THE  USEFULNESS  OF  FEEDS  49 

samples  of  a  given  feed  originating  in  different  sections  of  the  country, 
grown  in  different  years,  or  when  gathered  at  different  stages  of  matu- 
rity. Lack  of  space  prohibits  any  detailed  consideration  of  this  question. 
However,  from  the  mass  of  data  compiled  in  Appendix  Table  I,  includ- 
ing over  53,000  analyses  in  all,  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  the 
following  notes  will  give  a  fair  idea  of  the  range  in  the  chemical 
composition  of  tjTpical  feeding  stuffs. 

It  has  been  found  that  the  composition  of  a  crop  may  be  influenced  to 
a  limited  extent  by  the  amount  of  available  plant  food  in  the  soil  on 
which  the  crop  is  grown.  Climatic  environment  and  stage  of  maturity 
are,  however,  the  most  important  factors  in  determining  the  composition 
of  a  given  feed.  Indeed,  with  some  feeds  they  influence  the  content  of 
nutrients  to  such  a  degree  that  an  average  of  analyses  from  all  sections 
of  the  country  or  at  all  stages  of  maturity  is  of  little  value  for  any  pur- 
pose. Of  the  cereals,  wheat  is  the  most  variable  in  composition,  being 
profoundly  influenced  by  climate,  especially  in  its  protein  content.  The 
analyses  for  this  grain  from  different  sections  of  the  country  are  there- 
fore given  separatelj^  in  Table  I.  It  is  there  shown  that  while  the  aver- 
age crude  protein  content  of  wheat  from  the  northern  plains  states  is 
13.5  per  ct.,  wheat  from  the  Atlantic  states  contains  only  11.7  per  ct.  and 
that  from  the  Pacific  states  but  9.9  per  ct.  crude  protein.  The 
same  extended  study  shows  that  climate  exerts  little  or  no  influence  on 
the  chemical  composition  of  corn,  providing  the  crop  matures,  the  aver- 
age for  the  various  sections  showing  no  appreciable  difference  in  content 
of  the  several  nutrients.  Grindley  of  the  Illinois  Station^  has  shown 
that  samples  of  corn  and  wheat  from  the  same  region  may  vary  10  per 
ct.  and  sometimes  even  more  in  their  content  of  protein  or  fat.  The 
nitrogen-free  extract  is  less  variable,  while  fiber  shows  still  larger 
differences  than  protein  or  fat.  The  same  general  tendencies  as  to  local 
variations  hold  with  the  other  cereal  grains. 

The  roughages  are  even  more  variable  in  composition  than  the  cereals, 
owing  to  the  fact  that,  besides  climate,  their  composition  is  influenced  by 
the  stage  of  maturity,  the  manner  of  curing,  and  the  moisture  content. 
Analyses  of  com  fodder  and  corn  stover  show  a  water  content  ranging 
from  over  50  per  ct.  in  field-cured  material  in  wet  seasons  down  to  10 
per  ct.  or  less  in  arid  regions  or  where  cured  under  cover  in  a  dry  season. 
To  show  the  difference  in  nutritive  value  of  these  extremes  it  may  be 
stated  that  corn  fodder  or  stover  containing  10  per  ct.  water  A\dll  carry 
80  per  ct.  more  nutrients  per  100  lbs.  than  a  sample  of  the  same  forage 
containing  50  per  ct.  water !  To  overcome  this  error  so  far  as  possible, 
separate  averages  are  given  for  very  dry  and  for  ordinary  field-cured 
samples  of  these  feeds  in  Appendix  Table  I. 

The  general  rule  that  immature  plants  contain  a  much  larger  pro- 
portion of  crude  protein  than  when  mature  is  well  illustrated  by  analyses 
of  samples  of  alfalfa  cut  at  various  stages  of  maturity  by  Dinsmore  at 

•III.  Bui.  165. 


50  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

the  Nevada  Station"  and  cured  until  they  were  somewhat  drier  than 
normal  hay.  The  dried  alfalfa  cut  when  3  inches  high,  a  stage  at  which 
it  is  often  grazed,  carried  34.6  per  ct.  crude  protein  and  only  43.4  per  ct. 
total  carbohydrates.  As  the  crop  matured  the  protein  content  of  the 
hay  therefrom  decreased  and  the  carbohydrates  increased  till  the  sample 
cut  when  seed  was  beginning  to  form  contained  only  14.1  per  ct.  crude 
protein,  while  the  carbohydrates  had  increased  to  68.1  per  ct.  Immature 
plants  usually  contain  much  more  water  than  the  same  plants  when  more 
mature.  On  account  of  such  wide  differences  in  composition  the  authors 
have,  wherever  possible,  given  in  Appendix  Table  I  the  averages  for 
roughages  at  different  stages  of  maturity.  ( See  averages  for  corn  fodder, 
timothy  hay,  Kentucky  bluegrass,  red  clover,  etc.) 

It  is  shown  in  later  chapters  that  as  the  grasses  and  legumes  mature 
their  content  of  fiber  materially  increases,  and  as  a  consequence  the  feed 
becomes  less  digestible  and  usually  of  lower  value.  However,  the  large 
accumulation  of  starch  which  occurs  in  the  corn  plant  as  it  ripens  gives 
the  more  mature  form  of  that  plant  a  greater  total  feeding  value.     (27) 

If  green  forage  is  cured  without  waste  and  in  a  manner  to  prevent 
fermentation,  the  mere  drying  does  not  lower  its  digestibility.  Ordi- 
narily, however,  in  curing  forage  much  of  the  finer  and  more  nutritious 
parts  is  wasted,  and  dews,  rain,  and  fermentations  effect  changes  which 
lower  digestibility.  The  large  amount  of  work  done  in  masticating  dry 
forage  and  passing  it  thru  the  alimentary  tract  explains  why  green 
forage  may  give  better  results  and  hence  appears  more  digestible  than 
dry  forage.  The  long  storage  of  fodders,  even  under  favorable  condi- 
tions, decreases  both  their  digestibility  and  palatability.  Hay  browned 
by  heating  shows  increased  digestibility  of  fiber  but  decreased  diges- 
tibility of  crude  protein  and  nitrogen-free  extract. 

82.  Influence  on  digestibility  of  amount  of  feed  eaten. — Animals  tend 
to  digest  their  food  somewhat  more  completely  when  given  a  maintenance 
ration  than  when  on  full  feed.  This  may  be  due  to  the  more  rapid  move- 
ment of  the  food  thru  the  digestive  tract  or  to  a  less  complete  absorption 
of  the  digested  nutrients  when  present  in  large  amount.  Jordan"  found 
that  sheep  digested  4.7  per  ct.  more  of  the  dry  matter  when  given  a  half 
ration  than  when  fed  a  full  ration.  Mumford,  Grindley,  Hall,  and 
Emmett^^  of  the  Illinois  Station,  on  feeding  steers  clover  hay  and  corn 
in  varying  proportions,  found  that  those  fed  a  maintenance  ration 
digested  75.4  per  ct.  of  the  dry  matter;  those  fed  one-half  more,  71.6 
per  ct. ;  those  fed  twice  the  maintenance  ration,  69.4  per  ct. ;  and  others 
on  full  feed,  consuming  two  and  one-fourth  times  as  much  as  the  first 
lot,  65.9  per  ct.  of  the  dry  matter  of  the  ration.  The  difference  in  diges- 
tibility was  greatest  in  the  case  of  the  carbohydrates.  The  steers  on  full 
feed  digested  the  crude  protein  and  fat  nearly  as  well  as  those  getting 
the  maintenance  ration.    Eckles^^  of  the  Missouri  Station  found  that  the 

"Nev.  Rpt.  1907.  "111.  Bui.  172. 

"N.  Y.  (Geneva)  Bui.  141.  "Mo.  Res.  Bui.  7. 


MEASURING  THE  USEFULNESS  OF  FEEDS  51 

dairy  cow  digests  a  maintenance  ration  somewhat  better  than  a  heavy- 
ration.  Under  normal  conditions,  in  feeding  farm  animals  for  the 
production  of  meat,  milk,  or  work,  other  economic  factors,  which  will  be 
treated  in  later  chapters,  more  than  offset  the  slightly  better  utilization 
of  feed  when  a  scant  ration  is  fed. 

83.  Influence  of  preparation  of  feed  on  digestibility. — Grinding,  crack- 
ing, and  rolling  grain  increase  digestibility  only  in  the  case  of  hard  seeds 
which  would  otherwise  pass  thru  the  digestive  tract  unbroken,  or  with 
animals  unable  to  chew  their  food  properly.  Jordan^*  states  that  crush- 
ing or  grinding  grain  for  horses  may  increase  its  digestibility  as  much 
as  14  per  ct.  In  extensive  trials  at  the  Iowa  Station  with  60-lb.  pigs, 
Eward^^  found  that  grinding  or  shelling  corn  did  not  increase  the  diges- 
tibility over  that  for  ear  corn.  With  200-lb.  pigs  grinding  alone 
increased  the  digestibility  0.8  per  ct.,  and  both  grinding  and  soaking  1.9 
per  ct.  Tho  this  trial  shows  a  slight  advantage  from  soaking  feed,  other 
tests  show  no  appreciable  gain  from  soaking  or  wetting  feeds,  except 
where  such  preparation  aids  in  the  mastication  of  unground  hard  seeds. 
Cutting  or  chaffing  hay  or  straw  does  not  increase  digestibility,  but  may 
be  advisable  for  other  reasons,  as  is  pointed  out  in  Chapter  XVI. 

Cooking  usually  lowers  the  digestibility  of  the  crude  protein  of  feed- 
ing stuffs.  At  the  Oregon  Station,^^  Withycombe  and  Bradley  found 
that  steaming  both  vetch  and  corn  silage  materially  decreased  the  digesti- 
bility of  the  crude  protein  and  other  nutrients.  Cooking,  steaming,  or 
fermenting  food,  while  often  improving  its  palatability,  generally  lowers 
its  digestibility,  tho  potatoes  and  possibly  other  starchy  tubers  are  im- 
proved thereby. 

A  comparison  of  the  digestion  coefficients  for  various  kinds  of  silage 
with  those  for  the  green  forages  from  which  the  silage  was  made  shows 
that  ensiling  tends  to  decrease  digestibility.  The  exceedingly  favorable 
results  from  silage  feeding  are  therefore  due  to  the  palatability  of  the 
silage,  its  beneficial  effect  on  the  health  of  the  animals,  and  the  fact  that 
less  feed  is  wasted  than  when  dry  fodder  is  used. 

Neither  the  frequency  of  feeding,  the  time  of  watering,  nor  the  amount 
of  water  drank  appears  to  influence  digestibility.  Moderate  exercise 
tends  to  increase  digestibility,  but  excessive  work  lowers  it. 

The  flow  of  saliva  and  the  other  digestive  juices  is  checked  by  fright. 
On  the  other  hand,  kind  treatment  and  palatability  of  food  should 
favorably  influence  digestion.  Under  skillful  care  animals  show  remark- 
able relish  for  their  food,  and  it  is  reasonable  to  conclude  that  better 
digestion  ensues,  tho  no  confirmatory  data  can  be  given. 

84.  Influence  of  proportion  of  the  several  nutrients. — The  addition  of 
a  large  quantity  of  easily  digested  carbohydrates,  such  as  sugar  and 
starch,  to  a  ration  containing  much  roughage  may  reduce  the  diges- 
tibility of  its  crude  protein,  fiber,  and  nitrogen-free  extract.    According 

"The  Feeding  of  Animals,  p.  133.  "Ore.  Bui.  102. 

"Information  to  the  authors. 


52  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

to  Kellner,"  such  depression  of  digestibility  occurs  with  ruminants  when 
less  than  1  part  of  digestible  crude  protein  is  present  to  every  8  parts  of 
digestible  non-nitrogenous  nutrients  (carbohydrates  plus  fat  X  2.25). 
With  swine  the  nutritive  ratio  may  be  wider  before  the  digestibility  is 
affected.  An  explanation  offered  for  such  depression  of  digestibility  is 
that  when  a  large  proportion  of  soluble  or  easily  digested  carbohydrates 
is  fed,  the  bacteria  in  the  digestive  tract  which  normally  decompose 
cellulose  to  secure  food  then  attack  instead  the  more  readily  available 
sugars  or  starch.  (40)  Not  only  is  the  digestibility  of  the  cellulose,  or 
fiber,  consequently  lowered,  but  also  that  of  the  crude  protein  and 
nitrogen-free  extract,  for  the  unattacked  cellulose  cell  walls  protect  the 
proteins  and  carbohydrates  contained  therein  from  the  action  of  the 
digestive  juices.  This  denression  does  not  occur  when  nitrogenous  feeds, 
such  as  oil  meal,  are  added  along  with  the  starch  or  sugar,  thus  preserv- 
ing the  balance  between  nrotein  and  non-nitrogenous  nutrients.  It  is 
assumed  that  this  is  due  to  a  stimulation  of  the  bacteria  by  the  addition 
of  more  protein,  so  that,  invigorated,  they  attack  the  fiber  of  the  food 
again. 

Adding  nitrogenous  feeds  to  roughages,  such  as  hay,  straw,  etc.,  does 
not  increase  the  digestibility  of  the  roughage.  Neither  does  the  addition 
of  fat  to  a  ration  increase  the  digestibility  of  the  other  constituents. 
Kellner^^  states  that  supplying  fat  in  excess  of  1  lb.  per  1,000  lbs.  live 
weight  or  feeding  pure  fat  or  oil  in  unemulsified  form  may  cause  diges- 
tive disturbance.  Salt  does  not  affect  digestion,  tho  it  may  cause  animals 
to  eat  more  food  and  may  improve  nutrition. 

The  addition  of  dilute  acids,  such  as  sulphuric  acid  or  lactic  acid  (the 
chief  acid  in  sour  milk  and  in  silage),  does  not  influence  digestibility. 
This  is  important  in  view  of  the  fact  that  silage  contains  considerable 
free  acid. 

85.  Class  of  animal,  age,  and  breed. — Ruminants — the  ox,  cow,  sheep — 
digest  the  same  kind  of  forage  about  equally  well.  Kellner,^^  however, 
shows  that  the  ox  is  able  to  digest  as  much  as  11  per  ct.  more  of  the  less 
digestible  roughages,  such  as  straw,  than  is  the  sheep.  He  ascribes  this 
difference  to  the  fact  that  the  contents  of  the  last  part  of  the  intestine  of 
the  ox  remain  more  watery  and  hence  are  subject  to  more  complete  fer- 
mentation. The  more  easily  digested  a  feeding  stuff  is,  the  less  difference 
will  there  be  in  its  digestion  by  these  various  animals.  For  the  great 
majority  of  feeding  stuffs  the  same  digestion  coefficients  may  be  used  for 
the  sheep  and  ox. 

The  horse  and  pig  digest  less  fiber  than  the  ruminant,  in  whose  paunch 
the  coarse  feeds  undergo  special  preparation  and  digestion.  The  richer 
the  feed,  the  more  nearly  do  the  digestive  powers  of  the  horse  approach 
those  of  other  farm  animals.  Swine  digest  the  concentrates  fully  as  well 
as  do  the  ruminants,  but  make  only  small  use  of  the  fiber. 

"Ernfi,hr.  landw.  Nutztiere,  1907,  p.  55.     "Land.  Vers.  Stat.,  63,  1906,  p.  313. 

"Brnahr.  landw.  Nutztiere,  1907,  p.  51. 


MEASURING  THE  USEFULNESS  OF  FEEDS  53 

In  general,  age  does  not,  in  itself,  influence  digestibility,  tho  young 
farm  animals  cannot  utilize  much  roughage  until  their  digestive  tracts 
are  developed.  Evvard  found  at  the  Iowa  Station^*'  that  while  200-lb. 
pigs  digested  ground  corn  as  completely  as  did  60-lb.  pigs,  they  digested 
1.58  per  ct.  less  of  the  dry  matter  of  shelled  corn  than  did  the  younger 
pigs.  This  small  difference  was  probably  due  to  less  thoro  mastication  of 
the  shelled  corn  by  the  older  pigs.  The  digestion  of  old  animals  is  often 
indirectly  impaired  by  poor  teeth,  which  make  the  proper  mastication  of 
their  food  impossible.  Breed  has  no  influence  upon  digestibility.  In- 
dividual  animals  may,  however,  show  considerable  difference  in  their 
ability  to  digest  the  same  ration,  tho  ordinarily  the  digestibility  of  a 
given  ration  by  different  animals  of  the  same  race  will  not  vary  by  more 
than  3  to  4  per  ct.^^ 

86.  Summary. — The  foregoing  discussions  make  it  evident  that  average 
figures  for  the  composition  of  any  feeding  stuff  are  but  approximately 
correct  when  applied  to  a  particular  lot  of  the  feed.  This  likewise  ap- 
plies to  the  expression  of  its  nutritive  value,  whether  stated  in  terms  of 
digestible  nutrients  or  net  energy.  In  other  words,  different  lots  of  any 
feeding  stuff  vary  in  feeding  value,  the  same  as  different  samples  of  coal 
vary  in  fuel  value.  Owing  to  the  expense  of  obtaining  analyses  it  is  out 
of  the  question  for  any  but  the  most  extensive  feeders  to  have  their 
particular  feeds  analyzed,  just  as  only  the  large  manufacturer  can  afford 
to  have  samples  of  coal  analyzed  to  determine  their  fuel  value  before 
purchasing.  With  the  cereals  and  the  roughages  the  general  feeder  must, 
therefore,  rely  on  that  average  given  in  tables  of  digestible  nutrients  or 
net  energy  which  corresponds  most  closely  in  his  judgment  to  the  feed 
at  hand.  In  purchasing  commercial  concentrates,  now  sold  in  vast 
quantities  everywhere,  it  is  now  fortunately  possible  in  most  sections  of 
the  country  to  secure  standard  brands,  whose  composition  is  fully  guar- 
anteed by  the  manufacturer.     (Chapter  XI) 

^Information  to  the  authors. 

"Kellner,  Ernahr.  landw.  Nutztiere,  1907,  p.  46. 


CHAPTER  IV 

MAINTENANCE  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 

I.  Requirements  for  Body  Fuel 

Farm  animals  are  supplied  with  food  in  order  that  they  may  convert 
it  into  such  products  as  meat,  milk,  wool,  and  work,  which  are  useful  to 
man.  However,  as  Armsby^  points  out,  just  as  a  factory  must  be  sup- 
plied with  power  sufficient  to  keep  the  machinery  in  motion  before  any 
product  can  be  turned  out,  to  make  continued  production  possible  with 
the  animal,  enough  food  must  first  be  provided  to  maintain  all  essential 
life  processes.  This  amount  of  food,  which  is  required  merely  to  support 
the  animal  when  doing  no  work  and  yielding  no  material  product,  is 
called  the  maintenance  ration.  A  respiration  trial  conducted  with  an 
animal  receiving  a  maintenance  ration  would  show  that  the  body  was 
neither  gaining  nor  losing  protein,  fat,  carbohydrates,  or  ash.  (71) 

On  the  average,  fully  one-half  of  all  the  feed  consumed  by  farm 
animals  is  used  simply  for  maintenance,  only  the  remaining  half  being 
turned  into  useful  products.  Knowing  this,  the  intelligent  feeder  will 
realize  that  it  is  as  important  to  understand  the  principles  governing  the 
maintenance  requirements  of  his  animals  as  those  controlling  the  produc- 
tion of  meat,  milk,  or  work.  The  determination  of  the  minimum  amount 
of  nutrients  required  for  maintenance  is  also  of  great  scientific  impor- 
tance, for  it  is  impossible  to  find  the  true  relative  value  of  feeding  stuffs 
for  production  without  first  subtracting  the  amounts  used  in  mere 
maintenance. 

To  maintain  an  animal  at  rest  sufficient  food  must  be  supplied  to 
furnish:  (1)  Fuel  to  maintain  the  body  temperature;  (2)  energy  to 
carry  on  such  vital  processes  as  the  work  of  the  heart,  lungs,  etc.;  (3) 
protein  to  repair  the  small  daily  waste  of  nitrogenous  tissues;  (4) 
mineral  matter  to  replace  the  small  but  continuous  loss  of  these  materials 
from  the  body.  Since  the  greater  part  of  the  food  in  a  maintenance 
ration  serves  simply  as  fuel  to  maintain  the  body  temperature,  we  will 
first  show  how  the  animal  body  is  warmed  and  discuss  its  fuel  require- 
ments. 

87.  Body  temperature. — ^While  cold-blooded  animals  maintain  their 
temperature  but  little  above  that  of  the  surrounding  air  or  water,  the 
temperature  of  warm-blooded  animals  is  usually  much  higher  than  that 
of  the  air.  As  shown  in  the  following  table  the  normal  temperature  of 
farm  animals  ranges  from  98.4°  to  105.4°  F.,  a  height  which  the  air 
reaches  only  during  the  hottest  summer  days.    It  is  therefore  evident  that 

*Penn.  Bui.  111. 

54 


MAINTENANCE  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  55 

heat  must  be  continuously  produced  within  the  body  to  maintain  these 
temperatures. 

Normal  temperatures  of  farm  animals 

Deg.  Cent.  Deg.  Fahr. 

Horse 36.9-38.2  98.4-100.8 

Ox 38.0-39.3  100.4-102.8 

Sheep 38 .4-41 .0  101 .3-105 .8 

Pig 38.2^0.7  100.9-105.4 

The  normal  temperature  of  different  animals  of  the  same  species  may 
vary  considerably,  as  is  shown  by  the  table.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
temperature  of  an  individual  animal,  if  healthy,  varies  only  within  a 
narrow  limit,  a  departure  of  even  1  degree  from  normal  with  farm 
animals  generally  indicating  some  bodily  derangement. 

88.  Heat  production. — Heat  is  produced  by  all  the  decompositions  or 
oxidations  taking  place  in  the  body,  whether  of  food  yet  within  the 
digestive  tract  or  of  nutrients  in  the  muscular  tissues  or  the  glands. 
"We  have  seen  that  much  heat  may  be  evolved,  especially  with  ruminants, 
in  the  decomposition  of  cellulose  and  other  plant  compounds  in  the 
digestive  tract.  (80)  The  remainder  is  produced  in  the  tissues  of  the 
body  by  the  following  processes :  Thru  breathing,  the  oxygen  of  the  air 
is  brought  to  the  blood.  Floating  in  the  blood  stream  are  myriads  of 
microscopic  bodies,  called  red  blood  corpuscles,  which  owe  their  color 
to  hemoglobin,  an  iron-containing  protein.  This  hemoglobin  absorbs 
the  oxygen  and  holds  it  loosely.  As  the  oxygen-laden  blood  permeates 
the  capillary  system  it  gives  up  the  oxygen  to  the  living  body  cells,  where 
it  is  used  for  the  combustion  of  a  portion  of  the  body  nutrients  with 
the  result  that  heat  is  fonned. 

Unlike  the  burning  of  fuel  in  a  stove,  the  oxidations  in  the  body  take 
place  at  a  low  temperature.  As  a  result  of  the  combustion  in  the  body, 
where  before  there  were  glucoses,  fats,  and  proteins  in  the  tissues,  there 
now  remain  carbonic  acid  gas,  water,  and  urea,  the  latter  substance  rep- 
resenting the  principal  nitrogenous  waste  of  the  protein  nutrients.  In 
still  another  respect  body  oxidations  differ  radically  from  ordinary 
burning  of  fuel.  In  a  furnace  the  vrider  the  draft  is  opened,  increasing 
the  supply  of  oxygen,  the  more  rapid  will  be  the  combustion.  In  the 
body,  however,  so  long  as  there  is  a  normal  supply  of  oxygen  the  rate  of 
burning  of  the  food  nutrients  is  independent  of  the  supply  of  air.  Hence 
the  greater  intake  of  oxygen  in  unusually  deep  breathing  will  not  in 
itself  cause  an  increase  in  heat  production,  tho  the  increased  muscular 
work  in  such  breathing  may  lead  to  an  increased  production  of  heat. 

As  we  have  seen  before  (80),  all  the  energy  expended  in  the  various 
forms  of  internal  work  of  the  body  is  finally  transformed  into  heat. 
Even  with  such  an  easily  masticated  and  digested  feed  as  corn,  over 
one-third  of  the  total  energy  which  the  digestible  nutrients  furnish 
is  converted  into  heat  in  the  internal  work  of  masticating,  digesting,  and 
assimilating  the  feed.  This  proportion  is  much  higher  with  the  rough- 
ages, such  as  hay  and  straw,  which  demand  more  energy  for  mastication 


66  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

and  digestion.  Tho  this  energy  is  lost  so  far  as  useful  production  is 
concerned,  the  heat  evolved  helps  maintain  the  body  temperature.  With 
animals  exercising  normally,  the  larger  part  of  the  body  heat  is  gen- 
erated in  the  muscular  tissues,  since  all  muscular  contraction  is  brought 
about  by  the  oxidation  or  burning  of  body  nutrients.  Even  when  the 
muscles  are  not  actively  contracting,  heat  is  being  generated  in  them. 
The  heat  produced  in  the  various  parts  of  the  body  is  more  or  less 
equalized,  chiefly  by  the  circulation  of  the  blood.  Generally,  however, 
the  temperature  in  the  different  parts  varies  somewhat  according  to 
their  activities. 

89.  Production  of  heat  in  starvation. — ^When  food  is  Mdthheld  from  an 
animal,  the  heat  needed  to  warm  the  body,  the  energy  required  to  carry 
on  the  vital  processes,  and  the  protein  and  mineral  matter  necessary 
for  the  repair  of  the  active  tissues  must  all  come  from  nutrients  pre- 
viously stored  within  the  body.  The  small  supply  of  glycogen  in  the 
liver  and  muscles  is  probably  first  used  as  fuel,  but  this  is  soon  gone.  (60) 
Fat  is  the  animal's  chief  reserve  fuel,  stored  when  food  is  abundant, 
against  times  of  scarcity,  and  is  therefore  the  main  source  of  both  heat 
and  energy  during  starvation.  "When  the  supply  of  fat  begins  to  fail, 
the  muscles  and  other  protein  tissues  are  broken  down  more  rapidly  to 
furnish  heat  and  energy,  and  the  animal  finally  perishes  thru  the 
impairment  of  its  organs  and  the  lack  of  body  fuel  to  carry  on  the 
functions  of  life.  Carnivora,  or  flesh-eating  animals,  withstand  hunger 
longer  than  herbivora.  While  dogs  and  cats  have  lived  until  their 
weights  were  decreased  33  to  40  per  ct.,  horses  and  ruminants  will  die 
when  their  weight  has  been  reduced  20  to  25  per  ct.-  Men  have  volun- 
tarily fasted  for  over  a  month,  and  dogs  have  survived  fasts  of  from 
90  to  117  days  without  permanent  ill  effects.^  The  age  of  the  animal 
also  influences  the  time  at  which  death  occurs  from  starvation,  young 
animals  losing  weight  more  rapidly  and  dying  after  a  smaller  loss  of 
weight  than  old  ones."* 

90.  Heat  regulation. — If  heat  were  lost  from  the  body  by  radiation 
only,  as  from  a  warm  stone,  it  would  be  impossible  for  the  animal  to 
keep  its  temperature  constant  under  varying  external  conditions  and 
with  daily  supplies  of  food  differing  in  amount  and  heat  producing 
power.  The  body,  however,  possesses  most  effective  means  for  con- 
trolling both  the  production  and  the  loss  of  heat,  this  two-fold  regulation 
being  under  the  control  of  the  nervous  system. 

The  production  of  heat  is  regulated  by  increasing  or  decreasing  the 
oxidations  taking  place  in  the  body.  The  amount  of  heat  generated  is 
controlled  more  or  less  voluntarily  by  regulating  the  exercise  taken 
and  the  amount  of  food  consumed.    Experience  reminds  us  that  on  cold 

=  M.  Wilckens  in  v.  d.  Goltz,  Hand.  d.  ges.  Landw.,  Ill,  p.  88. 
^Armsby,  Penn.  Bui.  Ill;  Howe,  Mattill,  and  Hawk,  Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  10,  1911, 
pp.  417-432. 

*  Halliburton,  Chem.  Physiol.,  p.  834. 


MAINTENANCE  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  57 

days  we  eat  more  heartily  and  walk  more  briskly  than  in  warm  weather. 
The  degree  of  external  heat  or  cold  also  causes  an  involuntary  rise 
or  fall  in  heat  production.  The  shivering  of  a  chilled  animal  is  the 
outward  manifestation  of  increased  muscular  contraction,  started  solely 
to  produce  more  heat. 

Controlling  the  amount  of  heat  lost  from  the  body  is  the  second  means 
of  heat  regulation.  This  is  accomplished  in  part  by  varying  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  blood  on  the  surface  of  the  body,  and  thus  controlling 
the  amount  of  heat  lost  from  the  skin  by  radiation  and  conduction. 
The  loss  of  heat  is  further  regulated  by  the  production  of  sweat 
and  the  vaporization  of  water  from  the  lungs.  The  clothing  of  man 
and  the  thick  skin,  hair,  wool,  and  feathers  of  animals  also  check  and 
control  the  loss  of  heat. 

According  to  Howell,^  the  heat  lost  from  the  human  body  escapes 
as  follows  : 

Avenues  of  escape  of  heat  from  human  hody 

Per  ct. 
heat  lost 

By  urine  and  feces 1.8 

By  warming  expired  air 3.5 

By  vaporizing  water  from  lungs 7.2 

By  evaporation  of  water  from  skin 14.5 

By  radiation  and  conduction  from  skin 73 . 0 

Total 100.0 

The  relative  importance  of  these  channels  of  heat  loss  depends  upon 
various  conditions  and  upon  the  species  of  animal.  Animals  that  do 
not  sweat  give  off  more  heat  by  the  lungs  and  less  by  the  skin.  In  pro- 
portion to  their  weight,  small  animals  lose  more  heat  by  radiation  than 
do  larger  ones  of  the  same  species.  High  external  temperature  tends 
to  diminish  the  loss  by  radiation  and  increase  that  due  to  evaporation 
from  the  skin  or  vaporization  from  the  lungs.  Violent  exercise  calls  for 
the  rapid  burning  of  food  and  tissue  fuel,  with  a  consequent  increase 
of  body  heat.  This  heat  passes  off  thru  the  more  rapid  breathing  and 
the  increased  losses  from  the  skin. 

Because  the  loss  of  heat  is  largely  controlled  by  the  clothing  he  wears, 
man  has,  in  some  measure,  lost  his  power  of  heat  regulation.  With  many 
of  the  warm-blooded  animals,  however,  this  power  is  highly  developed, 
as  is  shown  by  Rubner,^  who  determined  the  heat  lost  by  a  small  dog 
at  various  air  temperatures,  before  and  after  removing  his  coat  of  long 
hair.  Before  the  dog  was  clipped  lowering  the  temperature  from  86° 
to  68°  F.  caused  no  increase  in  the  loss  of  heat.  After  clipping,  however, 
this  change  in  temperature  caused  a  58  per  ct.  greater  loss  of  heat,  which 
was  covered  bj'  increased  production  of  heat  in  the  body. 

91.  Heat  and  energy  required  for  maintenance. — Experiments  have 
shown  that  with  a  mature  animal  being  maintained  at  rest  in  the  stall 
the  requirement  for  fuel  to  keep  up  the  body  temperature  ordinarily 

"Text  Book  of  Physiol.,  1907,  p.  861. 

"Gesetze  des  Energieverbrauchs,  1902,  p.  14. 


58 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


greatly  exceeds  the  amount  of  net  energy  needed  for  the  internal  work 
of  the  body  organs.^  As  will  be  shown  later  (448),  Zuntz  found  that  to 
maintain  the  horse  at  rest  only  one-third  of  the  total  energy  of  the 
ration  need  be  supplied  in  the  form  of  net  energy,  the  remainder  serving 
simply  as  body  fuel.  Hence,  excepting  for  the  pig,  the  maintenance 
ration  of  farm  animals  may  consist  largely  of  roughages,  such  as  hay 
and  straw,  which  furnish  abundant  heat,  but  do  not  yield  much  net 
energy.  (78-80)  Since  the  ration  must  furnish  at  least  a  minimum 
amount  of  net  energy,  animals  cannot  be  maintained  on  such  feeds  as 
wheat  straw  alone,  which  furnish  no  net  energy  to  the  horse  and  but 
little  to  the  ruminant. 

Due  to  differences  in  temperament  there  is  considerable  variation  in 
the  maintenance  requirements  of  different  individuals  of  the  same  size 
and  species,  kept  under  the  same  conditions.  As  restlessness  causes 
greater  muscular  activity  and  thereby  uses  up  more  body  fuel,  a  quiet 
animal  requires  less  food  for  maintenance  than  a  nervous,  active  one. 
During  experiments  with  a  horse  in  a  respiration  chamber,  Zuntz  and 
Hagemann®  found  that  the  presence  of  flies  caused  the  animal  to  give 
off  over  10  per  ct.  more  carbonic  acid  gas  than  normally,  which  means 
that  this  much  more  food  fuel  was  burned.  Armsby**  found  that  the  ox 
in  the  respiration  calorimeter  produced  over  30  per  ct.  more  heat  when 
standing  than  when  lying  down.  Some  of  this  additional  heat  was 
undoubtedly  produced  thru  the  work  of  maintaining  the  body  upright, 
but  the  larger  part  was  due  to  the  greater  muscular  movement  of  the 
animal  when  standing.  Kellner^°  shows  that  the  ox  in  good  condition, 
especially  when  fat,  requires  a  larger  ration  for  maintenance  than  a 
lean  one  of  the  same  body  surface. 

The  loss  of  heat  and  energy  from  the  body  is  not  proportional  to 
the  size  or  weight  of  the  animal,  but  rather  to  the  body  surface.  This  is 
shown  by  Rubner,ii  who  determined  the  quantity  of  heat  given  off  daily 
by  fasting  dogs  of  different  sizes  but  in  the  same  bodily  condition,  as 
reported  in  the  following  table : 

Heat  given  off  by  fasting  dogs  of  different  sizes 


Heat  lost  daUy 

Body  weight 

Body  surface 

Per  kgm.  wt. 

Per  sq.  m.  surface 

Kgms. 

Sq.m. 

Cal. 

Cal. 

3.2 

0.24 

88.1 

1212 

6.5 

0.37 

66.1 

1153 

9.6 

0.53 

65.2 

1183 

18.2 

0.77 

46.2 

1097 

24.0 

0.88 

40.9 

1112 

31.2 

1.07 

36.6 

1036 

^Kellner,  Ernahr.  landw.  Nutztiere,  1907,  p.  405. 
^Landw.  Jahrb.,  23,  1894,  p.  161. 

"Proc.  Soc.  Prom.  Agr.  ScL,  1902;  Proc.  Amer.  Soc.  Anim.  Prod.,  1914. 
"Landw.  Vers.  Stat.,  50,  1898,  p.  245;  53,  1900,  p.  14. 
"Ztschr.  Biol.,  19,  1883,  p.  535. 


MAINTENANCE  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  59 

It  is  sho^\Ti  that  while  the  heat  lost  daily  per  square  meter  of  body 
surface  remained  nearly  constant,  the  larger  the  animal  the  smaller 
was  the  daily  loss  per  kilo  of  body  weight.  This  is  because  large  bodies 
have  less  surface  in  proportion  to  their  weight  than  small  ones,  and  the 
loss  of  heat  from  the  body  is  largely  determined  by  its  relative  surface. 
Hence  maintenance  rations  should  be  proportional  to  the  surface  of  the 
body  rather  than  its  weight.  Since  it  is  difficult  to  actually  measure  the 
surface  of  an  animal's  body,  the  maintenance  ration  for  animals  of  dif- 
ferent sizes  may  be  computed  by  the  well-known  geometrical  law  that  the 
surfaces  of  solids  are  proportional  to  the  squares  of  the  cube  roots  of 
their  weights. 

The  rate  at  which  heat  is  lost  from  the  body  by  radiation  also  depends 
on  the  difference  between  the  air  temperature  and  the  body  temperature. 
Exposure  to  cold  winds,  especially  with  animals  having  scant  coats, 
greatly  increases  the  radiation  of  heat.  Animals  with  coats  wet  by  cold 
rain  or  snow  lose  additional  heat  from  their  bodies,  for  the  cold  water 
which  falls  on  them  must  be  warmed  and  evaporated  by  heat  generated 
thru  the  burning  of  food.  With  the  well-fed  fattening  animal,  the 
greater  loss  of  heat  thru  these  causes  may  not  produce  any  waste  of 
food,  for  much  more  heat  is  being  generated  in  the  mastication,  diges- 
tion, and  assimilation  of  the  heavy  ration  than  is  normally  needed  to 
warm  the  body.  In  the  case  of  animals  on  a  maintenance  ration,  whose 
chief  demand  is  for  body  fuel,  such  exposure  will  necessitate  an  increased 
consumption  of  feed  to  serve  as  fuel.  On  the  other  hand,  too  high  a  stable 
temperature  leads  to  loss  of  appetite  and  induces  sweating. 


II.  Requirements  for  Protein 

92.  Protein  waste  from  the  body. — In  view  of  the  high  cost  and  relative 
scarcity  of  crude  protein  in  feeding  stuffs,  it  is  important  to  know  the 
minimum  amount  of  this  nutrient  required  for  maintenance.  There 
is  at  all  times  an  excretion  of  nitrogen  from  the  animal  body  by  way 
of  the  urine.  With  a  well-nourished  animal  this  excretion  is  relatively 
large,  the  amount  depending  chiefly  upon  the  quantity  of  nitrogen  sup- 
plied in  the  food.  If  all  food  is  withheld  from  such  an  animal,  the  nitro- 
gen excretion  decreases  rapidly  at  first,  until  the  supply  of  amino  acids 
in  the  blood  and  tissues,  which  have  not  yet  been  built  into  body  protein, 
is  lowered  to  a  minimum.  The  nitrogen  waste  in  the  urine  then  slowly 
decreases  until  it  reaches  a  level  which  remains  quite  constant  so  long 
as  heat  and  energy  are  furnished  by  the  body  fat.  When  the  supply 
of  the  latter  begins  to  fail,  the  muscles  and  other  protein  tissues  must 
thereafter  not  only  furnish  protein  for  the  repair  of  the  vital  body 
machinery  but  must  also  supply  the  necessary  heat  and  energy;  conse- 
quently they  waste  more  rapidly  until  death  follows. 

When  animals  are  fed  exclusively  on  nitrogen-free  nutrients,  such  as 
the  sugars,  starches,  fats,  etc.,  the  waste  of  fat  from  the  body  is  materially 


60  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

lessened,  and  the  waste  of  the  nitrogenous  tissues  of  the  body,  such  as 
the  muscles,  is  somewhat  reduced,  tho  not  entirely  stopped.  On  account 
of  this  sparing  of  the  body  substances,  animals  forced  to  live  on  such 
diet  survive  longer  than  those  wholly  deprived  of  food.  Yet  because  of 
the  continuous  small  waste  of  protein  from  the  tissues  of  the  body, 
animals  nourished  solely  on  fats  and  carbohydrates  cannot  long  survive. 

93.  Feeding  protein  alone. — ^We  might  expect  that  when  protein  only 
is  fed  to  a  fasting  animal,  in  an  amount  corresponding  to  the  quantity 
lost  daily  during  starvation,  it  would  replace  the  protein  wasted  from 
the  tissues,  and  the  animal  thus  be  brought  to  nitrogen  equilibrium ;  that 
is,  it  would  excrete  as  much,  but  no  more,  nitrogen  than  was  contained 
in  the  food.  However,  when  protein  is  fed  under  such  conditions,  the 
amount  of  nitrogen  excreted  at  once  rises,  and  tho  the  loss  of  nitrogen 
from  the  tissues  is  reduced,  nitrogen  equilibrium  is  not  reached.  When 
practically  pure  protein  is  fed,  the  loss  of  nitrogen  can  be  checked  only 
if  the  supply  is  far  in  excess  of  the  waste  from  the  starving  body.  It  is 
assumed  that  this  increase  in  nitrogenous  waste  when  protein  is  fed  in 
such  large  proportion  is  due  to  a  flooding  of  the  tissues  with  amino 
acids,  the  products  of  protein  digestion,  and  a  consequent  stimulation 
of  the  activities  of  the  body  cells.  (11,  49)  However,  the  food  protein  so 
decomposed  is  not  entirely  lost  to  the  animal.  Not  only  may  it  be  burned 
as  body  fuel,  thus  saving  the  body  fat,  but,  after  the  splitting  of  the 
nitrogen  from  the  molecules  of  protein  or  of  amino  acids,  the  non-nitroge- 
nous residue  which  remains  may  be  converted  into  glucose  and  finally 
into  glycogen  or  fat.  Carnivora,  or  flesh-eating  animals,  have  lived  for 
long  periods  on  washed  lean  meat,  consisting  chiefly  of  protein,  with 
only  a  small  amount  of  fat  and  a  trace  of  glycogen.  Since  plant  tissue 
is  rich  in  carbohydrates,  such  experiments  have  not  been  possible  with 
the  herbivora,  or  plant-eating  animals. 

94.  Protein  required  for  maintenance. — The  preceding  discussions  have 
pointed  out  the  functions  of  protein  in  the  body  under  various  condi- 
tions. Let  us  now  pass  to  a  question  of  much  practical  importance — the 
amount  of  protein  required  to  maintain  animals  at  rest,  when  fed  along 
with  sufficient  carbohydrates  or  fats  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  body  for 
fuel.  When  enough  of  these  nitrogen-free  nutrients  is  supplied,  the 
amount  of  protein  required  to  bring  an  animal  into  nitrogen  equilibrium 
is  much  less  than  where  the  ration  is  nearly  pure  protein.  In  trials  with 
dogs  Voit^^  found  that  from  2.6  to  3.3  lbs.  of  lean  meat  per  day  was 
required  to  check  the  loss  of  protein  from  the  body  when  lean  meat  was 
fed  alone — practically  an  exclusive  protein  diet.  When  carbohydrates 
or  fat  was  added,  only  one-half  to  one-third  as  much  lean  meat  was 
needed.  Since  the  digestible  portion  of  the  crude  fiber  and  likewise  of 
the  pentosans  can  serve  as  body  fuel  (48),  these  nutrients  to  some  degree 
decrease  the  waste  of  nitrogen  in  the  same  manner  as  does  a  supply  of 
the  more  easily  digested  sugars  and  starch. 

Experiments  show  that  a  pound  of  carbohydrates  has  somewhat  greater 
"Ztschr.  Biol.,  5,  1869,  p.  352. 


MAINTENANCE  OF  FAEM  ANIMALS  61 

protein-sparing  action  than  a  pound  of  fat,  a  surprising  fact  when  we 
remember  that,  on  burning,  fat  produces  over  twice  as  much  energy  as 
do  carbohydrates.  (70)  Evidently  there  is  no  relation  between  the  fuel 
values  of  these  nutrients  and  their  protein-sparing  power.  Landegren" 
explains  this  superiority  of  carbohydrates  over  fat  as  follows :  For  the 
carrying  on  of  their  normal  functions,  living  cells  need  a  certain  mini- 
mum not  only  of  protein  but  also  of  carbohydrates,  especially  glucose. 
When  carbohydrates  are  not  supplied,  the  body  forms  the  necessary 
glucose  by  decomposing  protein.  So  long,  however,  as  there  is  an  ample 
supply  of  carbohydrates  in  the  food,  protein  is  not  used  for  this  purpose. 
As  the  bod}^  can  form  carbohydrates  from  fat  only  with  great  difficulty, 
if  at  all,  the  fats  are  less  potent  than  the  carbohydrates  in  checking  the 
protein  wastes  in  the  body. 

By  feeding  rations  ample  in  carbohydrates  and  fat,  some  investigators 
have  succeeded  in  reducing  the  requirement  of  nitrogenous  matter  to 
slightly  more  than  the  normal  nitrogen  waste  of  the  body  during  starva- 
tion. At  the  Pennsylvania  Station^*  Armsby  found  in  experiments  with 
steers,  covering  70  days,  that  from  0.4  to  0.6  lb.  of  digestible  protein 
daily  per  1000  lbs.  of  live  weight  was  sufficient  to  maintain  the  nitrogen 
equilibrium.  Contrary  to  the  observ-ations  of  some  of  the  earlier  inves- 
tigators, no  ill  effects  followed  this  small  supply  of  protein.  Wintering 
cattle  on  feeds  poor  in  crude  protein — straw,  inferior  hay,  corn  stover, 
etc. — as  practiced  by  many  farmers,  confirms  this  finding. 

In  general,  it  is  not  wise  to  supply  only  the  theoretical  minimum  of 
protein  to  animals  for  extended  periods  for  the  following  reasons :  As 
we  have  seen  (81,  85),  it  is  essential  to  make  some  allowance  for  the 
difference  in  composition  of  feeding  stuffs  and  the  varying  capacities  of 
animals  to  digest  and  utilize  the  nutrients  in  the  ration.  Besides  supply- 
ing protein  to  replace  the  daily  waste  from  the  organs  of  the  body,  suffi- 
cient must  also  be  given  to  maintain  the  growth  of  the  nitrogenous  hair, 
hoofs,  wool,  etc.  When  the  ration  has  too  wide  a  nutritive  ratio,  the 
digestibility  of  the  feed  is  decreased.  Moreover,  certain  proteins  of 
unbalanced  composition  fed  as  the  sole  source  of  nitrogen  will  not  suffice 
to  maintain  an  animal.  For  example,  in  numerous  experiments  animals 
have  never  been  maintained  successfully  on  gelatin,  which  lacks  2  amino 
acids  and  contains  only  small  amounts  of  others.  As  we  have  little 
knowledge  concerning  possible  deficiencies  in  the  mixture  of  proteins 
supplied  in  the  different  individual  feeding  stuffs,  it  is  advisable  to  make 
allowance  for  waste  w^hich  may  occur  if  the  feed  contains  low  amounts 
of  some  of  the  amino  acids  essential  for  maintenance.  It  is  also  a  well- 
known  fact  that  in  general  protein  is  a  cell  stimulant,  and  a  supply 
somewhat  above  the  minimum  promotes  the  well-being  of  the  animal. 

The  wisdom  of  not  attempting  to  limit  the  protein  supply  to  the  theo- 
retical minimum  for  long  periods  is  shown  by  the  experience  of  Haecker^^ 
of  the  Minnesota  Station.    During  many  years  of  patient  study  he  found 

"Skand.  Archiv.  Physiol.,  14.  1903,  p.  112. 

"Principles  of  Animal  Nutrition,  1903,  p.  142. 

"Minn.  Bills.  71,  79,  140. 


62  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

that  dairy  cows  under  good  care  and  otherwise  liberal  feeding  would  for 
long  periods  continue  a  good  flow  of  milk  on  a  surprisingly  small  allow- 
ance of  crude  protein.  After  some  years  of  such  feeding,  however,  their 
vitality  was  so  depleted  that  they  became  physical  wrecks  long  before 
their  time.  These  studies  led  Haecker  to  raise  his  crude  protein  standard 
for  the  dairy  cow  above  his  earlier  allowance,  tho  such  allowance  is  still 
below  the  Wolff-Lehmann  standard,  as  is  shown  elsewhere.  (182) 

Even  when  sufficient  protein  is  fed  to  insure  good  health,  the  amount 
required  to  maintain  mature  resting  animals  is  not  large  compared  with 
the  need  of  carbohydrates  and  fat  for  body  fuel.  Maintenance  rations 
for  such  animals  may  therefore  have  a  relatively  wide  nutritive  ratio. 
For  example,  Kellner  recommends  for  the  maintenance  of  the  mature  ox 
at  rest  a  supply  of  0.6  to  0.8  lb.  of  digestible  protein  and  7.7  to  9.7  lbs. 
of  digestible  non-nitrogenous  nutrients  (including  fat  X  2.25).  (170) 
Armsby  places  the  requirement  of  the  horse  somewhat  higher,  as  is  shown 
later.  (172) 

95.  Can  amids  replace  proteins  ?— Whether  the  functions  of  protein  in 
the  body  can  be  filled  by  the  group  of  nitrogenous  compounds,  more 
simple  than  the  true  proteins,  which  are  included  under  the  term  amids 
(11),  is  a  disputed  question  among  scientists.  In  the  light  of  recent 
experiments,  which  have  shown  that  even  certain  true  proteins  are  in- 
sufficient for  maintenance  or  growth  when  fed  alone,  it  is  not  surprising 
that  single  pure  amids  have  failed  to  fulfill  the  functions  of  food  protein. 
Thus  numerous  experiments  have  shown  that  animals  cannot  be  main- 
tained on  asparagin,  an  amid,  as  the  sole  source  of  nitrogen.  Tho  they 
cannot  replace  protein,  such  amids,  even  when  fed  in  pure  form,  furnish 
energy  to  the  body. 

"We  have  seen  (49) ,  that  all  the  digested  food  protein  is  broken  down 
into  amino  acids  and  absorbed  as  such  from  the  intestine,  being  later 
rebuilt  into  body  protein.  With  this  in  mind  it  is  reasonable  to  hold  that 
if  the  mixture  of  amids  in  a  feeding  stuff  contains  all  of  the  amino  acids 
(the  protein  building-stones)  needed  to  form  body  protein,  these  amids 
can  be  used  in  the  same  manner  as  true  protein  for  the  repair  of  body 
tissue  or  for  the  formation  of  new  protein  tissue.  This  belief  is  supported 
by  the  following : 

Nearly  half  the  nitrogen  in  corn  silage,  and  about  15  per  ct.  of  that 
in  dried  corn  forage,  is  in  amid  form.  Yet,  based  on  dry  matter,  corn 
silage  is  somewhat  more  valuable  than  corn  forage  as  a  feed  for  dairy 
cows,  which  require  a  liberal  supply  of  crude  protein.  (630)  The  amids 
are  abundant  in  grass,  roots,  and  silage,  all  of  which  are  especially  useful 
to  growing  or  pregnant  animals  and  to  those  producing  milk  and  wool. 


III.  Requirements  for  Mineral  Matter 

96.  Importance  of  mineral  matter. — That  the  ash  of  feeding  stuffs  is 
of  the  greatest  importance  to  animals  is  shown  by  feeding  them  rations 


MAINTENANCE  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  63 

freed  as  far  as  possible  from  mineral  matter,  in  which  case  they  die  of 
mineral  starvation.  Indeed,  animals  thus  fed  generally  perish  sooner 
than  when  no  food  is  given.  During  such  starvation  the  nervous  system 
first  suffers  in  a  perceptible  manner;  marked  weakness  of  the  limbs, 
trembling  of  the  muscles,  convulsions,  and  great  excitability  result.^® 

Mineral  matter  is  found  in  all  the  vital  parts  of  the  body.  The  nuclei 
of  all  cells  are  rich  in  phosphorus,  and  the  skeleton  is  composed  largely  of 
calcium  (lime)  combined  with  phosphorus.  Blood  deprived  of  its  cal- 
cium does  not  clot.  The  blood  serum  is  rich  in  common  salt  and  other 
salts  of  sodium,  while  the  red  blood  corpuscles  are  rich  in  potassium 
compounds.  The  power  of  the  blood  to  carry  oxygen  is  due  to  hemo- 
globin, an  iron-protein  compound  in  the  red  corpuscles.  In  the  stomach 
the  pepsin  acts  only  in  the  presence  of  an  acid,  normally  hydrochloric, 
derived  from  the  salts  of  this  acid  present  in  the  blood. 

97.  Mineral  salts  control  life  processes. — In  some  mysterious  manner, 
possibly  by  carrying  electric  charges  which  stimulate  the  body  cells,^' 
the  mineral  salts  of  the  body  direct  its  various  vital  processes.  A  simple 
experiment  often  performed  in  the  laboratory  will  illustrate  the  im- 
portant functions  of  the  mineral  elements  in  life.  If  the  heart,  still 
beating,  is  removed  from  a  frog  and  placed  in  a  solution  of  pure  sodium 
chlorid  (common  salt),  its  beats  soon  fade  out.  Now  if  a  small  amount 
of  a  calcium  salt  (lime)  be  added  to  the  solution,  the  heart  will  at  once 
begin  to  beat  again,  and  will  continue  in  rhythmical  contraction  for 
several  hours.  Unless  a  small  amount  of  a  potassium  salt  is  likewise 
added,  the  beat  will  not,  however,  be  normal,  the  heart  failing  to  relax 
quickly  and  completely  enough  after  each  contraction.  Therefore,  if 
potassium  is  not  added  the  relaxations  become  more  and  more  feeble, 
until  the  heart  stops  in  a  contracted  state.  Not  only  must  potassium  be 
present,  but  there  must  be  a  correct  proportion  between  the  amounts  of 
calcium  and  potassium.  If  too  much  potassium  is  added,  the  heart  will 
fail  to  contract  properly,  and  finally  will  again  stop  beating,  but  this 
time  in  a  state  of  complete  relaxation. 

Similarly,  the  other  vital  processes  are  dependent  not  only  on  the 
presence  of  various  mineral  salts,  but  also  on  a  proper  relationship  be- 
tween them.  Therefore  it  will  be  seen  that  unless  the  amount  of  these 
mineral  salts  in  the  blood  is  kept  normal,  serious  consequences  will  follow. 
In  large  measure  the  kidneys  protect  the  animal  against  an  unbalanced 
mineral  matter  content  in  the  blood  by  promptly  excreting  any  excess  of 
various  salts  which  may  be  present.  However,  when  the  food  continu- 
ally furnishes  the  blood  an  unbalanced  salt  mixture,  the  kidneys  may  be 
unable  to  keep  the  blood  composition  normal,  with  resultant  injury  to 
the  animal.  For  instance,  magnesium  and  calcium  seem  antagonistic  in 
their  action,  and  in  voiding  the  excess  of  magnesium  the  body  loses 
calcium.  Given  in  excessive  amount  for  long  periods,  feeds  which  con- 
tain much  magnesium  in  proportion  to  calcium,  such  as  wheat  bran  and 

"  Kellner,  Ernahr.  landw.  Nutztiere,  1907,  p.  169. 

"Forbes,  Ohio  Tech.  Bui.  5. 


64  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

middlings,  are  said  to  cause  a  weakening  of  the  bones,  leading  to  such 
troubles  as  "bran  disease"  or  "miller's  horse  rickets." 

Appendix  Table  VI  sets  forth  the  mineral  constituents  of  feeding 
stuffs  so  far  as  it  has  been  possible  to  secure  them. 

98.  Calcium  and  phosphorus. — Large  amounts  of  calcium  (lime)  are 
deposited  in  the  bones  of  animals,  chiefly  as  phosphate  and  in  smaller 
amount  as  carbonate.  Indeed,  over  90  per  ct.  of  the  ash  of  bone  is 
calcium  and  phosphorus.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  a  long- 
continued  lack  of  calcium  or  of  phosphorus  in  the  food  is  harmful  to  the 
skeleton. 

Hart,  McCollum,  and  Humphrey  of  the  Wisconsin  Station^^  have 
shown  that  the  animal  skeleton  acts  as  a  reserve  storehouse  of  mineral 
matter,  doling  out  calcium,  phosphorus,  etc.,  when  the  supply  in  the  food 
is  below  requirements,  in  order  that  the  metabolic  processes  of  the  body 
may  be  maintained.  Under  such  conditions  the  calcium  and  phosphorus 
in  the  flesh  and  other  soft  parts  remain  as  high  as  in  animals  liberally 
supplied  with  these  mineral  matters.  These  investigators  found  that  a 
cow  fed  a  ration  deficient  in  calcium  during  3.5  months  gave  off  5.5  lbs. 
more  calcium  in  milk  and  excrement  than  was  in  the  food.  This  was 
fully  25  per  ct.  of  all  the  calcium  in  her  body,  including  the  skeleton, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  trial. 

Such  withdrawal  of  mineral  matter  from  the  skeleton  produces 
porosity  and  brittleness  of  bone.  In  certain  localities  where  the  hay 
and  other  roughages  are  especially  low  in  calcium  and  phosphorus,^^ 
farm  animals  are  so  affected  by  the  lack  of  these  mineral  substances  that 
their  bones  are  broken  easily  and  in  seemingly  inexplicable  ways.  Often 
this  brittleness  of  bone  is  noticeable  only  in  years  when  the  normal  ab- 
sorption of  calcium  and  phosphorus  by  the  roots  of  plants  is  hindered 
by  drought.  Of  grown  animals,  those  carrying  their  young  are  most  apt 
to  suffer  from  the  lack  of  these  substances,  since  considerable  amounts 
are  deposited  in  the  fetus.  Growing  animals  whose  bones  are  rapidly 
increasing  in  size  suffer  from  a  lack  of  calcium  or  phosphorus  sooner 
than  grown  animals.  Voit^°  found  that  young  animals  receiving  a  ra- 
tion low  in  calcium  are  soon  attacked  by  rickets,  the  joints  swelling,  the 
limbs  and  the  spinal  column  becoming  crooked,  the  teeth  remaining  small 
and  soft,  and  the  animal  finally  being  unable  to  walk.  Pigs,  because  of 
restricted  diet,  suffer  from  insufficient  calcium  and  phosphorus  more 
often  than  do  calves,  colts,  and  lambs,  which  usually  receive  enough  of 
these  mineral  matters  in  their  hay  and  other  food. 

The  superior  value  of  such  leguminous  roughages  as  clover,  alfalfa, 
and  cowpea  hay  for  farm  animals  has  in  the  past  been  ascribed  to  their 
high  content  of  protein.    Ingle-^  holds  that  in  such  concentrates  as  lin- 

"Wis.  Research  Bui.  5;    Am.  Jour.  Physiol.,  1909. 

•»Kellner,  Ernahr.  landw.  Nutztiere,  1907,  p.  185. 

*»Ztschr.  Biol.,  16,  1880,  p.  70. 

"Jour,  of  Comparative  Pathology  and  Therapeutics,  Mar.,  1907. 


MAINTENANCE  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  65 

seed  oil  cake,  Indian  corn,  oats,  wheat,  and  barley,  and  in  such  roots  and 
roughages  as  turnips,  swedes,  mangels,  corn  stover,  wheat  straw,  etc., 
there  is  generally  an  excess  of  phosphorus  over  calcium,  or  lime.  He 
holds  that  this  excess  of  phosphorus  tends  to  waste  or  carry  the  calcium 
out  of  the  body  to  an  excessive  degree  and  is  therefore  unfavorable  to 
normal  nutrition.  The  leguminous  roughages  contain  a  large  excess  of 
calcium  over  phosphorus,  and  accordingly  supplying  legumes  with  the 
other  feeds  named  makes  good  such  wastage  of  calcium.  To  this  high 
content  of  calcium  as  well  as  to  the  high  protein  content  we  must  here- 
after ascribe  the  beneficial  effects  of  clover,  alfalfa,  vetch,  and  other 
leguminous  roughages  on  the  growth,  milk  yield,  and  bone  development 
of  farm  animals. 

99.  Mineral  requirements  for  maintenance. — It  is  probable  that,  by 
reason  of  its  perfection,  the  animal  organism  is  able  to  use  many  of  the 
mineral  substances  over  and  over  for  the  same  functions,  taking  them 
back  into  the  circulation  again  after  they  have  once  been  used.  In  spite 
of  this  frugal  economy,  however,  losses  of  mineral  matter  from  the  body 
constantly  occur,  even  during  starvation.  Ordinarily  the  rations  of  farm 
animals  contain  all  the  necessary  mineral  matters,  at  least  in  small 
quantities,  and  since  the  body  retains  them  with  great  tenacity  when  the 
supply  is  meager,  these  small  amounts  usually  suffice,  especially  for 
mature  animals.  Common  salt,  calcium  (lime),  and  phosphorus  are 
often  needed  in  such  large  amounts  that  they  may  fall  short  in  certain 
rations,  and  hence  must  be  added,  if  normal  results  are  to  be  obtained. 
As  is  shown  later  (119),  young  growing  animals  require  larger  supplies 
of  mineral  matter  than  those  which  are  full-grown;  hence  more  care 
should  be  taken  to  provide  a  liberal  allowance,  especially  of  lime  and 
phosphorus. 

In  forming  rations  the  calcium  and  phosphorus  content  of  the  feeds 
should  be  considered.  Straw,  chaff,  the  various  root  crops,  molasses,  and 
the  cereals  and  their  by-products,  such  as  bran  and  middlings,  are  low 
in  calcium.  On  the  other  hand,  the  legumes,  as  clover,  alfalfa,  etc.,  the 
meadow  grasses,  and  many  leguminous  seeds,  such  as  peas,  beans,  etc., 
are  high  in  calcium.  Straw,  chaff,  beet  pulp,  potatoes,  and  molasses  are 
low  in  phosphorus,  while  the  cereals  and  brans,  malt  sprouts,  oil  cakes, 
brewers '  grains,  slaughter-house  and  fish  waste  carry  it  in  abundance. 
Both  calcium  and  phosphorus  may  thus  be  lacking  in  some  rations. 
When  soft  water  is  drunk,  the  calcium  is  especially  apt  to  be  deficient. 

100.  Inorganic  phosphorus. — A  considerable  part  of  the  phosphorus  of 
common  feeding  stuffs  is  present  in  the  proteins,  the  phosphorus-con- 
taining fatty  substances,  and  other  organic  compounds.  A  higher  nutri- 
tive value  has  often  been  ascribed  by  scientists  to  phosphorus  in  these 
compounds  than  to  phosphorus  in  such  materials  as  ground  rock  phos- 
phate, ground  bones,  or  bone  ash,  which  contain  phosphorus  in  inorganic 
form,  like  phosphate  of  calcium.  These  materials  are  the  cheapest  forms 
in  which  phosphorus  can  be  added  to  a  ration  deficient  in  this  mineral 


66  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

nutrient.  The  question  as  to  whether  animals  can  assimilate  inorganic 
phosphorus  and  whether  the  body  can  use  it  for  all  purposes  which 
organic  phosphorus  serves,  are  therefore  questions  to  which  scientists 
have  devoted  much  study. 

Kohler--  found  that  lambs  can  assimilate  and  use  calcium  phosphate, 
bone  ash,  and  steamed  bone.  J.  Neumann-^  fed  calcium  carbonate  and 
calcium  phosphate  to  calves  with  good  results.  Experiments  at 
Mockem^*  indicate  beneficial  results  from  the  use  of  30  to  50  grams  of 
calcium  phosphate  in  the  daily  ration  of  steers  which  had  shown  marked 
brittleness  of  bone.  At  the  Wisconsin  Station,^^  Hart,  McCollum,  and 
Fuller  found  that  pigs  were  able  to  assimilate  inorganic  phosphorus  sup- 
plied in  the  form  of  precipitated  calcium  phosphate,  bone  ash,  or  ground 
rock  phosphate,  and  that  the  addition  of  such  phosphorus  to  a  ration 
low  in  phosphorus  caused  increased  bone  formation.  From  5  experi- 
ments with  growing  pigs,  in  which  either  inorganic  phosphates  or  phos- 
phorus in  organic  forms  were  added  to  rations  low  in  phosphorus, 
Forbes-^  of  the  Ohio  Station  concludes  that  the  inorganic  phosphates 
were  absorbed  and  retained,  and  apparently  utilized  for  growth  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  phosphorus  in  organic  form. 

We  may  therefore  conclude  that  when  a  ration  must  be  used  which 
is  deficient  in  calcium  or  phosphorus,  calcium  may  be  supplied  in  the 
form  of  calcium  carbonate  in  wood  ashes  or  ground  limestone,  or  phos- 
phorus and  calcium  in  the  form  of  precipitated  calcium  phosphate,  bone 
ash,  or  ground  rock  phosphate.  This  latter  is  by  far  the  cheapest  form 
of  phosphorus  easily  available  for  such  purposes. 

101.  Commoii  salt. — The  hunger  of  herbivorous  animals  for  common 
salt  is  well  known,  but  practical  men  have  differed  as  to  the  necessity  or 
advantage  of  adding  it  to  the  ration.  In  spite  of  the  earlier  belief  that 
salt  increased  the  digestibility  of  food,  numerous  experiments  have  shown 
that  the  digestibility  of  the  ration  is  neither  increased  nor  diminished 
thereby.  Rather  than  increasing  the  waste  of  protein  from  the  body,  as 
earlier  investigators  believed,  salt  appears  to  slightly  lessen  protein  de- 
composition. Kellner"  states  that  besides  the  physiological  action  of 
salt,  it  sei'ves  as  a  spice  or  condiment  which  whets  the  appetite  and  in- 
creases the  palatability  of  many  foods.  It  also  stimulates  the  secretion 
of  the  digestive  fluids,  hastens  the  circulation  of  the  fluids  of  the  body, 
and  prevents  digestive  disturbances. 

Excessive  consumption  of  salt  must  be  guarded  against,  since  it  great- 
ly increases  the  amount  of  water  excreted  in  the  urine.  The  consequent 
abnormal  thirst  causes  animals  to  drink  excessively,  which  impairs  diges- 
tion and  leads  to  other  disturbances.  If  sufficient  water  is  not  supplied, 
the  water  content  of  the  body  will  be  lowered  by  the  increased  loss  thru 
the  kidneys,  leading  to  greater  waste  of  protein.    Animals  allowed  free 

^^'Landw.  Vers.  Stat.,  61,  1905;  65,  1907.       2=  Wis.  Research  Bui.  1. 

==  Jour.  Land..  41,  1893,  p.  343.  ^^Ohio  Tech.  Bui  5. 

**Landw.  Vers.  Stat.,  57,  1902,  p.  239.''Ernahr.  landw.  Nutztiere.  1907,  p.  173. 


MAINTENANCE  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  67 

access  to  salt  or  supplied  with  it  at  frequent  and  regular  intervals  will 
consume  only  enough  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  body. 

Of  the  numerous  salt-feeding  experiments,  only  those  of  Babcock  and 
Carlyle  of  the  Wisconsin  Station-^  are  satisfactory  and  conclusive.  In 
these  trials  dairy  cows,  well  nourished  otherwise,  were  given  no  common 
salt  (sodium  chlorid)  for  long  periods — more  than  a  year  in  some  in- 
stances. The  following  conclusions  were  reached:  "In  every  case  the 
cows  exhibited  an  abnormal  appetite  for  salt  after  having  been  deprived 
of  it  for  2  or  3  weeks,  but  in  no  case  did  the  health  of  the  animal,  as 
shown  by  the  general  appearance,  the  live  weight,  or  the  3'ield  of  milk, 
appear  to  be  affected  until  a  much  longer  time  had  elapsed.  This  period 
of  immunity  varied  with  individual  cows  from  less  than  a  month  to  more 
than  a  year.  There  was  fina,lly  reached  a  condition  of  low  vitality  in 
which  a  sudden  and  complete  breakdown  occurred.  This  stage  was 
marked  by  loss  of  appetite,  a  generally  haggard  appearance,  lusterless 
eyes,  a  rough  coat,  and  a  very  rapid  decline  in  both  live  weight  and 
yield  of  milk. ' '  If  salt  was  supplied  at  this  period  recovery  was  rapid. 
In  one  case  potassium  chlorid  was  given  instead  of  common  salt  (sodium 
chlorid).  Considerable  of  the  potassium  salt  was  eaten,  tho  cows  or- 
dinarily refuse  to  touch  it,  and  recovery  followed  as  quickly  as  when 
common  salt  was  supplied — evidence  that  not  the  lack  of  sodium  but  the 
lack  of  chlorin  was  responsible  for  the  troubles.  The  breakdown  due  to 
the  lack  of  salt  usually  occurred  after  calving  when  the  milk  flow  was 
hea\y,  and  generally  the  cows  giving  the  largest  amount  of  milk  were 
the  first  to  show  distress. 

Babcock  points  out  that  the  salt  requirement  will  vary  greatly  in  dif- 
ferent localities.  Soils  which  contain  large  quantities  of  salt  doubtless 
produce  feeding  stuffs  containing  more  salt  than  those  poor  in  this 
ingredient;  and  again,  the  water  of  streams  and  wells  varies  greatly  in 
salt  content.  These  facts  doubtless  account  for  the  disagreement  among 
experimenters  in  different  parts  of  the  world  as  to  the  importance  and 
value  of  salt.  Cows  in  milk  and  sheep  show  the  greatest  need  of  salt ; 
fattening  cattle,  horees,  dry  cows,  and  stock  cattle  require  less  salt ;  and 
pigs  but  little. 

IV.  Additional  Eequirements  of  Animals 

We  have  thus  far  considered  in  detail  only  the  requirements  of  ani- 
mals for  crude  protein,  carbohydrates,  fat,  and  mineral  matter.  How- 
ever, just  as  vital  as  the  demands  for  fuel  and  repair  material,  which  are 
met  by  these  nutrients,  is  the  need  for  air  and  water.  It  is  also  necessary 
that  the  ration  in  its  physical  nature  or  bulkiness  be  adapted  to  the 
capacity  of  the  digestive  organs  of  the  given  animal. 

102.  Air. — ^While  animals  survive  starvation  for  considerable  periods, 
lack  of  air  brings  immediate  death,  as  a  supply  of  oxygen  is  required  for 
all  vital  processes.     The  amount  of  air  breathed  by  farm  animals,  as 

^Wis.  Rpt.  1905. 


68 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


given  by  King,''^  is  placed  in  the  first  division  of  the  table  below.  The 
second  division  shows  the  quantity  of  fresh  air  that  must  pour  into  a 
room  where  animals  are  confined,  in  order  to  provide  substantially  pure 
air,  or  that  which  does  not  contain  over  3.3  per  ct.  of  air  that  has  been 
previously  breathed. 

Air  breathed  by  animals,  and  air  required  for  good  ventilation 


Horse . 
Cow.  . 
Pig... 
Sheep ■ 


Hourly 


Cu.  ft. 
142 
117 
46 
30 


Cu.  ft. 
3,401 
2,804 
1,103 
726 


Lbs. 

272 

224 

89 

58 


Ventilation  require- 
ment per  animal 


Hourly 


Cu.  ft. 
4,296 

3,542 

1,392 

917 


Per  24  hrs. 


Cu.  ft. 
103,104 
85,008 
33,408 
22,008 


The  table  shows  that  the  horse  breathes  hourly  142  cu.  ft.  of  air,  and 
daily  about  3,400  cu.  ft.,  which  weighs  about  272  lbs.  To  provide  the 
horse  in  confinement  with  air,  not  more  than  3.3  per  ct.  of  which  has 
been  previously  breathed,  there  must  hourly  pass  into  the  room  not  less 
than  4,296  cu.  ft.,  or  over  103,000  cu.  ft.  each  24  hours.  These  figures 
show  the  necessity  of  providing  some  adequate  system  of  ventilation 
when  animals  are  confined  to  closed  barns,  as  in  the  case  of  horses  and 
dairy  cattle  during  winter  in  the  northern  states. 

The  cow  gives  off  about  19  therms  of  heat  each  24  hours,  or  enough  to 
raise  79,603  cu.  ft.  of  dry  air  from  0°  to  50°  F.  As  shown  in  the  preced- 
ing table,  proper  ventilation  for  the  cow  requires  about  85,000  cu.  ft.  of 
air  each  24  hours.  This  is  only  a  little  more  air  than  the  heat  from  her 
body  will  raise  from  0°  to  50°  F.,  which  is  a  desirable  winter  temperature 
for  cow  stables  in  cold  climates. 

103.  Water. — Animals  can  live  much  longer  without  solid  food  than 
without  water,  and  an  insufficiency  of  water  in  the  body  causes  serious 
disturbances.  The  processes  of  mastication,  digestion,  absorption,  and 
assimilation  are  hindered;  the  intestines  are  not  properly  flushed,  and 
waste  matter  remains  too  long  therein ;  the  blood  thickens ;  and  the  body 
temperature  is  increased.  Thru  these  complications  death  may  result. 
Animals  partially  deprived  of  water  for  a  long  period  lose  their  appetite 
for  solid  food,  and  vomiting  and  diarrhea  may  occur,  the  latter  also  often 
taking  place  when  water  is  again  supplied. 

Under  normal  conditions  animals  consume  a  fairly  uniform  quantity 
of  water  for  each  pound  of  dry  matter  eaten ;  Kellner  places  the  amount 
at  4  to  6  lbs.  for  milch  cows,  4  to  5  lbs.  for  oxen,  2  to  3  lbs.  for  horses  and 
sheep,  and  for  swine  7  to  8  lbs.,  which  seems  excessive.  Possibly  due  to 
their  laxative  nature,  feeds  rich  in  crude  protein — bran,  linseed  meal, 
peas,    etc. — cause    a   greater    demand    for   water    than   starchy   feeds. 

» Ventilation  for  Dwellings,  Rural  Schools,  and  Stables. 


MAINTENANCE  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  69 

Kellner^**  found  that  for  each  100  lbs.  of  water  drank  and  in  the  food,  the 
stabled  ox  passed  46.3  lbs.  in  the  solid  excrement,  29.2  in  the  urine,  and 
24.5  in  the  breath  and  perspiration.  Water  is  an  important  regulator 
of  the  temperature  of  the  animal  body.  A  large  amount  of  heat  is  ab- 
sorbed in  converting  water  into  the  vapor  given  off  by  the  lungs  and 
skin,  and  when  sweat  evaporates  it  carries  much  heat  from  the  body.  (90) 

The  free  drinking  of  water  does  not  diminish  the  gains  of  animals  nor 
increase  the  breaking  down  of  protein  in  the  body,  tho  flushing  the 
intestines  with  much  water  may  at  first  cause  a  more  complete  removal 
of  the  nitrogenous  waste  therefrom.  With  animals  which  continue  to 
drink  freely  the  nitrogenous  waste  soon  becomes  normal  again.  Scientists 
now  agree  that  farm  animals  should  have  all  the  water  they  will  drink, 
for  they  do  not  take  it  in  excess  unless  they  are  forced  to  live  on  watery 
foods  or  are  given  salt  irregularly.  The  excess  of  water  taken  into  the 
body  is  discharged  thru  the  urine. 

Water  taken  into  the  body  must  be  raised  to  the  body  temperature, 
thus  consuming  heat.  When  an  undue  amount  of  cold  water  is  drunk 
in  cold  weather  this  demand  for  fuel  may  cause  a  waste  of  nutrients. 
Warington^^  points  out  that  during  winter  sheep  in  the  turnip  fields  of 
England  consume  about  20  lbs.  of  roots  daily,  containing  over  18  lbs.  of 
water,  or  about  15  lbs.  more  than  is  needed.  To  raise  15  lbs.  of  water 
from  near  the  freezing  point  to  the  body  temperature  requires  the 
burning  of  11  per  ct.  of  the  nutrients  furnished  by  the  turnips.  In  ad- 
dition the  equivalent  of  more  than  2  oz.  of  glucose  must  be  burned  for 
each  pound  of  water  vapor  given  off  from  the  lungs  and  skin.  Warming 
cold  water  taken  into  the  body  does  not  necessarily  mean  that  more  food 
must  be  burned,  for  animals  evolve  a  large  amount  of  heat  in  the  work 
of  digesting  food  and  converting  the  digested  matter  into  body  products 
or  work.  Due  to  this,  many  animals  have  an  excess  of  body  heat.  Com- 
fortably-housed and  well-fed  steers  and  dairy  cows  burn  more  food  than 
is  needed  to  keep  their  bodies  warm,  and  such  excess  may  go  to  warm 
the  water  they  drink,  so  that  no  food  is  directly  burned  for  that  purpose. 

Armsby^-  points  out  that  in  winter  farm  animals  watered  but  once 
daily  drink  freely.  The  sudden  demand  for  heat  caused  by  taking  into 
the  body  this  large  quantity  of  cold  water  may  exceed  the  available 
supply,  with  the  result  that  some  of  the  food  nutrients  or  body  tissues 
are  burned  to  produce  heat.  Animals  unduly  exposed  to  cold  and  those 
sparingly  fed  or  with  scant  coats  may  be  directly  helped  by  watering 
frequently  or  by  warming  their  drinking  water.  In  cold  regions  in 
order  to  induce  animals,  especially  cows,  to  drink  freely  in  winter,  it 
is  usually  best  to  warm  the  water,  which  should  also  be  comfortably 
accessible. 

When  entirely  oxidized  in  the  body,  100  lbs.  of  starch  or  cellulose  will 
yield  55.5  lbs.  of  water  and  163  lbs.  of  carbon  dioxid,  and  fats  over 

'"Laudw.  Vers.  Stat,  53,  1900,  p.  404. ''^  Principles  of  Animal  Nutrition,  p.  439. 
*  Chemistry  of  the  Farm. 


70  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

twice  as  much  water  as  starch.  The  nitrogenous  compounds  yield  a 
little  less  than  the  carbohydrates  because  they  are  not  entirely  oxidized 
in  the  body.  This  shows  that  a  very  considerable  amount  of  water  comes 
to  the  animal  body  from  the  dry  matter  of  the  food  consumed.  It  is 
probable  that  the  water  which  results  from  the  breaking  down  of  the 
food  is  used  in  the  building  processes  of  the  body,  rather  than  that 
water  which  the  animal  drinks,  tho  this  is  not  definitely  known. 

104.  Commonly  unappreciated  factors  in  food. — ^Within  recent  years 
evidence  has  been  accumulating  which  indicates  that  the  classes  of 
nutrients  previously  enumerated — proteins,  carbohydrates,  fats,  and 
inorganic  salts — are  not  all  that  is  necessary  to  make  a  satisfactory  ration. 
It  has  long  been  known  that  when  humans  live  for  extended  periods 
on  a  diet  containing  no  fresh  vegetables  or  meat,  scurvy  is  apt  to  result, 
even  tho  an  abundance  of  the  common  nutrients  is  furnished.  The 
addition  to  the  diet  of  fresh  vegetables  readily  prevents  this  disease. 
In  districts  of  the  Orient,  where  the  inhabitants  subsist  mainly  on  pol- 
ished rice,  there  often  occurs  a  serious  disease  known  as  beri-beri,  char- 
acterized by  general  weakness  and  even  paralysis.  Where  unpolished 
rice,  carrying  the  germ  and  part  of  the  husk,  is  eaten  instead,  this 
disease  is  not  found.  In  experiments  by  various  scientists  a  similar 
condition  has  been  produced  in  animals  fed  almost  exclusively  on  pol- 
ished rice,  while  unpolished  rice  did  not  cause  such  an  effect.  Tho  many 
attempts  have  been  made  to  determine  the  mysterious  substance  in  the 
rice  husk  or  germ  which  exerts  such  a  pronounced  influence  on  health, 
but  little  is  yet  known  regarding  its  composition. 

Another  important  development  of  recent  years  has  been  the  finding 
that  some  of  the  substances  included  in  the  ether-extract  or  so-called 
"fat"  of  feeds  are  essential  to  the  well-being  of  animals.  Stepp^^  first 
found  that  animals  well  fed  upon  foods  from  which  all  substances  of  a 
fatty  nature  had  been  removed  could  not  live.  He  further  found  that  no 
better  results  were  secured  when  pure  true  fats,  such  as  palmatin,  stea- 
rin, and  olein— the  most  common  plant  and  animal  fats — were  added  to 
the  ration.  On  the  other  hand,  when  certain  crude  fatty  extracts  of 
foods,  such  as  butter  fat,  were  added,  the  animals  could  be  maintained  in 
a  satisfactory  condition.  McCollum  and  Davis^*  of  the  Wisconsin  Station 
subsequently  showed  that  young  animals  (rats)  could  grow  normally 
for  3  or  4  months  on  mixtures  of  casein,  starch,  milk  sugar,  and  salts, 
but  that  growth  then  invariably  ceased.  The  addition  of  lard,  olive  oil, 
or  cottonseed  oil  did  not  prevent  this  condition.  However,  the  addition 
of  purified  butter  fat,  egg  fats,  or  kidney  fat  rendered  the  diet  complete 
in  every  respect.  Young  rats  grew  from  infancy  to  maturity,  bore  young, 
and  brought  them  up  normally  on  this  ration.  More  recently  they 
have  shown  that  the  fats  of  the  corn  kernel  and  the  wheat  germ  likewise 
supply  the  lacking  constituent  in  the  ration.     These  findings  have  been 

s'Biochem.  Ztschr.,  22,  1909,  pp.  452-460;  Ztschr.  Biol.,  59,  1912,  p.  366. 

="  Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  15,  1913,  p.  167;  19,  1914,  p.  245;  20,  1915,  p.  641;  21,  1915, 
p.  179. 


MAINTENANCE  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  71 

confirmed  by  Osborne  and  MendeP^  of  the  Connecticut  (New  Haven) 
Station,  who  have  found  also  that  cod-liver  oil  and  the  softer  portion 
of  beef  fats  have  the  same  remarkable  properties. 

The  foregoing  experiments  have  shown  for  the  first  time  a  most  unex- 
pected and  important  difference  in  the  properties  of  the  so-called  fats 
from  different  sources.  It  seems  certain  that  the  substances  which  are 
responsible  for  the  peculiar  effects  of  these  crude  fatty  mixtures  are 
not  true  fats,  but  compounds  of  unknown  nature  which  are  soluble 
in  fats  and  in  the  ether  which  is  employed  by  the  chemist  to  dissolve  the 
fat  from  a  feed. 

105.  Complete  and  incomplete  rations. — The  following  experiments 
conducted  by  Hart  and  McCollum^"^  at  the  Wisconsin  Station  with  grow- 
ing pigs  well  show  that  rations  which  supply  an  abundance  of  protein, 
carbohydrates,  and  fat  may  be  insufficient  for  normal  development. 
Soon  after  weaning,  young  pigs  were  placed  in  pens  indoors  where  they 
had  no  access  to  the  earth  and  were  supplied  with  distilled  water  (con- 
taining no  mineral  matter),  so  that  an  exact  record  could  be  made,  not 
only  of  the  organic  nutrients — protein,  carbohydrates,  and  fat — which 
were  consumed,  but  also  of  the  mineral  matter  as  well.  When  pigs  were 
restricted  to  com  meal  and  gluten  feed,  even  tho  a  large  amount  of 
protein  was  supplied,  little  or  no  growth  could  be  secured.  However, 
when  mineral  matter  was  added,  of  kind  and  amount  corresponding 
to  the  mineral  matter  in  milk,  pigs  made  approximately  normal  gains 
for  10  months,  reaching  weights  of  235  to  275  lbs.  When  wheat  and 
wheat  gluten  were  fed,  satisfactory  growth  was  not  secured  even  after 
mineral  matter  was  added  as  before.  The  addition  of  both  butter  fat 
and  mineral  matter  was  somewhat  beneficial,  but  ultimately  growth 
ceased  on  this  ration.  However,  M^hen  to  the  wheat  ration  were  added 
not  only  butter  fat  and  mineral  matter  but  also  2.5  per  ct.  of  casein 
(the  chief  protein  of  milk)  normal  growth  was  secured.  These  pigs 
fed  wheat  therefore  needed  not  only  additional  mineral  matter  but  also 
the  mysterious  substance  in  certain  fats,  and  in  addition  a  better  bal- 
anced supply  of  protein  than  was  furnished  by  wheat  and  wheat  gluten 
alone. 

Studies  of  this  character  are  just  beginning  to  open  up  new  fields  of 
investigation  in  animal  nutrition.  It  is  yet  too  early  to  predict  in  what 
manner  or  to  what  extent  the  results  may  modify  our  present  practices 
in  feeding  farm  animals.  These  fragments  of  knowledge  are,  however, 
most  interesting  to  the  student  in  showing  the  limitations  to  our  present 
understanding  of  the  feeding  of  animals  and  in  pointing  out  the  possible 
path  of  future  development. 

106.  Feeding  ruminants  concentrates  only. — By  reason  of  their  high 
ability  to  digest  coarse  roughage,  ruminants  are  especially  adapted  to 
convert  the  coarse  plant  materials  of  no  value  for  human  food  into  useful 

"'Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  16,  1913-14,  p.  423;  17,  1914,  p.  401;  Proc.  Sec.  Exper.  Biol, 
and  Med.,  12,  1915,  p.  92. 
"^Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  19,  1914,  p,  373. 


72  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

products.  Tho  only  under  most  exceptional  conditions  would  it  be  profit- 
able to  feed  such  animals  concentrates  alone,  the  question  whether  they 
can  be  maintained  on  such  feeds  with  no  roughage  is  of  scientific  interest. 

In  1874  a  Mr.  Miller^^  of  New  York  reported  that  for  several  years 
he  had  successfully  maintained  dry  dairy  cows  weighing  about  900  lbs. 
for  8  weeks  in  winter  by  giving  to  each  animal  as  its  sole  feed  not  above 
3  quarts  of  finely-ground  corn  meal  daily.  The  hay  supply  was  stopped 
when  meal  feeding  began.  At  first  the  cows  were  restless,  but  soon 
quieted  down ;  rumination,  or  chewing  the  cud,  ceased ;  and  only  a  small 
quantity  of  water  was  drunk.  The  cows  showed  no  signs  of  suffering 
or  unrest,  were  much  more  quiet  than  cows  fed  meal  with  4  or  5  lbs. 
of  hay  daily,  and  manifested  no  unusual  desire  for  hay  when  it  was 
shown  them. 

Miller  claimed  that  the  animals  remained  in  fair  flesh  and  that  the 
calves  from  these  cows  were  fleshy,  healthy,  active,  and  of  more  than 
ordinary  size.  In  the  spring  on  changing  back  to  normal  feeding  a 
limited  amount  of  hay  was  at  first  given,  and  the  supply  gradually 
increased.  The  cows  soon  filled  up  and  did  not  appear  different  from 
others  wintered  in  the  usual  way.  A  committee  of  the  American  Dairy- 
man's  Association,  on  making  2  visits  to  Mr.  Miller's  stables,  substan- 
tiated his  statements. 

Sanborn^®  maintained  sheep  successfully  for  several  months  on  grain 
and  roots  alone  at  the  Utah  Station.  In  Great  Britain  sheep  are  often 
fattened  solely  on  concentrates  and  roots.  Sanborn  also  fed  a  2-yr.-old 
steer,  weighing  635  lbs.,  grain  and  water  only  for  nearly  8  months,  dur- 
ing which  time  it  gained  190  lbs.  Upon  the  withdrawal  of  coarse  food, 
rumination  ceased  and  little  water  was  drunk.  Gains  were  made  on 
about  the  same  amount  of  feed  as  is  required  by  pigs.  We  may  therefore 
conclude  that  mature  ruminants  can  be  maintained  for  considerable 
periods,  if  not  indefinitely,  on  a  limited  amount  of  ground  grain  Math 
no  roughage,  and  if  the  grain  supply  is  liberal  they  may  make  fair 
gains  in  weight. 

With  young  ruminants  nature  seems  less  yielding.  Sanborn  main- 
tained a  calf  for  6  weeks  in  winter  on  grain  and  milk,  when,  thru  its 
craving  for  roughage,  the  sawdust  used  for  bedding  was  eaten,  causing 
death.  At  the  IlUnois  Station  Davenport^^  fed  a  calf  skim  milk  exclu- 
sively for  7  months,  by  which  time  it  refused  its  feed,  could  not  hold  up 
its  head,  and  appeared  nearly  dead.  When  straw  and  hay  were  placed 
before  it  they  were  greedily  consumed,  and  3  hours  later  the  calf  was 
ruminating  in  contentment,  thereafter  making  satisfactory  gains  on 
mixed  feed.  In  a  second  experiment  a  May  calf  subsisted  on  skim  milk 
until  September,  when,  altho  consuming  70  lbs.  daily,  it  showed  great 
unrest.  Some  grain  was  then  fed  in  addition  to  the  milk,  with  still 
unfavorable  indications.  In  October  when  hay  was  offered  it  was  greedily 
eaten,  and  rumination  began  some  five  hours  later.     Another  calf  was 

"Rpt.  Am.  Dairyman's  Assoc.,  1874.  ««Utali  Bui.  21.  *»I11.  Bui.  46. 


MAINTENANCE  OF  FARM  ANIMALS  73 

maintained  from  June  until  September  upon  milk  and  mixed  grains. 
By  the  latter  date  it  evinced  no  desire  for  feed  and  would  not  rise ;  later 
it  suddenly  died.  Altho  enormous  quantities  of  milk  or  milk  and  grain 
were  consumed,  there  was  no  fat  on  the  carcass  or  about  its  kidneys, 
and  the  muscles,  tho  plump,  were  dense  and  rigid. 

107.  Horse  requires  roughage. — Patterson  of  the  Maryland  Station*" 
attempted  to  feed  2  horses  on  oats  alone,  offering  from  13  to  15  lbs.  to  each 
daily.  By  the  end  of  the  fourth  day  one  of  the  horses  refused  the  oats 
entirely  and  drank  but  little  water.    On  the  seventh  day  the  other  horse 

•  would  eat  only  a  part  of  the  grain,  and  by  the  tenth  day  none  whatever. 
Evidently  the  horse  cannot  live  upon  concentrates  alone,  even  oats  with 
their  straw-like  hulls. 

108.  Milk  alone  for  pigs. — At  the  Wisconsin  Station"  McCollum  placed 
a  23-lb.  sow  pig  in  a  dry  lot  with  shelter,  and  fed  it  from  May  to  July 
of  the  following  year,  at  first  on  whole  milk  and  skim  milk,  and  later 
on  skim  milk  alone.  The  sow  remained  in  excellent  condition,  and  at 
about  1  year  of  age,  when  weighing  406  lbs.,  gave  birth  to  8  living  pigs 
averaging  2.3  lbs.  each,  and  2  dead  ones,  all  normal.  Before  winter  the 
pigs  made  an  average  daily  gain  of  0.39  lb.  each,  reaching  an  average 
weight  of  18.6  lbs.  in  6  weeks. 

This  shows  that  milk  alone  will  support  the  pig,  and  indicates  that 
the  failure  of  Davenport  to  maintain  calves  on  skim  milk  and  grain 
was  probably  due  to  the  physiological  requirement  of  herbivora  for 
coarse  food  to  fill  the  first  three  stomachs  in  order  that  they  may  develop 
normally.  (40)  The  pig  has  no  such  peculiarity  in  the  structure  of  its 
digestive  tract,  and  hence  no  physiological  disturbances  result  from 
taking  liquid  food  alone  in  the  form  of  milk. 

109.  Succulent  feeds. — Numerous  scientific  trials  and  common  expe- 
rience on  farms  have  abundantly  demonstrated  the  value  of  adding 
succulent  feeds  to  the  rations  of  farm  animals.  The  beneficial  effects 
of  succulence,  whether  supplied  as  pasturage,  silage,  soilage,  or  roots, 
are  many.  Just  as  our  own  appetites  are  stimulated  by  fruits  and  green 
vegetables,  succulent  feeds  are  relishes  for  the  animals  of  the  farm, 
inducing  them  to  consume  more  feed  and  convert  it  into  useful  products. 
It  is  reasonable  to  hold  that  such  palatable  feeds  stimulate  digestion  (56), 
and  it  is  well  known  that  their  beneficial  laxative  action  aids  greatly 
in  keeping  the  digestive  tract  in  good  condition.  The  findings  of  San- 
born*- that  the  flesh  of  root-fed  animals  is  in  general  more  ''sappy"  or 
watery  has  an  important  bearing  on  the  feeding  of  farm  animals.  There 
is  no  doubt  that,  for  breeding  stock,  less  tense  and  more  watery  flesh, 
a  natural  sequence  of  feeding  succulence,  is  more  conducive  to  vigorous 
young  at  birth  and  to  their  hearty  maintenance  after  birth  than  is  the 
condition  of  hard,  dry  flesh  produced  by  feeding  only  dry  forage  thru 
the  winter.  The  dairy  cow  gives  her  maximum  returns  when  she  is  sup- 
plied with  succulence.     Such  feeds  tend  toward  rapid,  sturdy  growth 

"Md.  Bui.  51.  "Unpublished  data.  **Utali  Bui.  17. 


74  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

with  the  young  of  all  farm  animals.  Some  succulent  food  is  especially 
beneficial  in  keeping  the  horse  in  condition,  to  which  the  thrift  of  the 
work  horse  when  turned  out  to  pasture  bears  witness.  But  the  horse 
at  hard  or  fast  work  should  receive  only  a  limited  allowance  of  these 
feeds.  Steers  and  sheep  make  rapid  and  economical  gains  on  pasture, 
and  grass-fed  animals  are  in  the  best  possible  condition  to  make  rapid 
gains  when  placed  in  the  feed  lot.  Among  the  most  important  con- 
tributions of  the  experiment  stations  are  their  demonstrations  of  the 
economy  of  feeding  silage  to  fattening  cattle  and  sheep  and  of  the  possi- 
bilities of  cheapening  the  cost  of  producing  pork  thru  the  utilization  of 
pasture.  The  merits  of  the  various  forms  of  succulence  for  the  different 
farm  animals  are  discussed  in  detail  in  later  chapters  of  the  book. 

110.  light. — Sunlight  is  a  most  effective  germicide.  To  prevent  the 
contraction  or  spread  of  disease,  it  is  therefore  important  that  the  stables 
of  farm  animals  be  well  lighted,  with  the  possible  exception  mentioned 
in  the  following.  Trials  conducted  by  Graffenberger*^  with  rabbits 
suggest  that  less  light  may  be  advisable  for  fattening  animals  fed  for  short 
periods.  He  observed  an  increased  formation  of  fat,  especially  marked 
in  the  case  of  mature  animals  confined  in  a  dark  room.  The  hemoglobin 
content  of  the  blood  was  lowered  and  the  amount  of  blood  in  the  body 
decreased  by  9  to  22  per  ct.  thru  such  confinement.  When  confined  too 
long  in  the  dark  the  increase  in  fat  formation  was  relatively  small,  and 
prolonged  darkness  retarded  the  development  of  the  skeleton  and  liver, 
injuring  the  health  of  the  animals.  Graffenberger  does  not  advocate 
entire  darkness  for  fattening  animals,  but  rather  the  partial  absence 
of  light,  which  tends  to  quiet  and  hence  favors  fattening. 

111.  Exercise. — For  the  maintenance  of  health  exercise  is  essential. 
The  only  exceptions  to  this  rule  are  fattening  animals,  soon  to  be  mar- 
keted, which  make  more  rapid  gains  if  not  allowed  to  move  about  too 
freely.  Abundant  exercise  is  of  special  importance  with  breeding  animals. 
The  exercise  requirements  of  the  various  farm  animals  are  discussed 
in  the  respective  chapters  of  Part  III. 

112.  ftuiet  and  regularity. — Farm  animals  are  creatures  of  habit,  and 
once  accustomed  to  a  routine  of  living  show  unrest  at  any  change.  The 
feed  stable  or  feed  lot  should  be  free  from  disturbance,  and  the  admin- 
istration of  feed  and  water  should  be  uniform  in  time  and  manner. 
Animals  soon  learn  when  these  are  to  occur,  and  as  feeding  time  ap- 
proaches the  secretions  begin  pouring  from  the  various  digestive  glands 
in  anticipation  of  the  coming  meal.  (55)  The  system  of  feeding  and 
watering  and  the  character  of  the  rations  should  be  changed  gradually 
and  only  for  good  cause.  In  feeding  operations  a  changing  period  is 
usually  a  losing  period. 

«Arcli.  Physiol.  (Pfliiger),  53,  1893,  p.  238. 


CHAPTER  V 

GROWTH    AND    FATTENING 

I.  Growth 

The  preceding  chapter  shows  that  even  when  liberally  fed  the  mature 
animal  stores  but  little  protein  or  mineral  matter  in  its  body.  On  the 
other  hand,  as  the  body  of  the  young,  growing  animal  develops  it  in- 
creases rapidly  in  both  protein  tissues  and  mineral  matter.  The  skin, 
muscles,  ligaments,  tendons,  and  internal  organs  of  animals  are  almost 
wholly  protein,  as  is  a  large  part  of  the  nervous  system  and  of  the  organic 
portion  of  the  bones.  During  youth  all  these  parts  steadily  increase  in 
size,  and  at  the  same  time  much  mineral  matter  is  being  built  into  the 
skeleton  or  is  retained  in  the  growing  protoplasm  of  the  body  cells.  It 
is  therefore  evident  that  the  requirements  for  growth  differ  radically 
from  those  for  the  maintenance  of  mature  animals. 

113.  Increase  in  protein  and  mineral  matter. — Since  the  lean-meat 
tissues  of  the  body  are  composed  mostly  of  muscular  fibers,  any  gain  in 
these  tissues  can  be  caused  solely  by  an  increase  in  the  number  or  by  the 
thickening  of  these  fibers.  The  fibers  increase  in  number  by  divid- 
ing lengthwise,  which  process  occurs  with  farm  animals  only  while 
young  and  growing.  Indeed,  recent  investigations  show  that  with  some 
animals  all  increase  in  the  number  of  muscular  fibers  occurs  before  birth, 
the  muscles  of  the  new  born  young  containing  as  many  as  those  of  the 
mature  animal.^  The  fibers  of  the  muscles  can  thicken  to  only  a  limited 
extent,  and  hence  the  muscular  tissues,  or  lean  meat,  of  the  mature 
animal  cannot  be  increased  beyond  a  relatively  narrow  limit,  compared 
mth  the  great  storage  of  fat  which  may  occur. 

A  healthy  person  with  poor  muscular  development  may  materially 
strengthen  and  increase  the  size  of  his  muscles,  even  after  reaching 
maturity,  thru  a  thickening  of  the  individual  fibers  produced  by  suitable 
exercise  and  food.  Caspari,-  studying  working  dogs,  and  Bornstein,^ 
experimenting  with  himself,  found  that  when  a  considerable  amount  of 
muscular  work  was  performed  there  was  a  small  but  continued  gain  of 
body  protein  if  the  body  was  supplied  with  an  abundance  of  protein-rich 
food.  An  animal  whose  muscles  have  wasted  thru  sickness  or  starvation 
will  rapidly  repair  its  tissues  upon  a  return  to  favorable  conditions, 
thereby  storing  protein. 

Since  the  internal  organs  and  such  tissues  as  the  tendons,  brain,  nerves, 
etc.,  do  not  increase  in  size  after  maturity,  no  further  building  of  protein 

U.  B.  MacCallum,  Johns  Hopkins  Hospital  Bui.  90-91  (1898). 

*Archiv.  Physiol.,  83,  1901,  p.  535.  ^Archiv.  Physiol.,  83,  1901,  p.  548. 

75 


76 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


tissue  is  possible  in  these  parts  after  the  animal  is  full  gro\ATi.  As  is 
shown  later  (122),  a  limited  storage  of  protein  occurs  in  the  mature 
fattening  animal,  since  fatty  tissue  contains  a  small  amount  of  protein. 

The  skeleton,  partly  of  protein,  but  chiefly  of  mineral  matter,  does 
not  increase  after  maturity.  While  the  amount  of  protein  and  mineral 
matter  in  the  bodies  of  mature  animals  is  thus  subject  to  little  change, 
the  water,  and  especially  the  fat,  may  vary  widely  in  total  and  relative 
amount  according  to  heredity,  the  abundance  and  nature  of  the  food, 
and  the  exercise  taken. 

114.  Utilization  of  food  in  youth. — The  gains  made  by  well  nourished 
young  animals  are  relatively  much  greater  and  more  economical,  based 
on  weight  and  food  consumed,  than  those  of  mature  animals,  even  when 
fattening.  The  unweaned  calf  may  increase  2  to  3  lbs.  daily  for  each 
100  lbs.  of  body  weight,  while  a  daily  gain  of  0.3  to  0.4  lb.  per  100  lbs. 
of  body  weight  is  large  for  the  mature  fattening  ox.  The  economy  with 
which  the  suckling  utilizes  its  food  is  shown  by  a  trial  at  the  Wisconsin 
Station*  in  which  lambs  fed  cow's  milk  gained  1  lb.  in  weight  for  each 
0.75  lb.  of  dry  matter  consumed.  In  respiration  studies  with  a  calf  2  to 
3  weeks  old,  Soxhlet^  found  a  storage  in  the  body  of  72.6  per  ct.  of  the 
protein,  96.6  per  ct.  of  the  lime,  and  72.6  per  ct.  of  the  phosphorus  fed 
in  the  milk.  Weiske'''  found  that  even  when  5  months  old  lambs  stored 
22  per  ct.  of  all  the  protein  digested  from  their  food. 

The  more  rapid  increase  of  young  animals  is  due  to  several  causes — 
their  flesh  contains  more  water,  their  food  is  more  digestible  and  con- 
centrated, and  they  consume  more  food  in  proportion  to  live  weight.  As 
growth  continues,  the  total  quantity  of  food  eaten  increases,  while  the 
amount  per  1000  lbs.  live  weight  diminishes.  More  exercise  is  taken 
as  the  animal  becomes  older,  and  hence  a  larger  percentage  of  the  food 
nutrients  is  broken  down  in  the  body.  All  these  factors  gradually  de- 
crease the  daily  gain  per  1000  lbs.  of  live  weight  and  lessen  the  product 
returned  from  a  given  amount  of  food  until,  when  maturity  is  reached, 
there  is  little  further  gain,  except  from  the  laying  on  of  fatty  tissue. 

The  following  table  by  Arnisby"^  shows  the  gain  of  protein,  mostly 
muscular  tissues,  by  the  growing  ox  at  various  ages : 


Storage  of  protein  hy 

the  growing  ox 

- — "■■                 ~ 

Authority 

Daily  gain  of  protein  to  the  body 

Average  age 

Per  1000  lb3.  of 

Computed  on  total 

live  weight 

protein  in  body 

Days 

Lbs. 

Per  ct. 

8 

Soxhlet 

3.99 

2.35 

15 

Soxhlet 

3.55 

2.08 

32 

Soxhlet 

2.76 

1.69 

50 

Neumann 

1.84 

1.08 

100 

De  Vries 

1.19 

0.71 

840 

Jordan 

0.09 

0.06 

«Agr.  Science,  6,  p.  397. 
«Landw.  Jahrb.,  9,  1880,  p. 


» Ber.  landw.  chem.  Vers.  Stat.  Wien,  1878,  p.  101. 
205.    'U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  Anim.  Ind.,  Bui.  108. 


GROWTH  AND  FATTENING 


77 


The  table  shows  that  when  8  days  old  a  calf  stored  daily  in  its  body 
tissues  protein  equal  to  2.35  per  ct.  of  the  total  protein  then  in  its  body, 
or  about  4  lbs.  daily  per  1000  lbs.  of  live  weight.  The  storage  of  protein, 
which  practically  measures  the  growth  of  muscular  tissues  in  the  body, 
steadily  decreased  with  age  and  growth  until  the  100-day-old  calf  stored 
1.19  lbs.,  or  less  than  one-third  as  much  as  the  8-day-old  calf.  When 
28  months  old  and  nearly  mature,  the  steer  stored  but  0.09  lb.  of  protein 
daily  per  1000  lbs.  of  body  weight.  It  is  thus  shown  that,  as  the  animal 
matures,  the  quantity  of  protein  built  up  in  the  body  steadily  diminishes. 

115.  Milk  the  natural  food  for  young  mammals. — Since  milk  is  Nature's 
food  for  the  young  of  all  mammals,  it  is  reasonable  to  hold  that  it  con- 
tains all  the  nutrients  necessary  to  sustain  the  life  of  the  young  and 
that  these  are  arranged  in  proper  proportion.  A  study  of  the  composi- 
tion of  milk  will  therefore  aid  in  showing  the  requirements  for  growth. 
The  first  milk  yielded  by  the  mother  for  her  young,  called  colostrum, 
is  thick  and  viscous  and  differs  from  ordinary  milk  in  being  richer  in 
protein  and  often  richer  in  ash,  that  of  the  cow  being  low  in  fat  and 
milk  sugar.  The  following  table  shows  the  average  composition  of 
colostrum  and  normal  milk  of  various  farm  animals  :* 


Composition 

of  colostrum  and  normal  milk 

Animal  and  character 
of  mUk 

Water 

Protein 

Fat 

Sugar 

Ash 

Nutritive 
ratio 

Cow,  colostrum 

Cow,  normal 

Ewe,  colostrum 

Ewe,  normal 

Sow,  colostrum 

Sow,  normal 

Per  ct. 
75.1 
87.3 

61.8 
80.8 

70.1 

84.1 

Per  ct. 

17.2 
3.4 

17.1 
6.5 

15.6 

7.2 

Per  ct. 

4.0 
3.7 

16.1 
6.9 

9.5 
4.6 

Per  ct. 

2.3 
4.9 

3.5 
4.9 

3.8 
3.1 

Perct. 

1.5 
0.7 

1.0 
0.9 

0.9 
1.1 

1:0.7 
1:3.9 

1:2.3 
1:3.1 

1:1.6 
1:2.0 

The  high  protein  content  of  colostrum  is  largely  due  to  its  excess  of 
albumin,  which  causes  such  milk  to  clot  on  heating.  Colostrum  is  laxa- 
tive and  highly  important  for  cleansing  the  alimentary  tract  of  accumu- 
lated fecal  matter  and  properly  starting  the  work  of  digestion.  During 
the  week  following  birth  the  composition  of  the  milk  gradually  changes 
to  the  normal. 

Normal  milk  contains  an  abundant  supply  of  protein  compared  with 
the  cereal  grains,  as  is  shown  by  its  narrow  nutritive  ratio,  ranging  from 
1 :2.0  with  the  sow  to  1 :3.9  with  the  cow.  The  proportion  of  ash,  or 
mineral  matter,  is  also  higher  in  milk  than  in  the  grains.  While  only 
1.5  per  ct.  of  the  dry  matter  of  corn  and  3.5  per  ct.  of  that  of  oats  is 
mineral  matter,  6.2  per  ct.  of  the  dry  matter  of  cow's  milk  is  mineral 
matter.  The  supply  of  lime  and  phosphoric  acid,  needed  in  large  amounts 
in  the  growing  skeleton,  is  especially  liberal,  over  half  the  tot'^  mineral 
matter  consisting  of  these  two  constituents.     The  non-nitrogenous  na- 

»K6nig.  Chem.  Nahrungs-  und  Genussmittel,  Vol.  I,  1903. 


78  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

trients — milk  sugar  and   milk  fat — serve   as  body   fuel  and   furnish 
material  for  the  development  of  fatty  tissues. 

116.  Relation  between  composition  of  milk  and  rate  of  growth. — In 
their  analyses  of  different  kinds  of  milk  Bunge,  Proescher,  and  Abder- 
halden^  noted  the  striking  relationship,  shown  in  the  table,  between  the 
rate  at  which  different  species  of  animals  grow  and  the  amount  of  mineral 
matter  and  protein  contained  in  the  milk : 

Influence  on  growth  of  amount  of  protein  and  mineral  matter  in  milk 


Time  required 

Protein 

Lime 

Phosphoric 

Total  ash 

Species 

to  double  weight 

in  milk 

in  milk 

acid  in  milk 

in  milk 

Days 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

Human 

180 

1.6 

0.03 

0.05 

0.20 

Horse 

60 

2.0 

0.12 

0.13 

0.40 

Cow 

47 

3.5 

0.16 

0.20 

0.70 

Sheep 

15 

4.9 

0.25 

0.29 

0.84 

Pig.    

14* 

5.2 

0.25 

0.31 

0.80 

Dog 

9 

7.4 

0.45 

0.51 

1.33 

Rabbit 

6 

14.4 

0.89 

0.99 

2.50 

*  According  to  more  recent  data  the  young  pig  may  double  its  weight  in  9  to  10  days. 

The  infant,  which  requires  about  180  days  to  double  its  weight,  receives 
a  milk  containing  but  1.6  per  ct.  protein,  0.03  per  ct.  lime,  0.05  per  ct. 
phosphoric  acid,  and  0.20  per  ct.  total  ash,  or  mineral  matter.  The 
shorter  the  time  required  by  the  new-bom  young  of  different  species  to 
double  in  weight  the  higher  is  the  protein  and  mineral  content  of  the 
milk,  especially  in  lime  and  phosphoric  acid.  It  thus  appears  that  there 
has  been  provided  for  the  young  of  each  species  milk  of  the  composition 
needed  for  the  development  characteristic  of  that  species.  These  studies 
emphasize  the  necessity  of  maintaining  a  liberal  supply  of  protein  and 
mineral  matter  in  the  ration  of  young  animals  as  the  mother's  milk  is 
replaced  by  other  feeds  during  their  early  life. 

117.  Rich  and  poor  milk  for  young  animals. — Beach  of  the  Connecticut 
(Storrs)  Station^**  fed  calves,  pigs,  and  lambs  on  skimmed  milk,  ordinary 
milk  containing  from  3  to  3.5  per  ct.  fat,  and  rich  milk  containing  from 
5.1  to  5.7  per  ct.  of  fat.  The  lambs  also  received  a  small  quantity  of  hay. 
The  table  shows  the  milk  solids,  including  fat,  required  to  produce  1  lb. 
of  gain : 

Milk  solids  consumed  per  1  lb.  gain  by  calves,  pigs,  and  lambs 

Length  of  feeding  period 


Milk  poor 
in  fat 

Milk  rich 

Skim  milk 

in  fat 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

1.03 

1.18 

1.36 

1.78 

1.48 

1.40 

1.56 

1.08* 

1.37* 

Calves  fed  45  days 

Pigs  fed  40  days  (1st  trial) 

Pigs  fed  30  days  (2nd  trial) 1 

Lambs  fed  60  days 

*  0.42  lb.  digestible  matter  in  hay,  additional. 

In  every  case  milk  rich  in  fat  was  less  valuable  per  pound  of  dry  matter, 
fat  included,  than  milk  poor  in  fat,  or  even  skim  milk.  Beach  reports 
that  the  pigs  fed  rich  milk  suffered  loss  of  appetite  and  were  attacked 
by  diarrhea,  finally  not  eating  enough  to  sustain  life,  while  those  fed 

•Abderhalden,  Ztschr.  physiol.  Chem.,  27,  1899,  p.  594. 

"Conn.  (Storrs)  Bui.  31. 


GROWTH  AND  FATTENING  79 

skim  milk  or  milk  low  in  fat,  throve.  The  lambs  on  rich  milk  showed  lack 
of  appetite. 

In  Europe  studies  on  infant  feeding  show  that  cow's  milk  rich  in  fat 
tends  to  produce  intestinal  disturbances  and  is  not  so  well  adapted  to 
the  needs  of  the  human  infant  as  poorer  milk.  The  following  explanation 
of  this  harmful  effect  of  excess  of  fat  in  the  food  of  infants  has  been 
offered :  The  general  capacity  of  an  organism  for  the  absorption  of  fat 
is  strictly  confined  within  narrow  limits,  and  consequently  any  excess 
is  not  absorbed  but  remains  in  the  intestines.  There  it  is  converted  into 
soaps,  composed  of  part  of  the  fats  and  an  alkali,  and  as  such  eliminated 
from  the  body  in  the  excreta.  This  excretion  of  soap  brings  about  a 
heavy  loss  from  the  infant  body  of  alkaline  bases,  such  as  soda,  potash, 
lime,  etc.,  which,  if  continued,  results  in  disturbed  nutrition.  On  an 
exclusive  diet  of  milk  containing  about  3.5  per  ct.  fat,  the  supply  of 
alkaline  bases  is  only  sufficient  for  normal  development.  Milk  rich  in  fat 
does  not  contain  proportionally  more  of  the  alkaline  bases,  for  man  has 
bred  and  selected  cows  only  to  meet  the  demands  for  more  milk  and  for 
that  which  is  rich  in  fat.  As  Kellner^^  suggests,  the  eagerness  with 
which  calves  eat  mortar,  chalk,  and  other  lime-containing  substances 
points  to  the  milk  being  deficient  in  this  respect;  accordingly  in  such 
eases  it  is  advisable  to  supply  calves  with  chalk  or  ground  limestone. 

118.  Protein  requirements  for  growth. — As  has  been  shown  (11),  the 
individual  proteins  differ  markedly  in  the  amount  of  the  various  amino 
acids  they  contain,  and  in  some  proteins  certain  amino  acids  are  entirely 
absent.  Scientists  believe  that  animals  are  not  able  to  construct  in  their 
bodies  from  other  nutrients  any  of  the  different  amino  acids,  wdth  the 
single  exception  of  the  amino  acid  called  glycocoll.  In  the  formation 
of  the  protein  tissues  of  the  bod}^  all  the  various  individual  amino  acids 
are  required,  for  the  body  proteins  contain  some  of  each  of  these  building 
stones.  Hence  for  normal  growth  the  protein  in  the  food  must  supply 
all  of  the  necessary  amino  acids.  The  follo^\^ng  illustration  will  show 
the  conditions  the  body  may  meet  in  forming  body  proteins  from  the 
mixture  of  amino  acids  resulting  from  the  digestion  of  the  food  protein : 
Suppose  we  are  building  a  brick  wall  in  a  certain  pattern  which  requires 
that  1  brick  in  10  have  a  green  end.  If  we  are  using  as  our  source  of 
material  a  pile  of  bricks  resulting  from  the  tearing  down  of  another 
wall,  in  which  only  1  brick  in  50  had  a  green  end,  it  is  evident  that  we 
would  soon  have  to  stop  building,  tho  having  many  perfect  bricks  left, 
because  none  had  the  green  end  required  for  the  pattern. 

Some  proteins,  as  the  principal  ones  of  wheat,  yield  on  digestion  as 
much  as  40  per  ct.  of  a  certain  single  amino  acid,  which  forms  onlj^  14 
per  ct.  of  the  animal  proteins.  With  this  protein  as  the  sole  source  of 
amino  acids  for  growth,  obviously  a  considerable  part  will  be  wasted. 
There  are  other  proteins  which  entirely  lack  some  of  the  essential  amino 
acids  and  so  will  produce  no  growth.    However,  when  the  missing  amino 

"Ernahr.  landw.  Nutztiere,  1907,  p.  461. 


80  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

acids  are  fed  to  supplement  such  a  deficient  or  imperfect  protein,  the 
animal  will  then  be  able  to  continue  growth.^^ 

The  various  incomplete  proteins  do  not  all  lack  the  same  amino  acid. 
Hence  we  should  expect  that  when  2  incomplete  proteins  were  combined, 
the  first  might  supplement  the  deficiencies  of  the  second  and  better 
growth  be  made  than  on  either  alone.  To  study  this  problem  McCollum^* 
has  recently  fed  60  to  75-lb.  pigs  on  many  rations  in  which  a  single 
feeding  stuff  or  2  or  more  feeds,  mixed  in  various  proportions,  sup- 
plied the  protein.  The  percentage  of  the  food  nitrogen  which  was  re- 
tained for  growth  on  each  ration  was  determined  with  the  results  shown 
in  the  table  : 

Value  for  growth  of  protein  from  various  sources 

Proportion  of  nitrogen 
Source  of  protein  Number  of        in  food  retained 

trials  Per  ct. 

Skim  milk 1  66 .2 

Casein 1  60 .6 

Corn 4  23.7 

Wheat 3  26.7 

Oats 2  28 .3 

Linseed  meal 1  17 .0 

Wheat  embryo 1  39 .0 

Com  14,  wheat  H,  oats  H 1  32 .0 

Com  M.  linseed  meal  % 1  32 .0 

Com  ^,  linseed  meal  ji 1  37 .0 

Wheat  H,  wheat  embryo  p2 1  30 .0 

The  milk  proteins,  which  resemble  the  body  proteins  in  composition 
more  than  do  those  of  the  cereals,  were  much  superior  to  corn,  wheat, 
or  oat  protein  for  growth,  66.2  per  ct.  of  the  protein  of  skim  milk  being 
used  for  growth.  In  the  single  trial  reported  a  mixture  of  one-third  of 
each  of  these  cereals  proved  slightly  superior  to  any  single  one.  While 
linseed  meal  fed  as  the  sole  source  of  protein  was  the  least  efficient  of 
any  of  the  feeds  tested,  when  it  was  combined  with  corn  the  results 
were  considerably  better  than  with  corn  alone.  From  this  we  may 
assume  that  linseed  meal  and  corn  are  not  deficient  in  the  same  amino 
acids,  and  that  when  combined  one  tends  to  correct  the  deficiencies  of 
the  other.  This  agrees  with  the  good  results  secured  in  numerous  scien- 
tific trials  and  in  practice  when  linseed  meal  is  fed  as  a  supplement  to 
corn.  On  the  other  hand,  no  better  results  were  secured  when  wheat 
and  wheat  embryo  were  combined  than  the  average  of  the  results  ob- 
tained when  each  was  fed  separately.  In  this  case  evidently  each  feed 
is  deficient  in  the  same  amino  acids,  and  one  cannot  supplement  the 
other.  In  time  further  studies  of  this  character  will,  no  doubt,  reveal 
the  supplementary  relationships  of  the  many  feeding  stuffs  and  so 
make  possible  the  more  efficient  compounding  of  rations.  From  the 
foregoing  it  is  evident  that  not  only  must  the  supply  of  protein  for 
growing  animals  be  liberal  but  its  composition  should  also  be  considered. 

"Osborne  and  Mendel,  Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  17,  1914,  p.  325. 

"Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  19,  1914,  p.  323;  information  to  the  authors. 


GROWTH  AND  FATTENING 


81 


The  methods  of  determining  the  amounts  of  the  individual  amino  acids 
furnished  by  different  feeds  are  not  sufficiently  perfected  as  yet  to  enable 
scientists  to  ascertain  by  chemical  analysis  alone  the  value  of  the  proteins 
from  various  sources.  Hence,  further  knowledge  concerning  the  value 
of  the  proteins  furnished  by  individual  feeding  stuffs  and  by  combina- 
tions of  feeds  must  come  thru  actual  feeding  tests.  The  available  data 
on  the  protein  requirements  for  growth  by  the  various  farm  animals 
and  the  nutritive  values  of  the  different  feeding  stuffs  are  presented 
in  the  respective  chapters  of  Part  III. 

119.  Mineral  matter  required  for  growth. — It  has  already  been  shown 
that  the  young  animal,  growing  rapidly  in  skeleton  and  tissues,  needs 
a  liberal  supply  of  mineral  matter,  especially  calcium  (lime)  and  phos- 
phorus. (113)  The  amounts  supplied  in  the  feeds  must  always  be  larger 
than  the  quantity  actually  stored  in  the  body,  in  order  to  cover  the  con- 
tinuous excretion  thereof  from  the  body  which  occurs  even  in  case  of  a 
deficient  supply. 

The  effects  of  a  lack  of  mineral  matter  are  shown  in  a  trial  by  Hart, 
McCollum,  and  Fuller"  at  the  Wisconsin  Station  in  which  one  lot  of 
pigs  averaging  47  lbs.  in  weight  was  fed  a  ration  consisting  of  wheat 
bran  from  which  a  large  amount  of  phosphorus,  mostly  in  organic  form, 
had  been  removed  by  washing,  and  wheat  gluten  and  rice,  both  extremely 
poor  in  mineral  matter.  As  shown  in  the  table,  other  lots  were  fed  this 
basal  ration  plus  calcium  phosphate,  bone  ash,  and  ground  rock  phos- 
phate, respectively,  all  supplying  inorganic  phosphorus.  A  fifth  lot  was 
fed  unwashed  wheat  bran,  rice,  and  wheat  gluten,  a  ration  in  which  a 
considerable  part  of  the  phosphorus  was  present  in  organic  form. 

For  a  considerable  period  all  the  pigs  throve  fairly  well,  tho  no  ration 
was  entirely  satisfactory.  As  time  went  on,  those  in  Lot  I  fell  behind 
the  others;  they  had  no  appetite  and  remained  lying  down;  later  they 
lost  control  of  their  hind  quarters  and  had  to  be  carried  to  the  trough  at 
feeding  time.  At  the  end  of  4  months,  when  a  pig  of  each  lot  was 
slaughtered,  the  findings  given  below  were  obtained : 

Scant  and  full  allowance  of  organic  and  inorganic  phosphorus  for  pigs 


No  phos- 
phorus 
added 


Lot  II 
Precip. 
calc. 
phos- 
phate 
added 


Bone  ash 
added 


Lot  IV 

Ground 
rock  phos- 
phate 
added 


Unwashed 
wheat  bran 


Av.  amt.  phosphorus  fed  daily 
grams 

Weight  of  pig  at  slaughter,  lbs .  .  . 

Average  gain  per  pig,  lbs 

Weight  of  skeleton,  grams 

Breaking  strength  of  thigh  bone, 
per  sq.  millimeter,  lbs 

Diam.  of  thigh  bones,  millimeters . 

Specific  gravity  of  thigh  bone .... 

Ash  in  thigh  bone,  per  cent 

"Wis.  Res.  Bui.  1. 


1.12 

77 

32 

870 


87 


5.29 
87 
42 
950 

1.70 
16 

1.15 
46 


5.45 
85 
35 
950 

1.77 
15.5 

1.12 
53 


5.20 
82 
43 
1495 

1.65 
20 

1.19 
57 


5.28 
87 
58 
850 

1.86 
17 
1.14 

54 


82  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

The  pigs  of  the  first  lot,  getting  little  phosphorus,  had  light,  weak 
thigh  bones,  of  low  specific  gravity  and  low  in  ash.  The  ones  getting  a 
liberal  supply  of  inorganic  phosphorus,  especially  those  fed  ground  rock 
phosphate,  had  heavier  skeletons  than  either  the  low-phosphate  lot  or 
even  those  getting  organic  phosphate  in  the  unwashed  bran.  The  thigh 
bones  of  the  rock-phosphate  lot  were  the  largest  in  size  and  the  highest 
in  ash  and  specific  gravity.  At  present  there  is  little  data  regarding 
the  minimum  amounts  of  lime  and  phosphorus  which  will  permit  normal 
development  of  growing  animals.  From  the  available  data  Kellner^^ 
concludes  that  the  ration  for  growing  animals  should  contain  3  times 
as  much  of  these  mineral  constituents  as  the  animals  are  storing  daily 
in  their  bodies.  On  this  basis  he  recommends  that  during  the  first  year 
calves  receive  at  least  40  to  60  grams  of  lime  and  phosphoric  acid  per 
head  daily;  pigs,  12  grams  each  of  lime  and  phosphoric  acid  per  head 
daily ;  and  lambs,  at  least  10  grams  of  lime  and  11  grams  of  phosphoric 
acid  daily  for  each  100  lbs.  live  weight. 

Since  the  common  feeding  stuffs  which  are  rich  in  protein  are  likewise 
high  in  phosphorus,  probably  the  phosphorus  supply  will  be  ample  when 
rations  are  fed  which  are  balanced  according  to  the  usual  feeding  stand- 
ards.^°  The  calcium  supply  for  calves  and  lambs  will  usually  be  ample 
when  hay  and  the  cereals  constitute  the  greater  part  of  the  ration.  De- 
ficiencies will  occur  only  in  districts  Avhere  the  roughages  are  unusually 
low  in  lime,  or  when  large  amounts  of  such  roughages  as  wheat  and 
barley  straw  or  timothy  hay,  which  are  low  in  lime,  are  fed.  Where 
pigs  are  fed  exclusively  on  cereal  grains,  especially  on  corn,  the  lime 
supply  will  usually  be  deficient.  As  has  been  shown  (99-100),  where 
lime  alone  is  deficient  it  may  be  supplied  in  legume  hay,  which  is  rich 
in  lime,  or  in  the  form  of  chalk  or  ground  limestone.  If  phosphorus 
alone,  or  both  lime  and  phosphorus  are  lacking,  these  may  be  supplied 
in  ground  rock  phosphate  or  else  in  the  form  of  bone  ash. 

120.  Requirements  for  pregnant  animals. — In  considering  the  feeding 
of  young  animals  it  is  important  to  remember  that  the  influence  of  the 
feeder  begins  before  the  young  are  born,  for  the  nutrition  of  the 
mother  during  pregnancy  profoundly  influences  the  growth  of  the 
fetus  and  hence  the  vigor  and  health  of  the  offspring  at  birth.  To  supply 
the  protein  and  mineral  matter,  especially  lime  and  phosphorus,  needed 
for  the  development  of  the  body  tissues  and  skeleton  of  the  fetus  the 
ration  of  the  mother  should  contain  a  larger  supply  of  nutrients  than 
would  be  required  for  her  maintenance.  Based  on  data  from  Eckles  and 
P.  F.  Trowbridge"  of  the  Missouri  Station,  the  body  of  an  80-lb.  new- 
born calf  contains  about  14.0  lbs.  of  protein,  2.8  lbs.  mineral  matter,  and 
2.5  lbs.  fat, — an  amount  of  protein  and  mineral  matter  that  would  be 
contained  in  400  lbs.  of  milk  of  average  composition. 

"Ernahr.  landw.  Nutztiere,  1907,  pp.  472,  476,  478. 

"Hart,  Steenbock,  and  Fuller,  Wis.  Res.  Bui.  30. 

"Information  to  the  authors. 


GROWTH  AND  FATTENING  83 

In  the  case  of  an  immature  female,  still  developing  her  own  tissues 
as  well  as  those  of  the  fetus,  a  liberal  supply  of  these  nutrients  is  espe- 
cially important.  Fortunately  the  mother  is  able  to  protect  the  offspring 
to  a  certain  extent  against  temporary  or  small  deficiencies  in  her  food 
by  drawing  upon  her  own  skeleton  for  the  lime  and  phosphorus  and  her 
muscular  tissues  for  the  protein  necessary  to  the  growing  body  of  the 
fetus.  Such  maternal  protection  is,  however,  at  the  expense  of  her  own 
body.  The  requirements  for  the  various  farm  animals  when  pregnant 
and  the  feeds  best  suited  for  their  maintenance  are  discussed  in  the 
respective  chapters  of  Part  III. 


II.  Fattening 

121.  The  object  of  fattening. — According  to  Armsby,^^  the  accumu- 
lation of  fatty  tissue,  as  such,  is  of  secondary  importance  in  fattening, 
the  main  object  being  to  otherwise  improve  the  quality  of  the  lean  meat. 
To  some  extent  during  growth,  and  especially  during  fattening,  there 
is  a  deposition  of  fat  in  the  lean-meat  tissue.  A  small  portion  of  this 
may  be  deposited  within  the  muscular  fibers  themselves,  but  a  much 
larger  part  is  stored  between  the  bundles  of  fibers,  constituting  the  so- 
called  "marbling"  of  meat.  This  deposition  of  fat  adds  to  the  tender- 
ness, juiciness,  flavor,  and  digestibility  of  the  meat,  besides  increasing 
its  nutritive  value.  It  seems  possible  that  there  is  also  an  increase  in 
the  soluble  or  circulating  protein  and  in  other  extractives  of  the  muscles, 
resulting  in  a  further  betterment  of  the  quality  of  the  meat  as  an  addi- 
tional advantage  from  fattening. 

122.  Increase  during  fattening. — The  changes  in  the  composition  of 
the  bodies  of  farm  animals  during  fattening  were  extensively  studied 
by  Lawes  and  Gilbert  of  the  Rothamsted  Station^^  from  analyses  of  the 
entire  bodies  of  oxen,  sheep,  and  pigs  slaughtered  at  different  stages  of 
fattening.    They  give  data  from  which  the  following  table  is  derived : 

Percentage  composition  of  the  increase  of  fattening  animals 

Mineral        Total  dry 
Animal  Protein  Fat  matter         substance  Water 

Perct.  Perct.  Perct.  Per  ct.  Per  ct. 

Ox 7.7  66.2  1.5  75.4  24.6 

Sheep 7.1  70.4  2.3  79.9  20  1 

Pig 6.4  71.5  0.1  78.0  22.0 

In  most  cases  the  animals  studied  had  not  entirely  finished  their  growth 
when  the  tests  began.  The  table  shows  that  in  100  lbs.  of  live-weight 
gain  made  by  the  fattening  ox,  7.7  lbs.  was  lean-meat  tissue,  66.2  fat, 
1.5  mineral  matter,  and  24.6  water.  The  sheep  resembles  the  ox  in 
character  of  increase  during  fattening,  but  stores  more  mineral  matter, 
due  to  the  growth  of  wool.  The  fattening  pig  stores  very  little  mineral 
matter. 

"TJ.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  Anim.  Ind.,  Bui.  108.         "Jour.  Roy.  Agr.  Soc,  1860. 


84  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Henneberg  and  Kern^*^  slaughtered  a  mature  lean  wether  and  deter- 
mined the  amount  of  lean  meat  and  fat  in  the  carcass.  A  similar  wether 
was  fed  for  70  days  and  killed  when  half  fat,  and  a  third  was  slaughtered 
when  extra  fat,  after  being  fed  203  daj's.  The  carcass  of  the  second 
wether  contained  3  times  as  much  fat  and  that  of  the  third  nearly  4 
times  as  much  as  the  carcass  of  the  unfattened  sheep.  During  fattening 
these  wethers  made  practically  no  gain  in  lean  meat.  Trials  by  Friske'^^ 
seem  to  indicate  that  under  some  conditions  even  mature  animals  may 
make  considerable  gains  in  lean  meat.  Scientists  agree,  however,  that 
as  a  rule  the  fattening  of  mature  animals  is  what  the  term  implies — the 
laying  on  of  fat — with  but  relatively  small  storage  of  protein. 

That  animals  fattened  while  growing  will  not  only  gain  in  fatty  tissue 
but  in  lean  meat  is  shown  by  the  experiments  of  Waters,  Mumford,  and 
P.  F.  Trowbridge, ^^  who  analyzed  the  entire  bodies  of  steers  killed  at 
various  stages  of  fattening  at  the  Missouri  Station.  The  following  table 
shows  the  composition  of  the  carcass  of  a  748-lb.  steer  in  thrifty  growing 
condition  and  the  composition  of  the  gains  made  by  other  steers  during 
fattening  : 

Composition  of  unfattened  steer  and  gains  during  fattening 

Water  Fat  Protein  Ash 

Per  ct.  Per  ct.  Per  ct.  Per  ct. 

Carcass  of  unfattened  steer 56  .4  18 .6  18 .8  5.7 

First  500  lbs.  of  gain 37.6  48.6  11.9  2,0 

Second  500  lbs.  of  gain 17.8  75.6  5.2  1.5 

Totall,000  lbs.  of  gain 27.7  62.1  8.5  1.7 

While  the  carcass  of  the  steer  killed  before  fattening  was  over  half 
water,  the  first  500  lbs.  of  gain  contained  only  37.6  per  ct.  water  and 
the  second  500  lbs.  but  17.8  per  ct.  The  first  half  of  the  gain  was  48.6 
per  ct.  fat  and  11.9  per  ct.  protein,  showing  marked  increase  in  lean 
meat.  In  the  last  half  of  the  gain  75.6  per  ct.  was  fat  and  only  5.2  per 
et.  protein.  The  storage  of  ash  was  likewise  less  in  the  last  500  lbs.  of 
gain.  Thus,  as  a  partly  mature  animal  fattens  it  progressively  makes 
less  growth  in  lean  meat  and  skeleton,  and  a  larger  part  of  the  gain  is  fat. 

123.  Composition  of  steers  of  different  ages. — For  several  years  Haecker 
of  the  Minnesota  Station-^  has  been  conducting  extensive  investigations 
on  the  food  requirements  of  steers  of  different  ages,  in  which  he  has  had 
analyzed  the  entire  carcasses  of  many  animals.  The  following  table  shows 
the  average  composition  of  steers  slaughtered  at  various  stages,  from 
birth  up  to  a  weight  of  1,500  lbs. : 

^-Jour.  Landw.,  26,  1878,  p.  549. 

"Landw.  Vers.  Stat.,  71,  1909,  pp.  441-482. 

"Information  to  the  authors. 

=°Minn.  Rpt.  21  and  information  to  the  authors. 


GROWTH  AND  FATTENING 


85 


Average  composition 

of  steers  at  various 

stages* 

Normal  Weight 

No.  of 
steers 

Water 

Dry 

matter 

Protein 

Fat 

Ash 

100 

5 
4 
3 

5 
5 
3 

4 
3 
3 

2 
1 
2 
1 

1 

Perct. 
71.84 

70.46 
66.31 
65.78 
62.88 
61.99 
60.34 
58.43 
54.10 
53.01 
48.03 
48.63 
47.77 
43.46 

Per  ct. 
28.16 
29.54 
33.69 
34.22 
37.14 
38.01 
39.66 
41.57 
45.90 
46.99 
51.97 
51.37 
52.23 
56.54 

Per  ct. 
19.90 
19.14 
19.02 
19.29 
19.17 
19.42 
18.60 
18.80 
17.66 
17.57 
16.18 
16.59 
16.15 
15.67 

Per  ct. 
3.99 

5.98 
10.18 
10.59 
13.76 
14.00 
16.58 
18.53 
24.08 
25.60 
31.91 
31.11 
32.57 
37.67 

Per  ct. 
4  27 

200 

300 

4.42 
4  49 

400 

500 

600 

700 

800 

900 

1000 

1100 

1200 

1400 

1500 

4.34 
4.21 
4.59 
4.48 
4.24 
4.16 
3.82 
3.88 
3.67 
3.51 
3.20 

Not  including  contents  of  the  digestive  tract. 

The  table  shows  that  the  percentage  of  water  steadily  decreases  as  the 
animal  matures,  falling  from  72  per  ct.  in  the  calves  to  less  than  50  per 
ct.  in  the  1500-lb.  steer.  The  percentage  of  fat  increases  rapidly  during 
the  growth  and  fattening  of  the  animal,  increasing  from  4.0  per  ct.  soon 
after  birth  to  over  37  per  ct.  in  the  1500-lb.  steer.  The  protein  and 
ash  show  less  change  than  the  water  and  fat,  but  decrease  percentagely 
as  the  animals  increase  in  weight.  Haecker  states  that  the  storage  of 
protein  by  the  animal,  which  is  rapid  in  early  life,  shows  a  marked 
slowing  up  when  the  animal  reaches  a  weight  of  about  800  lbs.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  gain  in  fat  is  most  rapid  after  the  steer  reaches  a  weight 
of  600  lbs. 

124.  Origin  of  body  fat. — The  source  of  the  fat  which  animals  store 
in  their  bodies  has  been  the  subject  of  much  controversy.  Kellner, 
Armsby,  Hagemann,  and  other  modern  authorities  agree  that  the  body 
fat  of  animals  may  originate  either  from  the  fat  or  carbohydrates  of 
the  food.  Scientists  still  disagree  upon  the  possibility  of  animal  fat 
being  formed  thru  the  decomposition  of  protein.  The  preponderance 
of  evidence  favors  such  formation,  as  is  later  shown.  (128) 

125.  Body  fat  from  food  fat. — Many  experiments  have  conclusively 
shown  that  the  fat  in  food,  which  has  been  acted  on  by  the  digestive 
fluids  in  the  intestines,  may  be  directly  stored  in  the  body  tissues  when 
supplied  in  large  quantity. 

Hofmann-*  allowed  a  dog  to  starve  until  its  weight  had  decreased  from 
26.5  to  16  kilograms  and  the  supply  of  fat  in  its  body  had  practically 
disappeared,  as  shown  by  the  increased  decomposition  of  the  protein 
tissues  at  that  time.  For  5  daj's  this  dog  was  fed  large  quantities  of 
fat  and  only  a  little  fat-free  meat,  during  which  time  it  gained  4.2  kgms. 
in  weight.  When  slaughtered  its  body  contained  1,353  grams  of  fat,  only 
131  of  which  could  possibly  have  come  from  the  protein  fed.     Hence 

^*Ztschr.  Biol.,  8,  1872,  p.  153. 


86  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

much  of  the  fat  formed  during  this  time  must  have  come  from  the  fat 
of  the  food. 

Henriques  and  Hansen-^  fed  2  three-months-old  pigs  barley  meal 
together  with  oil.  The  first  pig  received  linseed  and  the  second  cocoa- 
nut  oil.  Samples  of  the  body  fat  were  removed  from  the  back  of  each 
pig  thru  incisions,  and  analyzed.  The  fat  which  had  formed  during 
the  feeding  resembled  in  odor,  consistency,  and  composition  the  vege- 
table fat  which  had  been  fed.  Later,  when  the  feeds  were  reversed  the 
body  fat  then  formed  showed  a  corresponding  change  in  properties. 

All  the  digested  fat  taken  into  the  body  of  the  animal  beyond  that 
required  for  maintenance  cannot,  however,  be  deposited  as  body  fat, 
since  considerable  losses  always  occur  thru  the  energy  expended  in 
digestion  and  metabolism.  Kellner^^  states  that  in  the  case  of  carnivora, 
or  flesh-eating  animals,  such  as  the  dog,  not  more  than  87.3  lbs.  of  body 
fat  can  be  formed  from  100  lbs.  of  pure  fat  supplied  in  the  food.  With 
herbivora,  or  animals  which  consume  coarse  forage,  such  as  the  horse,  ox, 
etc.,  the  work  of  moving  the  food  thru  the  digestive  tract,  digesting  it, 
and  disposing  of  the  waste  is  larger.  Hence  the  amount  of  body  fat 
which  may  be  formed  by  these  animals  from  100  lbs.  of  digestible  fat 
in  the  food  consumed  is  much  lower  than  with  the  carnivora,  varying 
from  64.4  lbs.  in  the  case  of  pure  fats  to  47.4  lbs.  in  the  fats  of  roughages. 

126.  Fat  from  carbohydrates. — Scientists  agree  that  the  fat  in  the 
body  of  animals  can  be  formed  from  carbohydrates.  As  early  as  1842 
Liebig  maintained  that  animal  fat  was  formed  mainly  from  the  carbo- 
hydrates, tho  it  might  also  originate  from  the  protein  of  the  food.  The 
extensive  experiments  of  Lawes  and  Gilbert  of  the  Rothamsted  Station,-^ 
conducted  from  1848-1853  with  more  than  400  animals,  clearly  showed 
that  much  more  fat  was  stored  than  could  be  derived  from  the  fatty 
matter  and  protein  of  the  food. 

Soxhlet-®  fed  2  full-grown  pigs  a  ration  of  4.4  lbs.  of  rice  meal  for  5 
days.  One  pig  was  then  killed  and  its  body  analyzed,  while  the  other 
was  fed  4.4  lbs.  of  rice,  daily,  and  later  a  ration  of  3.3  lbs.  of  rice  with 
some  meat  extract,  both  being  foods  which  are  almost  free  from  fat. 
After  82  days  this  pig  was  also  killed  and  its  body  analyzed.  Assuming 
that  the  bodies  of  both  pigs  were  of  similar  composition  when  the  first 
was  killed,  Soxhlet  found  the  quantity  of  fat  formed  in  the  body  of  the 
second  pig  and  its  source  to  be  as  follows : 

Grams 

Maximum  fat  possible  from  fat  in  food 340 

Maximum  fat  possible  from  protein  in  food 2,488 

Minimum  fat  that  must  have  been  formed  from  carbohydrates  in 

food •      19,352 

Total  fat  from  3  sources 22,180 

It  is  shown  that  during  the  trial  22,180  grams  of  fat  were  formed. 

Deducting  from  this  the  sum  of  the  maximum  amounts  of  fat  which 

"Centbl.  Agr.  Chem.,  29,  1900,  p.  529.       "Jour.  Roy.  Agr.  See.  VI,  Pt.  1,  1895. 

="'Ernahr.  landw.  Nutztiere,  1907,  p.  143.  ^  Jahresber.  Agr.  Chem.,  1881,  p.  434. 


GROWTH  AND  FATTENING  87 

could  have  been  derived  from  the  fat  and  the  protein  supplied  in  the 
food,  there  remains  19,352  grams  of  fat  as  the  minimum  which  must 
have  been  formed  from  the  carbohydrates  in  the  food.  Hence  at  least 
87  per  ct.  of  the  fat  formed  by  this  pig  during  the  trial  was  derived  from 
the  carbohydrates  in  the  food. 

The  formation  of  fat  by  ruminants  from  the  carbohydrates  was  first 
demonstrated  by  Kiihn-^  with  the  aid  of  a  respiration  apparatus.  Oxen 
were  fed  for  long  periods  on  meadow  hay  and  starch,  which  provided 
a  ration  low  in  protein  and  fat.  Kiihn  shows  that  even  if  all  the  carbon 
resulting  from  the  digestion  of  the  protein  and  fat  in  the  food  went  to 
form  fat  in  the  body  there  still  remained  a  large  amount  of  deposited 
fat  which  could  only  have  come  from  the  carbohydrates  of  the  food. 
These  conclusions  are  confirmed  by  later  experiments  by  Kellner,^"  also 
with  oxen.  In  these  later  trials  it  is  shown  that  100  lbs.  of  digested 
starch  or  digested  fiber  yielded  about  24.8  lbs.,  and  100  lbs.  of  digested 
cane  sugar  only  18.8  lbs.,  of  body  fat. 

127.  Fat  from  pentosans. — Tho  no  experiments  have  yet  been  carried 
on  to  show  that  body  fat  may  be  formed  from  pure  pentosans,  it  is  certain 
that  these  carbohydrates  may  aid  in  its  formation.  Kellner^^  fed  oxen 
straw  in  which  pentosans  furnished  33  per  ct.  of  the  energy.  The  large 
deposits  of  fat  which  followed  must  have  come  in  part  from  the  pentosans 
of  the  food. 

128.  Fat  from  protein. — ^When  a  liberal  protein  diet  supplies  the  animal 
with  more  energy  than  is  necessary  for  its  maintenance,  not  only  may  a 
part  of  the  excess  protein  be  deposited  in  the  body  as  flesh,  but  the  non- 
nitrogenous  portion  resulting  from  the  cleavage  of  protein  may  be  con- 
verted into  either  body  fat  or  glycogen.  Since  body  fat  may  be  derived 
from  the  carbohydrates,  and  since  glucose  and  glycogen  may  be  formed 
from  the  proteins,  it  is  reasonable  to  hold  that  body  fat  may  be  formed 
from  the  protein  of  the  food.  Demonstration  of  the  direct  formation 
of  body  fat  from  food  protein  is  difficult,  as  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
induce  animals  to  consume  any  large  quantity  of  pure  protein  food. 
The  consumption  of  protein  must  be  relatively  large  to  maintain  the 
nitrogen  equilibrium  of  the  body,  and  so  usually  but  a  small  excess  avail- 
able for  the  formation  of  fat  remains  above  body  requirements. 

Investigations  by  Cramer^-  with  cats,  and  by  Voit^^  and  Gruber^*  with 
dogs  which  were  fed  large  amounts  of  lean  meat,  show  that  the  protein 
it  contained  must  have  been  the  source  of  the  fat  which  was  stored  in  their 
bodies  during  the  trials.  Henneberg,^^  working  with  dogs,  concluded  that 
100  lbs.  of  protein  may,  upon  decomposition,  yield  51.4  lbs.  of  fat.  Rub- 
ner,^^  likewise  experimenting  with  dogs,  has  shown  that  owing  to  the 

=^Landw.  Vers.  Stat,  44,  1894,  pp.  1-581.  ^^Ztschr.  Biol.,  42,  1901,  p.  407. 

=°Land.  Vers.  Stat,  53,  1900,  pp.  1-450.  »Landw.  Vers.  Stat,  20,  1877,  p. 
="Landw.  Vers.  Stat,  53,  1900,  pp.  1-450.  394. 

=^Ztschr.  Biol..  38,  1899,  p.  307.  ''Ztschr.  Biol.,  21,  1885,  p.  250. 
^'Jahresber.  Tier-Chem.,  22,  1892,  p.  34. 


88  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

losses  of  energy  which  occur  in  the  decomposition  of  protein  not  more 
than  34.7  lbs.  of  fat  can  be  formed  from  100  lbs.  of  protein  in  the  food. 

Herbivora — the  ox,  horse,  sheep,  etc. — cannot  be  fed  exclusively  on 
protein,  since  such  feeding  causes  intestinal  disorders.  Kellner,^^  ex- 
perimenting with  steers,  added  wheat  gluten,  which  is  principally  com- 
posed of  vegetable  proteins,  to  a  ration  which  was  already  causing  a 
considerable  deposition  of  fat.  The  feeding  of  100  lbs.  of  gluten  caused 
the  deposition  of  only  23.5  lbs.  of  fat  above  the  amount  due  to  the  basal 
ration.  Kellner  maintains  that  this  additional  deposit  was  derived  from 
the  protein  fed  in  the  wheat  gluten. 

129.  Body  fat  from  nutrients. — The  following  table  from  Kellner^^ 
summarizes  his  studies  on  the  amount  of  fat  which  may  possibly  be 
formed  in  the  body  of  the  growing  ox  from  100  lbs.  of  digestible  matter 
of  the  several  nutrients  fed  in  combination  with  a  basal  ration  already 
exceeding  the  maintenance  requirements  of  the  animal : 

Energy  available 

for  fat  formation  Possible  fat 

Therms  Lbs. 

Fat 204-259  47 .4-59 .8 

Protein 102  23 .5 

Starch  and  fiber 107  24 .8 

Cane  sugar 81  18 .8 

The  table  shows  that  if  an  ox  is  getting  enough  food  for  maintenance, 
supplying  100  lbs.  of  fat  in  addition  may  result  in  the  storage  of  from 
47.4  to  59.8  lbs.  of  body  fat.  For  the  other  nutrients  there  is  a  smaller 
deposit,  cane  sugar  forming  only  18.8  lbs. 

130.  The  ration  for  fattening. — Since  the  fattening  of  mature  animals 
consists  mainly  in  the  storage  of  fat,  there  is  no  demand  for  a  large  sup- 
ply of  food  protein.  While  the  Wolff-Lehmann  standards  (Appendix 
Table  IV)  advise  nutritive  ratios  of  1 :5.4  to  1 :6.5  for  mature  fattening 
cattle,  1 :4.5  to  1 :5.4  for  fattening  sheep,  and  1 :5.9  to  1 :7.0  for  fattening 
swine,  numerous  experiments  have  shown  that  mature  animals  of  all 
classes  can  be  successfully  fattened  on  a  much  smaller  allowance  of  crude 
protein. 

Kellner'''  found  that  the  gains  of  the  mature  ox  remained  unchanged 
whether  1  lb.  of  protein  was  fed  with  4  or  with  16  lbs.  of  carbohydrates, 
the  total  quantity  of  nutrients  remaining  the  same.  In  such  case  the 
quantity  of  fat  formed  was  in  proportion  to  the  nutrients  digested  in 
excess  of  the  wants  of  the  body.  However,  where  less  digestible  protein 
is  fed  than  1  lb.  to  8  or  10  lbs.  of  carbohydrates,  the  digestibility  of  the 
ration  may  be  decreased.  Kellner  accordingly  advises  that  for  mature 
fattening  cattle  the  nutritive  ratio  should  never  be  wider  than  1 :10  or 
12.  In  regions  where  alfalfa  hay  or  other  nitrogenous  feeds  are  abund- 
ant and  low  in  price  and  the  carbohydrates  relatively  high  in  cost,  it  may 
be  profitable  to  feed  a  ration  with  a  narrow  nutritive  ratio.    Animals  in 

«'Landw.  Vers.  Stat.,  53,  1900,  p.  452. 
««Emahr.  landw.  Nutztiere,  1907,  p.  158. 
=»Emahr.  landw.  Nutztiere,  1907,  pp.  418-420. 


GROWTH  AND  FATTENING  89 

thin  flesh  should  at  first  be  liberally  supplied  with  protein  in  order  that 
their  muscular  tissues  may  develop.  For  such  animals  Kellner  holds 
that  the  nutritive  ratio  should  be  about  1 :6,  with  from  12  to  15  lbs.  of 
digestible  nutrients  daily  per  1000  lbs.  of  live  weight. 

Owing  to  the  greater  economy  of  gains  by  young  animals,  in  this 
country  the  larger  part  of  our  meat-producing  animals  are  fattened  and 
marketed  before  maturity.  Such  animals  are  adding  not  only  fat,  but 
also  considerable  lean  meat  to  their  bodies  as  they  fatten,  and  therefore 
require  a  more  liberal  supply  of  protein  than  mature  animals.  Skinner, 
Cochel,  and  King*°  in  extensive  trials  at  the  Indiana  Station  have  found 
that  2-year-old  steers  make  larger  gains  and  require  less  feed  per  100  lbs. 
gain  when  fed  rations  with  a  nutritive  ratio  of  1 :7  to  1 :8  than  when 
the  ration  has  a  wider  nutritive  ratio.  In  4  trials  fattening  lambs  made 
larger  gains  and  required  less  feed  per  100  lbs.  gain  when  fed  rations 
having  an  average  nutritive  ratio  of  1 :6.8  than  when  the  nutritive  ratio 
was  1:8.8. 

It  is  important  to  bear  in  mind  that  since  protein-rich  feeds  are  usual- 
ly high  in  price,  the  most  profitable  ration  may  not  be  the  one  producing 
the  largest  gains,  the  larger  gains  being  in  some  cases  offset  by  the  higher 
cost  of  the  ration  containing  an  abundance  of  protein.  Rations  for  fat- 
tening each  kind  and  age  of  animals  are  discussed  in  detail  in  Part  III. 

131.  Factors  influencing  fattening. — The  deposition  of  fat  in  an  animal 
depends  primarily  upon  the  quantity  of  food  consumed  in  excess  of  main- 
tenance and  growth  requirements.  Fattening  may  take  place  at  any 
age,  tho  the  tendency  of  young  animals  to  grow  greatly  reduces  the  pro- 
portion of  food  usually  available  for  that  purpose.  Since  the  process  of 
fattening  depends  upon  the  excess  of  digested  nutrients  over  the  wants 
of  the  body,  it  is  evident  that  anything  that  decreases  the  waste  due  to 
external  work  or  to  excess  of  exercise,  and  which  lessens  the  internal 
work  of  digestion  and  assimilation,  may  aid  in  fat  formation.  Exertion 
of  any  kind  increases  the  oxidations  going  on  in  the  body.  Vigorous 
exercise  must  therefore  be  avoided  in  the  case  of  fattening  stock  and 
milch  cows.  Supplying  an  abundance  of  feeds  that  are  palatable,  con- 
centrated, and  largely  digestible  tends  to  rapid  fattening,  because  a 
large  surplus  of  nutrients  then  remains  after  supplying  the  body  needs, 
which  surplus  may  go  to  form  fat. 

The  disposition  of  an  animal  to  fatten  depends  upon  breed  and 
temperament.  While  a  wild  animal,  nervous  and  active,  can  be  fattened 
only  with  extreme  difficulty,  domesticated  animals  are  more  quiet  and 
usually  fatten  readily.  The  restless  animal  is  rarely  a  good  feeder,  while 
the  quiet  one,  which  is  inclined  to  ' '  eat  and  lie  down, ' '  will  show  superior 
gains.  This  is  not  due  to  difference  in  digestive  or  assimilative  powers, 
but  rather  to  the  fact  that  the  quiet  animal  has,  from  a  given  amount  of 
food,  a  greater  surplus  of  nutrients  available  for  fat  building. 

132.  Comparative  fattening  qualities. — Lawes  and  Gilbert*^  give  the 
following  data  regarding  the  comparative  fattening  qualities  of  the  steer, 

^Ind.  Buls.  153,  162,  167,  168,  178,  179.    "Warington,  Chemistry  of  the  Farm. 


90 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


sheep,  and  pig,  based  on  trials  in  which  there  were  required,  on  the  aver- 
age, for  100  lbs.  gain :  By  steers,  250  lbs.  oil  cake,  600  lbs.  clover  hay, 
and  3500  lbs.  swedes  (rutabagas)  ;  by  sheep,  250  lbs.  oil  cake,  300  lbs. 
clover  hay,  and  4000  lbs.  swedes ;  by  pigs,  500  lbs.  barley  meal. 

Comparative  returns  from  the  steer,  sheep,  and  pig 


Sheep 


Pig 


food. 


Average  live  weight 

Per  head  per  week 

Total  dry  food  eaten 

Digestible  organic  matter 

Increase  in  live  weight 

Per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight  per  week 

Total  dry  food  eaten 

Digestible  organic  matter  in  food . 

Increase  in  Uve  weight 

Required  for  100  lbs.  increase 

Total  dry  food  eaten 

Digestible  organic  matter 


Lbs. 
1200 

151 
106 
13.6 

125 
88 
11.3 

1109 

777 


Lbs. 

130 

21 
16 

2.; 

160 
121 

17.1 

912 


Lbs. 
175 


40 
11.3 

270 

227 
64.3 

420 
353 


The  table  shows  that  the  average  1200-lb.  fattening  steer  will  consume 
during  one  week  151  lbs.  of  dry  food,  containing  106  lbs.  of  digestible 
organic  matter,  and  will  gain  13.6  lbs.  Because  they  are  smaller  the 
food  consumed  and  the  gains  per  head  by  the  sheep  and  pig  are  much 
less.  "When  the  feed  consumption  and  gains  per  1000  lbs.  of  live  weight 
are  compared,  however,  it  is  seen  that  1000  lbs.  of  pigs  consume  270  lbs. 
of  dry  matter  per  week  against  125  lbs.  for  steers.  However,  the  gains 
of  pigs  are  enough  more  rapid  to  more  than  balance  the  greater  con- 
sumption of  feed.  While  the  pigs  consume  about  2.2  times  as  much  feed 
per  1000  lbs.  as  the  steers,  they  make  nearly  6  times  as  much  gain.  The 
reason  why  pigs  require  less  food  to  produce  100  lbs.  of  increase  than 
either  steers  or  sheep  is  largely  that  their  food  is  more  concentrated  and 
digestible,  so  that  a  smaller  proportion  is  consumed  in  the  work  of  diges- 
tion and  assimilation,  leaving  a  larger  surplus  for  producing  gain. 

133.  Returns  from  feed. — The  following  by  Jordan*-  shows  the  amount 
of  food  suitable  for  man  returned  by  the  different  classes  of  farm  animals 
for  each  100  lbs.  of  digestible  matter  consumed : 

Human  food  produced  by  farm  animals  from  100  lbs.  of  digestible  matter 

consumed 


Animal 

Marketable 
product 

Edible 
solids 

Animal 

Marketable 
product 

Edible 
solids 

Cow  (milk) 

Lbs. 

139.0 

25.0 

14.8 

36.5 

6.4 

Lbs. 

18.0 

15.6 

9.4 

8.1 

5.4 

Poultry  (eggs) 

Poultry  (dressed) 

Lamb  (dressed) 

Steer  (dressed) 

Sheep  (dressed) 

Lbs. 

19.6 

15.6 

9.6 

8.3 

7.0 

Lbs. 

5.1 

Pig  (dressed) 

Cow  (cheese) 

Calf  (dressed) 

Cow  (butter) 

4.2 
3.2 
2.8 
2.6 

'The  Feeding  of  Animals. 


GROWTH  AND  FATTENING 


91 


The  table,  which  presents  one  side  of  a  most  complicated  problem, 
shows  that  for  100  lbs.  of  digestible  nutrients  consumed : 

The  cow  yields  about  139  lbs.  of  milk,  containing  18  lbs.  of  solids, 
practically  all  digestible. 

The  pig  produces  about  25  lbs.  of  dressed  carcass.  Allowing  for  water, 
bone,  and  gristle,  there  remains  over  15  lbs.  of  edible  dry  meat. 

The  steer  and  sheep  yield  less  than  10  lbs.  of  dressed  carcass,  nearly 
half  of  which  is  water.  Deducting  this  and  the  bone  and  gristle,  there 
remains  only  from  2.6  to  3.2  lbs.  of  water-free  edible  meat. 

The  cow  easily  leads  all  farm  animals  in  her  power  to  convert  the 
crops  of  the  field  into  human  food,  with  the  pig  second,  poultry  following, 
and  the  steer  and  sheep  coming  lowest. 

III.     Studies  on  Growth  and  Fattening 

134.  Wide  and  narrow  rations  for  growing  steers. — At  the  Maine  Sta- 
tion*^ Jordan  studied  the  influence  of  a  ration  rich  in  crude  protein  and 
of  one  poor  in  crude  proteiu  on  the  rate  of  gro-wi:h  and  character  of  the 
flesh  formed  by  growing  steers.  Four  high-grade  Shorthorn  steer  calves, 
from  5  to  7  months  old  when  the  trial  began,  were  used.  Lot  I,  2  steers, 
was  fed  a  concentrate  mixture  of  2  parts  linseed  meal,  1  part  corn  meal, 
and  1  part  wheat  bran,  Avhich  furnished  a  large  amount  of  protein.  Lot 
II,  2  steers,  was  given  a  mixture  of  2  parts  corn  meal  and  1  part  wheat 
bran,  furnishing  much  less  protein.  The  roughage  for  both  lots  consisted 
mostly  of  timothy  hay,  some  corn  fodder  and  corn  silage  being  fed  dur- 
ing the  first  winter  only.  The  ration  fed  Lot  I  was  thus  rich  in  crude 
protein,  having  an  average  nutritive  ratio  of  1 :5.2,  and  was  also  high  in 
mineral  matter.  Lot  II  was  fed  a  wide  ration,  having  a  nutritive  ratio 
of  1 :9.7,  which  supplied  much  less  protein  and  also  less  mineral  matter. 
Both  lots  were  liberally  fed,  tho  there  was  no  attempt  to  force  growth. 
One  steer  in  each  lot  was  slaughtered  at  the  end  of  17  months  and  the 
remaining  two  at  the  end  of  27  months,  all  carcasses  being  analyzed  to 
determine  whether  any  difference  existed  therein. 

Results  of  feeding  wide  and  narrow  rations  to  growing  steers 


Digestible 

Composition  of  entire  body  except  skin 

gam 

100  pounds 
gaia 

Water 

Protein 

Fat 

Ash 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

Perot. 

Per  ct. 

Steer  fed  17  months 

On  narrow  ration.. 

737 

495 

59.02 

17.89 

18.53 

4.56 

On  wide  ration 

552 

686 

56.30 

17.82 

20.27 

5.61 

Steer  fed  27  months 

On  narrow  ration . . 

962 

773 

51.91 

16.93 

25.86 

5.30 

On  wide  ration .... 

1005 

708 

52.16 

17.10 

25.32 

5.42 

"  Maine  Rpt.,  1895. 


92  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

The  table  shows  that  during  the  first  17  months  the  steer  on  the  narrow 
ration  gained  185  lbs.  more  than  the  other  on  the  wider  one  and  that  a 
given  gain  was  made  on  less  feed.  The  carcasses  of  both  steers  showed 
practically  the  same  percentage  of  protein  or  lean-meat  tissue,  while  that 
of  the  one  getting  the  narrow  ration  had  more  water  and  less  fat  and  ash. 
Of  the  steers  fed  27  months,  the  one  on  the  wide  ration  made  the  larger 
total  gain  and  required  less  feed  for  100  lbs.  of  gain.  The  water,  protein, 
and  ash  in  the  bodies  of  these  2  steers  were  practically  the  same. 

These  data  support  the  statement  previously  made  (116),  that  a  ration 
having  a  narrow  nutritive  ratio  is  conducive  to  the  rapid  groAvth  of  the 
young  growing  animal.  On  the  other  hand,  when  the  body  is  partly  or 
largely  grown,  the  largest  gains,  which  are  then  mostly  fat,  come  from 
liberal  feeding  with  rations  which  are  rich  in  digestible  carbohydrates 
and  rather  limited  in  crude  protein — i.e.,  having  a  comparatively  wide 
nutritive  ratio.  Doubtless  more  economical  results  than  were  secured 
with  either  lot  would  have  been  obtained  had  these  steers  been  fed  the 
narrow  ration  during  the  first  17  months  or  thereabouts,  and  then  fat- 
tened on  a  wider  ration.  Trials  with  larger  numbers  of  animals,  already 
mentioned  (130),  show  that  the  largest  gains  are  made  by  2-year-old 
steers  when  fed  a  somewhat  narrower  ration  than  the  wide  one  fed  by 
Jordan. 

135.  Feeding  pigs  corn  only. — In  1884  Sanborn  of  the  Missouri  Agri- 
cultural College**  conducted  studies  in  which  growing  pigs  fed  exclusive- 
ly on  corn  meal  were  compared  with  others  fed  on  corn  meal  and  either 
wheat  middlings  or  dried  blood.  The  corn-meal  ration  furnished  an 
abundance  of  easily  digested  carbohydrates  and  fat,  but  was  deficient  in 
crude  protein  and  mineral  matter.  The  addition  of  dried  blood  or  wheat 
middlings  to  corn  meal  formed  a  ration  rich  in  crude  protein  and  mineral 
matter  as  well  as  carbohydrates  and  fat.  Sanborn  showed  that,  com- 
pared with  the  corn-fed  pigs,  those  getting  rations  rich  in  crude  protein 
had  a  larger  muscular  development  and  more  blood,  and  that  some  of 
their  internal  organs  were  larger. 

Realizing  the  fundamental  importance  of  Sanborn 's  studies,  the  senior 
author  conducted  numerous  trials  at  the  Wisconsin  Station*^  in  which 
dried  blood,  wheat  middlings,  field  peas,  and  skim  milk,  with  or  without 
corn  meal,  were  fed  in  opposition  to  corn  meal  alone.  Shelton  of  the 
Kansas  Station**'  fed  pigs  a  mixture  of  wheat  shorts  and  wheat  bran  in 
opposition  to  corn  meal,  potatoes,  and  tallow.  At  the  Alabama  Station*^ 
Duggar  fed  cowpeas,  which  are  rich  in  crude  protein,  against  corn  meal. 
In  France  Fortier*^  duplicated  a  trial  by  the  senior  author,  feeding  skim 
milk,  dried  blood,  and  wheat  middlings  in  opposition  to  corn  meal.  Thus 
at  5  widely  separated  points  pigs  were  fed  rations  rich  in  crude  protein 
and  mineral  matter,  usually  containing  some  corn  meal,  in  opposition  to 

*«Mo.  Buls.  10,  14,  19.  «Kan.  Bui.  9. 

♦=Wis.  Rpts.,  1886,  '87,  '88,  '89.  "Ala.  Bui.  82. 

*'Ext.  Trav.  See.  Cent.  d'Agr.,  Dept.  Selne-Inf.,  1889,  1890. 


GROWTH  AND  FATTENING 


93 


corn  meal  alone,  which  is  rich  in  carbohydi-ates  and  fat  but  low  in  crude 
protein  and  mineral  matter.  The  following  table  summarizes  the  findings 
of  two  trials  at  the  Wisconsin  and  one  at  the  Kansas  Station,  these  being 
typical  of  all : 


Effect  on  pigs  of  rations  rich  in  protein  and  ash,  compared  with  corn  alone 
I.    Daily  gains,  live  weights,  dressing  percentage,  and  strength  of  bones 


Station  and  feed 

Av. 
daily 
gain 

Live  wt. 
at  end 
of  trial 

Dressed 
carcass 

Strength  of 

thigh  bone 

per  100  lbs. 

Uvewt. 

Wisconsin 

Lot     I,  Milk,  middlings,  blood .    . 

Lbs. 

1.0 
0.7 

Lbs. 

223 

187 

Per  ct. 
81.2 

80.2 

Lbs. 
503 

Lot    II,  Corn  meal 

380 

Wiscoiisin 
Lot     I,  14  blood,  %  com  meal 

1.4 
1.2 
1.1 

298 
277 
254 

83.2 
82.3 
83.5 

385 

Lot    II,  ii  peas,  H  com  meal 

Lot  III,  Com  meal 

471 
354 

Kansas 

Lot     I,  Shorts,  bran 

Lot  III,  Potatoes,  taUow,  com  meal 

1.4 
1.1 

211 
183 

76.8 
79.8 

357 
332 

II.    Weight  of  internal  organs  and  parts  per  100  lbs.  of  dressed  carcass 


station  and  feed 

Blood 

Liver 

Kidneys 

Tenderloin  |  Leaf  lard 

Wisconsin 
Lot     I,  Milk,  middlings,  blood. .  . 
Lot    II,  Cora  meal 

Oz. 

54.4 
41.3 

Oz. 
26.9 

24.3 

Oz. 
5.0 
4.2 

Oz. 

17.1 
13.8 

Oz. 

79.9 
89.3 

Wisconsin 
Lot     I,  14  blood,  7^  com  meal. .  . 
I^t    II,  K  peas,  ^  com  meal .... 
Lot  III,  Com  meal 

47.1 
44.7 
43.8 

22.2 
21.3 
17.7 

3.9 
3.4 

2.8 

Kansas 

50.4 
36.8 

44.7 
33.8 

7.4 
5.8 

13.0 
10.0 

65.1 

Lot    II,  Potatoes,    tallow,    com 
meal 

75.3 

The  first  division  of  the  table  shows  that  the  pigs  fed  rations  rich  in 
crude  protein  and  ash  made  heavier  gains  than  those  fed  rations  poor  in 
these  constituents.  As  a  rule  the  pigs  getting  the  rations  rich  in  crude 
protein  had  a  larger  amount  of  blood  and  heavier  livers  and  other  organs 
per  100  lbs.  of  carcass,  as  is  shown  in  the  second  division  of  the  table. 

The  strength  of  the  thigh  bones  was  determined  in  the  following  man- 
ner :  The  2  rounded,  iron  supporting  edges  of  a  machine  used  for  testing 
the  breaking  strength  of  materials  were  set  four  inches  apart.  On  these 
a  thigh  bone  was  placed,  the  rounded  edge  of  the  breaking-bar  pressing 
down  on  the  bone  from  above,  midway  of  its  length.     The  downward 


94  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

pressure  was  gradually  increased,  being  measured  by  the  tilting  beam  of 
the  machine.  Under  the  steadily  increasing  pressure  the  bone  finally 
broke,  its  resistance  at  the  time  of  breaking  being  recorded.  The  trials 
showed  that  the  pigs  fed  the  ration  rich  in  crude  protein  had  the  strongest 
bones.  In  the  first  Wisconsin  trial,  as  the  table  shows,  the  bones  of  the 
corn-fed  pigs  broke  at  an  average  pressure  of  380  lbs.  for  each  100  lbs. 
of  carcass,  while  those  of  the  pigs  fed  milk,  dried  blood,  and  middlings 
broke  at  about  500  lbs. — a  difference  of  32  per  ct.  in  favor  of  the  pigs 
getting  the  ration  rich  in  crude  protein. 

In  the  first  Wisconsin  trial  the  pigs  getting  milk,  wheat  middlings, 
and  dried  blood  had  over  54  oz.,  or  nearly  3.5  lbs.,  of  blood  for  each  100 
lbs.  of  dressed  carcass,  while  those  getting  only  corn  meal  had  less  than 
42  oz.,  or  but  little  over  2.5  lbs.  The  livers  and  kidneys  of  the  pigs  fed 
the  rations  rich  in  crude  protein  were  in  all  cases  relatively  heavier,  as 
were  also  the  tenderloin  muscles,  lying  along  the  back,  showing  that  a 
superior  muscular  development  was  associated  with  the  larger  internal 
organs,  more  blood,  etc.  The  corn-fed  pigs,  on  the  other  hand,  had  stored 
more  fat,  as  the  proportion  of  leaf  lard  shows.  Analyses  of  the  organs 
and  parts  of  the  pigs  used  in  the  second  Wisconsin  trial  showed  further 
that  the  corn-fed  pigs  had  proportionately  less  dry  matter  in  their  blood 
and  kidneys  and  a  smaller  amount  of  dry  lean-meat  tissue  than  those  on 
the  narrow  ration. 

Later  investigations  show  that  differences  produced  by  the  exclu- 
sive corn  rations  and  those  rich  in  crude  protein  were  not  entirely  due 
to  the  difference  in  the  supply  of  crude  protein.  In  each  case  the  ration 
rich  in  crude  protein  was  also  the  richer  in  mineral  matter,  for  corn  is 
not  only  low  in  crude  protein  but  it  also  lacks  mineral  matter. 

To  study  the  effect  upon  the  carcass  of  varying  the  amount  of  protein 
in  the  ration  when  an  abundance  of  mineral  matter  was  supplied.  Grind- 
ley  and  colleagues*^  at  the  Illinois  Station  analyzed  the  carcasses  of  pigs 
fed  corn  and  varying  amounts  of  blood  meal  from  weaning,  all  animals 
being  supplied  with  calcium  phosphate  in  addition,  to  furnish  a  liberal 
amount  of  lime  and  phosphoric  acid.  Pigs  fed  rations  very  high  in  pro- 
tein, containing  26  to  35  per  ct.  blood  meal,  had  larger  kidneys  and  livers, 
and  heavier,  stronger  bones  than  when  a  ration  containing  only  7  per  ct. 
blood  meal  was  fed.  No  difference  was  found  between  the  various  lots  in 
the  forms  of  nitrogenous  compounds  in  the  protein  tissues  or  in  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  ash  between  the  various  organs  of  the  body. 

136.  Effect  on  tenderloins  of  exclusive  corn  feeding. — At  the  Missouri 
Station^"  Forbes  fed  6  lots,  each  of  five  120-lb.  pigs,  on  unlimited  rations 
for  60  days.  One  lot  was  fed  corn  only,  while  the  others  received  corn 
supplemented  with  the  various  by-feeds  shown  below.  All  rations  but 
the  one  exclusively  of  corn  had  the  same  nutritive  ratio.  On  slaughter- 
ing the  pigs,  portions  of  the  tenderloin  muscles  were  analyzed,  with  the 
results  shown  on  the  next  page. 

«'I11.  Buls.  168,  169,  171,  173.  ""Mo.  Bui.  81. 


GROWTH  AND  FATTENING  95 

Composition  of  the  tenderloin  muscles  of  pigs  variously  fed 

Supplement  fed  per  100  lbs.  of  corn  Water        Protein  Fat  Ash 

Perct.        Perct.        Perct.        Per  ct. 

Lot     I,  Com  only 71.5  19.2  7.28  111 

Lot    II,  ^\^leat  middlings,  81.8  lbs 72 .9  20 .7  5  .04  1  15 

Lot  III,  Linseed  meal,  n.  p.,  17.8  lbs 74.1  20.5  4.01  1.18 

Lot  IV,  Soybeans,  19.6  lbs 72 .9  20  9  4  79  1  13 

Lot    V,  Tankage,  8.1  lbs 73.7  19.8  5.17  113 

Lot  VI,  Germ  oil  meal,  39.4  lbs 73 .5  20 .5  4 .67  1 .08 

It  is  shown  that  the  muscles  resulting  from  exclusive  corn  feeding  had 
more  fat  and  less  water  and  protein  than  the  others.  The  corn  ration 
and  the  corn  and  germ  oil  meal  ration,  both  low  in  mineral  matter,  pro- 
duced muscle  lower  in  ash  than  the  other  rations.  While  the  muscles 
from  the  pigs  fed  exclusively  on  corn  contained  less  protein  than  the 
others  and  were  therefore  really  smaller  in  size,  because  of  their  high 
percentage  of  fat  they  would,  on  cooking,  furnish  meat  which  would  be 
more  juicy  and  toothsome  than  that  of  the  other  lots. 

137.  Discussion  of  the  pig-feeding  experiments. — In  analyzing  the  two 
preceding  experiments  we  should  hold  that  the  pigs  given  feeds  rich  in 
crude  protein  and  mineral  matter  developed  bodies  that  were  normal  in 
skeleton,  muscles,  and  all  internal  organs.  Those  fed  corn  exclusively 
were  prevented  from  building  a  normal  body  structure  because  of  the 
insufficient  and  unbalanced  supply  of  crude  protein  and  a  lack  of  enough 
mineral  matter  in  their  food.  We  should  not  forget  that  all  parts  of  the 
normally  nurtured  body  attain  a  certain  normal  development  which 
cannot  be  materially  increased  beyond  a  constitutional  limit.  Only  in  a 
small  degree  can  the  stockman  in  a  single  generation  increase  by  what  he 
may  feed  the  size  of  the  bones  and  the  muscles  of  the  animals  under  his 
care.  On  the  other  hand,  Nature  sets  no  such  close  limitations  on  the 
amount  of  fat  that  may  be  stored.  This  varies  according  to  inheritance, 
the  nature  and  abundance  of  the  food,  the  amount  of  exercise,  etc.  The 
skeleton,  the  muscles,  and  all  the  organs  of  the  body  increase  during  the 
plastic  stage  of  youth  and  cannot  be  augmented  in  the  mature  animal. 
(113)  The  quantity  of  fat  which  the  animal  may  lay  on  is  limited  dur- 
ing youth  and  is  more  easily  and  largely  stored  after  maturity  has  been 
reached.  (122) 

These  experiments  should  impress  upon  the  stockman  the  plastic  nature 
of  the  bodies  of  young,  growing  animals.  They  show  it  possible  for 
immature  animals  living  on  unsuitable  food  to  survive  a  long  time  and 
develop  bodies  that  are  dwarfed  in  size  and  made  unnaturally  fat.  They 
help  to  show  that  Nature 's  plan  is  to  first  grow  the  body  framework  and 
afterwards  to  lay  on  the  fat.  They  point  to  the  reasonable,  important, 
and  far-reaching  conclusion  that  if  a  pig  or  other  young  animal  is  im- 
properly fed  so  as  to  modify  its  bones,  muscles,  and  vital  organs  even  a 
very  little,  and  the  process  is  repeated  during  several  generations,  the 
cumulative  effects  will  be  marked  and  permanently  injurious.  The  prac- 
tical lesson  is  taught  that  young  animals  should  be  nurtured  on  a  combina- 


96 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


tion  of  feeding  stuffs  that  will  develop  the  normal  framework  of  bone, 
muscle,  and  all  body  organs.  This  calls  for  a  ration  containing  crude 
protein  and  mineral  matter  not  only  in  ample  amount,  but  also  of  suita- 
ble composition  for  rapid  formation  of  body  tissues.  Having  developed 
the  proper  framework  of  bone,  together  Mdth  the  enveloping  muscular 
system  and  all  the  organs  of  the  body,  the  food  supply  may  then  consist 
largely  of  carbohydrates  and  fat,  which  are  the  cheap  and  abundant 
sources  of  animal  fat. 

In  America  corn  is  the  common  feeding  stuff  for  swine,  and  pigs  show 
such  fondness  for  it  that  harm  often  results  because  the  practice  of  the 
feeder  and  breeder  is  guided  by  the  appetite  of  the  animal  rather  than  by 
a  knowledge  of  the  composition  and  limitations  of  feeds.  Let  us  not 
despise  corn  because  when  wrongly  and  excessively  used,  as  it  purposely 
was  in  these  experiments  with  young,  growing  pigs,  it  fails  to  develop 
the  normal  framework  of  bone  and  muscle.  Each  feed  has  its  function 
in  the  nutrition  of  animals,  and  only  by  its  abuse  can  unfavorable 
results  follow. 

138.  Growth  under  adverse  conditions. — At  the  Missouri  Station^^ 
"Waters  kept  15  steers,  varying  from  fat  show  animals  to  those  in  ordinary 
farm  condition,  for  long  periods  on  rations  sufficient  for  maintenance. 
Below  are  given  the  results  obtained  with  4  yearling  steers  kept  at  con- 
stant body  weight : 

Growth  of  steers  maintained  at  constant  body  weight 


Length 
of  period 

Increase  in 

Decrease 
in  width 
of  chest 

Age  at 
begiiming 

Height 
at  withers 

Length 
of  head 

Depth 
of  chest 

Decline  in  condition 
from — 

Months 
11 

9.5 
16.5 
17 

Months 

7 
12 
12 
12 

Per  ct. 
10.2 
9.9 

6.8 
5.8 

Per  ct. 
11.1 

19.7 

12.0 

9.6 

Per  ct. 

5.6 
8.5 
6.0 
1.1 

Per  ct. 

10.1 
12.1 
10.6 
9.4 

Good  to  com. 
Med.  to  thin 
Prime  to  com. 
Prime  to  com. 

The  table  shows  that  in  each  case  there  was  a  marked  increase  in  the 
height  of  the  animal  at  the  withers,  the  length  of  head,  and  the  depth 
of  chest,  denoting  a  growth  of  the  skeleton.  The  decrease  in  width  of 
chest  shows  a  thinning  of  the  flesh  covering  the  skeleton,  indicating  that 
the  stored  fat  was  re-absorbed  or  withdrawn  from  the  tissues  in  the 
effort  to  continue  growth  on  insufficient  food.  Examination  of  the  fat 
ceUs  of  these  animals  showed  a  uniform  reduction  in  their  size  as  com- 
pared with  those  of  animals  receiving  liberal  rations. 

In  other  trials  by  Waters  and  P.  F.  Trowbridge"  at  the  Missouri 
Station  steers  in  a  thrifty  growing  condition,  weighing  573  to  740  lbs., 
were  fed  rations  just  sufficient  to  maintain  their  weight  for  various 
periods  of  time,  and  were  then  slaughtered  and  the  carcasses  analyzed. 

"Proc.  Sec.  Prom.  Agr.  Sci.,  1908.  »•  Information  to  the  authors. 


GROWTH  AND  FATTENING 


97 


Others  were  fed  sub-maintenance  rations  on  which  they  lost  0.5  lb.  per 
head  dailj^,  and  still  other  rations  on  which  they  made  0.5  lb.  daily  gain 
per  head.  Even  the  steers  losing  weight  made  steady  growth  in  skeleton. 
A  steer  Aveighing  654  lbs.  when  placed  on  the  experiment  lost  199  lbs. 
in  12  montlis,  but  nevertheless  gained  3.6  inches  in  height  at  A^-ithers, 
and  4.5  inches  in  length  of  body.  While  the  carcass  of  the  steer  slaugh- 
tered and  analyzed  as  a  check  animal  at  the  beginning  of  the  trial  con- 
tained 56.5  lbs.  of  fatty  tissue,  that  of  an  animal  which  had  been  given 
a  ration  just  sufficient  to  maintain  its  weight  for  12  months  contained 
only  24.3  lbs.  of  fatty  tissue.  An  animal  which  had  lost  0.5  lb.  daily 
in  weight  steadily  for  a  year  had  used  up  practically  all  of  its  fatty 
tissues  for  body  fuel.  Indeed  only  0.4  lb.  of  fatty  tissue  could  be  sepa- 
rated from  the  entire  carcass  of  the  animal. 

The  following  table  shows  the  changes  which  were  produced  in  the 
composition  of  the  fatty  tissues,  lean  flesh,  and  skeletons  of  3  of  the 
animals,  compared  with  the  tissues  of  the  steer  slaughtered  as  a  check 
animal : 

Changes  in  hody  tissues  of  steers  on  scanty  and  liberal  rations 


Fatty  tissue 

Water... 

Fat 

Protein . . 

Ash 

Lean  flesh 

Water... 

Fat 

Protein  . 

Ash 

Skeleton 

Water. .. 

Fat 

Protein . . 

Ash 


steer  I, 
check  animal 


Per  ct. 

19.0 

74.8 

6.0 

0.2 

71.0 
8.0 

20.1 
0.9 

37.1 
14.7 
20.4 
25.3 


Steer  II, 

on  maintenance 

12  months 


Per  ct. 

36.2 

50.8 

13.6 

0.5 

74.0 
4.6 

19.7 
1.0 

36.2 
16.4 
20.0 
26.6 


Steer  III, 
losing  0.5  lb.  per 
day  for  12  mo. 


Per  ct. 
81.2 

4.6 
9.7 
1.1 

76.9 
2.1 

19.8 
1.0 

52.6 
2.9 
19.1 

22.8 


Steer  IV, 

gaining  0.5  lb.  daily 

for  5  mo. 


Per  ct. 
18.5 

73.4 
6.5 
0.2 

71.1 
7.8 

19.2 
0.9 

35.4 
17.3 
19.8 
25.3 


The  table  shows  that  in  the  case  of  Steer  II,  held  at  constant  weight 
for  12  months,  much  fat  had  been  withdrawn  from  the  fatty  tissue,  being 
largely  replaced  by  water.  So  far  had  the  withdrawal  of  fat  progressed 
in  the  case  of  Steer  III,  that  the  small  amount  of  "fatty  tissue"  which 
was  secured  from  the  carcass  contained  81.2  per  ct.  water  and  only  4.6 
per  ct.  fat !  With  the  withdrawal  of  fat  the  percentage  of  protein  and 
ash  had  increased.  The  lean  flesh  suffered  much  less  change  than  the 
fatty  tissues,  even  in  the  case  of  Steer  III,  which  lost  nearly  40  per  ct. 
of  the  lean  meat  in  his  body  during  the  trial.  The  data  show  that  on 
insufficient  food  the  fat  was  withdrawn  to  a  marked  degree  from  the 
lean  flesh  of  the  body. 

The  skeleton  is  not  affected  by  poor  nutrition  until  practically  all 


98  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

the  fat  has  been  removed  from  the  fatty  tissues  and  the  muscles.  In 
the  case  of  Steer  III  the  withdrawal  of  fat  had  gone  so  far  that  nearly 
all  the  fat  had  been  removed  from  the  marrow  of  the  skeleton  and  re- 
placed with  water.  Indeed,  the  marrow  had  practically  disappeared  and 
in  its  place  was  a  watery,  ill-smelling  liquid.  This  re-absorption  of  fat 
takes  place  from  all  parts  of  the  skeleton.  In  contrast  with  these  changes, 
the  protein  and  ash  content  was  but  slightly  reduced,  even  in  the  case  of 
Steer  III. 

In  the  process  of  fattening,  the  fat  is  laid  on  the  body  in  a  certain 
order,  being  deposited  first  and  most  rapidly  in  certain  regions,  while 
in  others  little  is  stored  until  fattening  is  well  advanced.  Waters  states 
that  the  withdrawal  of  fat  from  the  tissues  occurs  in  the  reverse  order 
from  which  it  was  laid  on — that  first  deposited  being  the  last  to  be 
absorbed. 

An  experiment  with  two  8-months-old  steers,  one  on  full  feed  and  the 
other  on  a  maintenance  ration,  showed  that  on  the  whole  the  animal  on 
full  feed  increased  in  height  more  rapidly  than  the  one  on  maintenance. 
However,  for  a  considerable  period  the  poorly  fed  steer  grew  as  rapidly 
as  the  other.  Waters  states  that  the  length  of  the  period  during  which 
poorly  fed  animals  gain  as  rapidlj"-  in  height  as  well  nourished  ones 
ranges  from  70  to  120  days,  depending  on  the  constitutional  vigor  of 
the  individual  and  the  excess  fat  with  which  it  starts.  After  this  period 
the  increase  in  height  becomes  less  rapid,  ceasing  altogether  in  from  6 
months  to  a  year  and  a  half,  by  which  time  the  animal  has  become  quite 
thin  and  has  re-absorbed  all  fat  not  necessary  to  its  life.  For  5  months  a 
steer  fed  less  than  a  maintenance  ration  and  losing  in  weight  grew  in 
height  as  fast  as  one  on  full  feed. 

Growth  on  scanty  rations  is  not  due  directly  to  the  fat  re-absorbed  from 
the  body.  The  animal  burns  its  stored  fat  to  support  the  body,  and  the 
protein  in  its  food  is  used  for  building  body  tissue.  The  supply  of 
mineral  matter  in  the  maintenance  ration  used  in  these  studies  was 
probably  sufficient  to  provide  an  excess  for  growth.  The  steers  developed 
depraved  appetites  in  a  short  time  after  being  placed  on  scanty  rations 
and  ate  considerable  earth,  possibly  making  use  of  some  of  its  mineral 
matter. 

Waters  concludes  that  the  young  animal  may  advance  to  normal  size 
by  any  or  all  of  the  following  way^ : 

1.  By  growing  steadily  from  birth  to  maturity. 

2.  By  storing  fat  in  a  period  of  abundant  food  supply  to  assist  in 
tiding  over  a  limited  period  of  sparse  food  supply  without  serious  inter- 
ruption of  growth. 

3.  By  prolonging  the  growth  period. 

4.  By  an  increase  in  the  rate  of  growth  during  a  period  of  liberal 
feeding  following  a  period  of  low  nourishment  and  low  gain. 

5.  By  conserving  the  cost.  Apparently  the  animal  when  kept  for  a 
long  period  on  scanty  food  gets  on  a  more  economical  basis  than  when 


GROWTH  AND  FATTENING  99 

more  liberally  fed.  A  ration  which  is  at  first  insufficient  to  maintain 
the  animal  may  be  capable  later  of  keeping  the  animal  at  a  constant 
body  weight,  and  still  later  of  causing  gain. 

139.  Effects  of  checking  growth. — Waters,  Cochel,  and  Vestal"  have 
conducted  numerous  experiments  at  the  Kansas  Station  to  determine 
the  effect  on  the  subsequent  development  of  pure-bred  beef  steers  of 
cheeking  their  growth  for  various  periods  by  under-feeding.  They 
report  that  supplying  a  young,  growing  animal  with  a  scant  ration  for 
a  short  period  only  will  have  no  permanent  effect  on  its  development. 
Even  when  insufficient  feeding  is  continued  for  a  year  or  longer,  the 
animal  will  recover  to  a  surprising  extent  when  placed  on  liberal  feed, 
making  unusually  rapid  and  economical  gains.  Osborne  and  MendeP* 
have  shown  that  while  the  normal  growth  period  of  rats  rarely  exceeds 
335  days,  those  whose  growth  has  been  checked  by  insufficient  food  will 
resume  growth  even  at  the  age  of  480  to  532  days. 

The  Kansas  experiments  show,  however,  that  while  a  steer  whose 
growth  has  been  checked  for  a  year  or  more  may  grow  nearly  as  tall  as 
one  fed  well  all  along,  it  is  almost  certain  to  have  a  smaller  digestive 
capacity,  narrower  hips,  flatter  ribs,  heavier  shoulders,  and  lighter  hind 
quarters,  even  when  finished  for  market.  The  form  of  the  highly  devel- 
oped beef  animal  has  evidently  been  caused  by  broadening  the  animal 
thru  heavy  feeding  while  young.  If  insufficient  feed  is  supplied  to 
distend  the  digestive  tract  and  force  out  the  ribs  and  hips  when  yet 
plastic,  the  body  of  the  animal  will  never  attain  the  desired  conformation. 

These  studies  on  growth  are  highly  significant  to  the  stockman.  They 
show  that  under  certain  conditions  it  may  be  profitable  to  carry  growing 
animals  thru  the  winter  on  roughages  alone,  even  tho  they  lose  slightly 
in  weight,  for  on  a  return  to  good  pasture,  animals  in  spare  but  thrifty 
condition  make  exceedingly  economical  gains.  However,  the  breeder 
who  seeks  to  develop  his  animals  toward  an  ideal  must  supply  ample 
feed  during  the  whole  growth  period. 

"^  Kansas  Industrialist,  May  10,  1913;  Apr.  18,  1914;   and  information  to  the 
authors. 
"Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  18,  1914,  pp.  95-106. 


CHAPTER  VI 

PRODUCTION   OF  WORK,  MILK,  AND  WOOL 

I.  Production  of  Work 

It  has  long  been  known  that  muscular  exertion  or  external  body  work 
greatly  increases  the  amount  of  food  material  burned  or  broken  down 
in  the  body,  but  scientists  have  disagreed  as  to  whether  one  or  all  of  the 
nutrients — protein,  carbohydrates,  or  fat — furnishes  the  energy.  Liebig, 
"the  father  of  agricultural  chemistry,"  held  that  the  protein  of  the 
muscular  tissues  was  the  only  material  broken  down  in  producing  volun- 
tary and  involuntary  motions,  whether  of  the  limbs,  heart,  or  other  parts 
of  the  body. 

140.  Waste  of  protein  tissues  during  work. — That  protein  is  not  an 
important  source  of  body  energy  was  shown  by  Fick  and  Wislicenus,^ 
who  in  1865  ascended  the  Faulhorn,  an  Alpine  mountain.  While  climb- 
ing the  mountain  these  investigators  consumed  only  non-protein  food; 
i.  e.,  starch,  sugar,  and  fat,  and  during  this  time  they  collected  all  the 
urine  passed.  The  amount  of  nitrogen  excreted  in  the  urine  during 
the  trial  follows : 


Nitrogen  excretion 

during  mountain  cUmhing 

Total  nitrogen  excreted 

Nitrogen  excreted  per  hour 
(average) 

Fick          1    WisUcenus 

Fick 

Wislicenus 

Night  before  ascent              

Grams 

6.92 
3.31 
2.43 

4.82 

Grama 

6.68 
3.13 

2.42 
5.35 

Grams 

0.63 
0.41 
0.40 
0.45 

Grams 
0.61 

DurinsT  ascent                        

0.39 

0.40 

Night  after  ascent 

0.51 

The  table  shows  that  only  about  two-thirds  as  much  nitrogen  was 
excreted  per  hour  during  and  immediately  after  the  climb  as  prior  to  it, 
when  there  was  more  or  less  residue  in  the  system  from  the  previous 
meal  containing  protein.  Had  the  nitrogenous  tissues  or  the  muscles  of 
the  body  been  broken  down  directly  in  proportion  to  the  labor  performed, 
there  would  have  been  a  large  increase  in  the  nitrogen  excretion  during 
and  following  this  fatiguing  Avork ;  but  such  was  not  the  case.  Measured 
by  the  nitrogen  in  the  urine,  the  protein  broken  down  during  the  trial 
could  not  possibly  have  furnished  energy  for  more  than  one-third  of 
the  work  done  by  these  men  in  lifting  their  bodies  to  the  top  of  the 
mountain. 

»Jour.  Roy.  Agr.  See,  1895;  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Office  of  Expt.  Sta.,  Bui.  22. 

100 


PRODUCTION  OF  WORK,  MILK,  AND  WOOL  101 

From  this  trial  and  experiments  by  Voit,  Pettenkofer,  and  Parks  it 
was  decided  that  only  carbohydrates  and  fats  were  oxidized  and  burned 
in  the  production  of  muscular  energy.  Still  later  experiments  by  Ar- 
gutinsky,  Zuntz,  and  others  have  shown  that  when  carbohydrates  and 
fat  are  sufficient  in  amount  they  furnish  all  the  muscular  energy,  and 
in  such  cases  the  breaking  down  of  protein  is  not  increased  during  work. 
However,  if  the  supply  of  carbohydrates  and  fat  in  the  food  is  insufficient, 
some  of  the  energy  for  the  production  of  work  may  be  furnished  thru 
the  breaking  down  of  protein,  with  a  resultant  increase  in  the  nitrogen 
excretion  in  the  urine. 

141.  Excretion  of  carbon  dioxid. — Whether  the  material  burned  to 
furnish  muscular  energy  be  carbohydrates,  fat,  or  protein,  carbonic 
acid  gas  will  be  produced,  the  quantity  directly  depending  upon  the 
amount  of  work  done.  This  was  shown  by  Smith,^  who  determined  the 
quantity  of  carbonic  acid  gas  exhaled  by  the  horse  when  at  rest  and 
performing  labor  as  follows: 

Cubic  feet 
Form  of  work  per  hour 

At  rest 1 .03 

Walking 1 .  10 

Trotting 2 .95 

Cantering 4 .92 

Galloping 14 .97 

Thus,  unlike  the  nitrogen  excretion,  the  amount  of  carbon  dioxid  ex- 
haled per  hour  is  increased  by  the  performance  of  work,  and  depends 
upon  the  work  done  in  that  time. 

142.  Production  of  muscular  energfy. — We  know  that  in  doing  work 
the  muscles  of  the  body  contract;  that  is,  become  shorter  and  thicker. 
Yet  in  spite  of  all  the  study  of  scientists  we  do  not  yet  know  definitely 
the  direct  cause  of  muscular  contraction.  In  just  what  manner  the 
energy  stored  in  the  food  is  converted  into  the  energy  of  muscular  action 
is  still  an  unsolved  question.  We  do  know,  however,  some  of  the  pro- 
cesses which  take  place  in  the  working  muscles. 

The  most  significant  change  which  takes  place  during  muscular  con- 
traction is  the  increased  production  of  carbon  dioxid,  already  noted, 
which  seems  to  bear  a  definite  relation  to  the  amount  of  internal  and 
external  work  performed.  There  is  also  a  large  increase  in  the  amount 
of  oxygen  taken  up  by  the  muscles  from  the  blood  during  work.  The 
increase  in  oxygen  consumed  and  carbon  dioxid  given  off  might  lead  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  activity  of  the  muscle  during  contraction  is  due 
to  simple  oxidation,  such  as  occurs  when  fuel  is  burned.  However,  cer- 
tain facts  which  cannot  be  dwelt  upon  here  lead  scientists  to  believe 
that  the  chemical  changes  by  which  energy  is  liberated  are  not  simple 
oxidations,  but  are  more  in  the  nature  of  sudden  decompositions  or 
cleavages  of  some  complex  substance  or  substances  built  up  in  the  muscle 
during  rest,  carbon  dioxid  being  evolved  in  such  cleavage.^     Part  of 

'Jour.  Physiol.,  1890,  No.  1;   U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Office  of  Expt.  Sta.,  Bui.  22. 
^Armsby,  Principles  of  Animal  Nutrition,  1903,  p.  187. 


102  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

the  energy  liberated  in  this  decomposition  appears  as  heat,  and  another 
part  as  mechanical  work. 

Glycogen,  or  animal  starch,  is  stored  in  the  muscle  during  rest,  forming 
between  0.5  and  0.9  per  ct.  of  the  weight  of  well-nourished  muscle  in 
the  resting  condition.  (60)  A  smaller  quantity  of  glucose  is  also  found 
in  the  muscular  tissues.  During  muscular  activity  this  stored  glycogen 
and  glucose  disappear  more  or  less,  in  proportion  to  the  extent  and  dura- 
tion of  the  contractions,  so  that  after  prolonged  muscular  activity  or 
hard  work  the  supply  may  be  entirely  exhausted.  Tho  the  amount  of 
these  carbohydrates  in  the  body  tissues  at  any  one  time  is  small,  a 
supply,  especially  of  glucose,  is  being  continuously  produced  from  the 
food  nutrients  or  body  tissues  to  replace  that  oxidized  in  the  production 
of  work.  As  the  larger  part  of  the  food  of  farm  animals  consists  of  car- 
bohydrates, the  oxidation  of  the  glucose  formed  from  them  probably 
furnishes  most  of  the  energy  for  the  production  of  heat  and  work  by 
these  animals.  To  supply  the  muscles  with  the  necessary  oxygen  and  also 
carry  away  the  waste  products  formed  during  muscular  exertion,  the 
circulation  of  the  blood  must  be  hastened  and  larger  quantities  of  air 
be  taken  in  by  the  lungs. 

143.  Source  of  muscular  energy. — All  the  organic  nutrients  absorbed 
from  the  food,  not  only  the  carbohydrates  and  fats,  but  also  the  proteins 
and  apparently  the  pentosans,  serve  as  sources  of  energy  to  the  body. 
Under  normal  conditions  the  non-nitrogenous  nutrients  and  the  glycogen 
are  first  drawn  upon  for  the  production  of  work,  no  more  protein  being 
broken  down  than  during  rest.  If  the  non-nitrogenous  nutrients  do  not 
suffice  for  the  production  of  muscular  energy,  then  the  body  fat  is  next 
drawn  upon.  If  this  is  insufficient  or  is  much  diminished  by  continued 
work,  then  as  the  last  resort  the  muscles  or  other  protein  tissues  will  be 
called  upon  to  furnish  the  needed  energy. 

144.  Relative  value  of  nutrients. — Investigations  by  Zuntz  and  his 
associates  show  that  the  value  of  each  of  the  different  classes  of  food 
nutrients  for  the  production  of  work  depends  upon  the  total  energy  it 
contains.  In  one  experiment*  the  diet  of  a  man  turning  a  wheel  consisted, 
during  separate  periods,  chiefly  of  either  fat,  carbohydrates,  or  protein. 
For  1  unit  (kilogrammeter)  of  work  the  following  amounts  of  energy 
were  expended: 

Energy  expended 
Period        Nutrient  eaten  per  kgin.  of  work. 

Cal. 

I  Protein 11 .92 

II  Carbohydrates 11 .54 

III  Fat 9.53 

IV  Protein 10 .78 

V  Fat 9.25 

It  is  shown  that  approximately  the  same  fuel  rations  were  required  to 
produce  a  given  amount  of  work  whether  the  fuel  was  protein,  carbohy- 
drates, or  fat.    It  will  be  noticed  that  the  energy  expended  was  less  in 

^Arch.  Physiol.  (Pfluger),  83,  1901,  p.  564. 


PRODUCTION  OF  WORK,  MILK,  AND  WOOL  103 

the  last  trials  on  account  of  the  proficiency  which  had  been  attained  in 
the  work. 

145.  Energy  requirements  for  work. — The  total  energy  required  to 
produce  a  certain  amount  of  external  work  depends  upon  many  factors. 
Experiments  by  Zuntz^  with  the  horse  show  that  an  increase  in  the  speed 
at  which  work  is  performed  results  in  an  increased  expenditure  of  energy 
per  unit  of  work.  Practice  in  performing  a  certain  work  lessens  the 
energy  expenditure  for  that  particular  form  of  labor.  In  experiments 
upon  himself  Gruber''  found  that  in  climbing  a  tower  the  amount  of 
carbon  dioxid  exhaled  and  hence  the  energy  expended  was  decreased  by 
20  per  ct.  after  training  for  2  weeks.  In  experiments  by  Lo^vy"  on  him- 
self, and  by  Zuntz*  upon  horses,  fatigue  caused  an  increase  of  from  14  to 
41  per  ct.  in  the  amount  of  energy  expended  in  performing  a  given 
amount  of  work.  This  increased  expenditure  of  energy  is  largely  due  to 
the  fact  that  with  increasing  fatigue  the  muscles  normally  used,  and 
which  are  thus  the  most  efficient  in  performing  the  given  work,  are  put 
out  of  use.  Then  other  less  used  muscles  are  called  upon  to  a  constantly 
increasing  degree,  and  these  cannot  perform  the  work  so  efficiently  or 
economically. 

The  part  of  the  expended  energj'  appearing  in  useful  work  varies  in 
accordance  with  the  build  of  the  animal,  the  development  of  its  muscular 
apparatus,  and  the  structure  of  its  extremities  which  bring  about  the 
work.  Zuntz  found  great  variations  in  the  energy  expended  by  different 
horses  of  the  same  weight  in  traveling  upon  a  level  track,  a  lame  horse 
expending  99  per  ct.  more  energy  than  a  sound  one.  In  the  work  of 
climbing  a  grade  he  found  a  variation  with  different  horses  of  as  much 
as  52  per  ct.  in  the  proportion  of  the  total  energy  expended  which  ap- 
peared as  useful  work.  An  animal  which  is  able  to  accomplish  one  form 
of  work  most  economically  may  have  to  expend  an  unusual  amount  of 
energy  at  other  kinds  of  work.  For  example,  horses  bred  for  generations 
to  the  saddle  can  carry  the  rider  \\ith  smaller  expenditure  of  energy 
than  those  whose  breeding,  form,  and  qualities  specially  fit  them  for 
draft  purposes. 

Certain  fonns  of  labor  are  performed  with  greater  economy  of  energy 
than  others.  Katzenstein^  found  in  experiments  with  men  that  about  65 
per  ct.  more  energy  was  used  in  turning  a  wheel  -with  the  arms  than  was 
required  when  the  same  work  was  done  with  the  legs. 

146.  The  animal  as  a  machine. — The  extensive  investigations  by  Zuntz 
and  associates  with  men,  dogs,  and  horses  show  that,  aside  from  small 
variations  due  to  the  nature  of  the  work  and  other  factors,  the  part 
of  the  energy  expended  which  is  actually  transformed  into  external 
work  is  quite  constant  for  each  class.  With  animals  at  moderate  work 
the  part  of  the  energy  which  appeared  in  external  work  varied  from  28.8 

^Landw.  Jahrb.,  27,  1898,  Sup.  III.  »Landw.  Jahrb.  27,  1898,  Sup.  III. 

«Ztschr.  Biol.,  38,  1891,  p.  466.  "Wolff,  Farm  Foods,  p.  84. 

^Arch.  Physiol.,  49,  1891,  p.  413. 


104  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

to  36.6  per  ct.  of  the  total  energy  expended.  On  the  average  it  is  reason- 
able to  hold  that  with  men  and  animals  about  one-third  of  the  energy- 
consumed  in  muscular  exertion  is  recovered  as  external  work.  The  rest 
takes  the  form  of  heat  within  the  body,  and  is  lost  so  far  as  the  production 
of  work  is  concerned.  This  does  not  take  into  account  the  enei-gy  lost  in 
the  excreta,  nor  that  expended  for  digestion,  assimilation,  and  the  main- 
tenance of  the  body  during  rest.  Atwater^°  found  that  a  man  returned 
19.6  per  ct.  of  the  fuel  value  of  his  food  as  external  work.  The  best 
steam  engines  have  about  the  same  efficiency,  while  the  average  engine 
falls  below  10  per  ct.  Gasoline  engines  range  in  efficiency  from  10  to  27 
per  ct.  Thus,  as  a  mere  machine  the  animal  body  compares  favorably 
with  the  best  modern  engines.  In  addition  to  performing  external  work 
the  body  must  prepare  and  transport  its  own  fuel,  store  it  until  needed, 
make  all  repairs,  and  maintain  a  definite  temperature,  as  well  as  direct, 
move,  and  control  itself.  When  all  these  functions  are  considered,  the 
marvelous  perfection  of  the  animal  body  as  a  machine  becomes  apparent. 

147.  The  body  not  a  heat  machine. — The  animal  body  is  not  an  engine 
which  converts  heat  into  mechanical  work.  As  Armsby^^  points  out,  the 
power  of  a  steam  engine  is  derived  directly  from  the  heat  produced  by 
the  burning  coal,  but  in  the  animal  body  the  energy  of  the  food  is  trans- 
formed into  work  in  quite  another  v/ay.  While  the  fuel  value  of  a  food 
represents  the  total  amount  of  energy  it  can  liberate  in  the  body,  a  vary- 
ing part  of  this  total  energy  is  always  set  free  in  the  body  as  heat,  and 
this  heat  can  do  no  external  work,  tho  it  warms  the  body.  Only  that 
part  of  the  food  energy  which  is  liberated  in  other  forms  than  heat  can 
be  utilized  for  the  production  of  either  internal  or  external  work.  By 
processes  still  unknown  the  animal  machine  produces  muscular  energy, 
heat,  light,  and  electricity  with  an  efficiency  greater  than  any  machine 
made  by  man.  With  animals  the  fuel  is  burned  at  low  temperature.  The 
glow  worm  and  firefly  produce  light  without  sensible  loss  of  heat  or  other 
energy,  and  the  torpedo  fish  and  electric  eel  generate  electricity  by 
means  unknown.  Scientists  and  inventors  alike  are  baffled  by  the  mys- 
terious and  wonderful  processes  continuously  occurring  in  the  animal 
body. 

As  the  horse  is  the  principal  animal  machine  for  performing  work, 
this  subject  is  appropriately  continued  in  Chapter  XVIII. 

II.    Production  of  Milk 

148.  Secretion  of  milk. — 'Milk,  the  marvelous  fluid  designed  by  Nature 
for  the  nourishment  of  the  young  of  all  mammals,  is  secreted  by  special 
organs,  called  the  mammary  glands.  Scientists  disagree  as  to  the  exact 
process  by  which  the  milk  is  formed  in  the  small  sac-like  bodies,  known 
as  alveoli,  in  the  udder.  However,  we  do  know  that  the  blood,  laden 
with  nutrients,  is  brought  by  the  capillaries  of  the  udder  to  the  alveoli. 

"U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Office  Expt.  Sta.,  Bui.  136.  "Penn.  Bui.  84. 


PRODUCTION  OF  WORK,  MILK,  AND  WOOL  105 

The  nutrients  then  pass  thru  the  walls  of  the  capillaries  into  the  alveoli, 
where  by  one  of  Nature's  wonderful  processes  they  are  converted  into 
milk,  which  differs  entirely  in  composition  from  the  blood,  whence  it 
originates.  The  chief  proteins  of  milk — casein  and  milk  albumin — differ 
from  all  other  proteins  of  the  body,  and  the  milk  fat  also  has  entirely 
different  properties  from  the  body  fat  of  the  same  animal.  Milk  sugar, 
the  carbohydrate  of  milk,  is  found  nowhere  else  in  the  body.  While  the 
blood  contains  much  more  potassium  than  sodium,  in  milk  sodium  pre- 
dominates. 

From  the  alveoli  the  milk  passes  into  the  network  of  milk  ducts.  In 
some  animals  the  large  milk  ducts  open  directly  on  the  surface  of  the 
teat,  but  in  others,  including  the  cow,  they  open  into  a  small  cavity, 
called  the  milk  cistern,  which  is  just  above  the  teat.  Most  of  the  milk 
yielded  at  one  milking  is  secreted  during  the  milking  process,  for  in  the 
udder  there  is  room  for  the  storage  of  but  a  small  part  of  the  total  amount 
produced. 

Tho  the  secretion  of  milk  is  involuntary  and  cannot  be  prevented 
by  the  animal  any  more  than  can  breathing  or  the  circulation  of  the 
blood,  the  flow  may  be  reduced  by  nervousness  caused  by  fright,  an  un- 
familiar attendant,  or  other  unusual  excitement.  The  animal  has  con- 
siderable power  to  "hold  up"  the  milk  already  secreted  in  the  udder,  by 
contracting  the  ring  of  muscle  which  partially  separates  the  milk  cistern 
from  the  teat,  and  similar  muscles  guarding  the  milk  ducts. 

Only  in  most  exceptional  cases  does  the  true  secreting  tissue  of  the 
mammary  gland  develop  before  the  animal  becomes  pregnant.  How- 
ever, when  an  extract  is  made  from  an  unborn  fetus  and  injected  into 
the  blood  of  a  virgin  animal,  the  mammary  gland  develops  just  as  tho 
the  animal  were  pregnant.  This  leads  scientists  to  believe  that  in  the 
developing  fetus  a  mysterious  chemical  messenger,  or  "hormone,"  is 
formed,  which  is  carried  by  the  blood  to  the  udder,  and  there  stimulates 
the  development  of  the  alveoli — an  example  of  the  surprising  degree  to 
which  the  activities  of  the  body  are  dependent  on  each  other. 

149.  The  source  of  fat  in  milk. — For  many  years  it  was  believed  that 
the  cow  could  form  the  fat  of  milk  only  from  fat  in  her  food.  This  was 
disproved  by  Jordan  and  Jenter^-  of  the  New  York  (Geneva)  Station 
in  an  ingenious  experiment.  A  thousand  lbs.  of  hay  and  1500  lbs,  each 
of  corn  meal  and  ground  oats  were  sent  to  a  new-process  oil-meal  factory, 
where  nearly  all  the  fat  was  extracted  with  naphtha  in  the  percolators 
employed  for  extracting  the  oil  from  crushed  flax  seed.  (253)  The 
almost  fat-free  feeds  were  returned  to  the  Station  and  afterwards  fed  to 
a  cow  which  had  freshened  about  4  months  before.  For  95  days  the 
cow  lived  on  these  nearly  fat-free  feeds,  yet  during  this  period  she  gave 
62.9  lbs.  of  fat  in  her  milk.  The  food  she  consumed  contained  but  11.6 
lbs.  of  fat,  of  which  only  5.7  lbs.  was  digested.  Hence  at  least  57.2  lbs. 
of  the  fat  found  in  the  milk  must  have  been  derived  from  some  other 
"N.  Y.  (Geneva)  Bui.  132. 


106  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

source  than  the  fat  in  the  food.  This  fat  could  not  have  come  from  the 
body  of  the  cow,  for  Jordan  writes :  ' '  The  cow 's  body  could  have  con- 
tained scarcely  more  than  60  lbs.  of  fat  at  the  beginning  of  the  experi- 
ment; she  gained  47  lbs.  in  weight  during  this  period  with  no  increase 
of  body  nitrogen,  and  was  judged  to  be  a  much  fatter  cow  at  the  end; 
the  formation  of  this  quantity  of  milk  fat  from  the  body  fat  would  have 
caused  a  marked  condition  of  emaciation,  which,  because  of  an  increase 
in  the  body  weight,  would  have  required  the  improbable  increase  in  the 
body  of  104  lbs.  of  water  and  intestinal  contents." 

Jordan  concludes  that  not  over  17  lbs.  of  the  fat  produced  during 
the  trial  could  possibly  have  been  produced  from  the  protein  supplied 
in  the  food.  It  is  most  evident  that  a  large  part  of  all  the  fat  produced 
by  this  cow  must  have  come  from  the  carbohydrates  in  her  feed,  and  so 
a  long  disputed  question  is  at  length  settled. 

150.  Nutrients  required  for  milk  production. — To  aid  in  showing  the 
nutrients  required  for  the  production  of  milk,  let  us  compute  the  amount 
of  product  yielded  by  a  well-bred  dairy  cow  in  the  course  of  a  year. 
Such  an  animal,  of  no  unusual  ability,  should  yield  8000  lbs.  of  milk 
of  average  quality.  Taking  the  composition  shown  in  a  previous  table 
(115),  we  find  that  she  will  produce  annually  in  her  milk  272  lbs.  of 
protein,  296  lbs.  of  fat,  392  lbs.  of  milk  sugar,  and  56  lbs.  of  mineral 
matter.  This  is  56  per  ct.  more  protein,  30  per  ct.  more  non-nitrogenous 
nutrients  (fat  and  carbohydrates),  and  19  per  ct.  more  mineral  matter 
than  is  contained  in  the  entire  body  of  a  fat  2-year-old  steer  weighing 
1200  lbs.  (29) 

Thus  each  year  the  cow  yields  more  protein  and  mineral  matter  than 
has  been  built  into  the  body  of  the  steer  during  its  entire  life.  At 
the  same  time  she  is  also  storing  considerable  protein  and  mineral  matter 
in  the  developing  body  of  her  unborn  calf.  It  is  therefore  evident  that, 
far  different  from  the  requirements  of  the  mature  horse  at  work  or  of  a 
mature  fattening  animal  (140,130),  the  cow  needs  a  liberal  supply  of 
protein  and  mineral  matter.  To  yield  the  great  amount  of  nutriment  in 
the  milk  a  ration  supplying  a  large  amount  of  net  nutrients  is  also  neces- 
sary, for  energy  used  up  in  the  mastication,  digestion,  and  assimilation 
of  such  feeds  as  straw  is  of  no  value  for  the  formation  of  milk.  We  have 
seen  (118)  that  for  growth  individual  proteins  have  widely  different 
values.  Hart  and  Humphrey^^  have  found  in  recent  metabolism  experi- 
ments with  dairy  cows  at  the  Wisconsin  Station  that  proteins  from 
various  sources  are  of  different  worth  for  milk  production.  In  these 
trials  cows  were  fed  a  basal  ration  of  corn  stover,  which  supplied  but  a 
small  amount  of  digestible  protein.  To  this  ration  was  added  corn  or 
wheat  grain  or  by-products  (much  of  the  protein  in  which  is  unbalanced 
in  composition)  or  milk  protein,  supplied  in  the  form  of  skim-milk  powder 
and  casein  (furnishing  proteins  which  are  complete  in  composition). 
The  percentage  of  the  digestible  protein  of  these  rations  which  was  used 
13  Information  to  the  authors. 


PRODUCTION  OF  WORK,  MILK,  AND  WOOL  107 

by  the  cows  for  milk  production  and  the  formation  of  body  protein  was 
40  per  ct,  with  the  corn  ration,  34  per  ct.  with  the  wheat  ration,  and  58 
per  ct.  with  the  milk  protein  ration.  Such  complete  proteins  as  are  fur- 
nished by  milk  are  thus  apparently  higher  in  efficiency  for  milk  pro- 
duction. 

Since  most  of  the  scientific  studies  of  the  factors  influencing  the  pro- 
duction of  milk  have  been  conducted  with  the  dairy  cow,  the  discussion 
of  milk  production  as  relating  to  that  animal  is  continued  in  Chapters 
XXI  to  XXV.  The  requirements  of  the  mare,  ewe,  and  sow  for  the 
production  of  milk  are  also  treated  in  the  respective  chaptei-s  of  Part  III. 


III.  Wool  Production 

151.  Composition  of  wool. — ^Aside  from  moisture  and  dirt,  ''wool"  is 
made  up  of  pure  wool  fiber  and  yolk,  the  latter  including  the  suint  and 
the  wool  fat.  The  wool  fiber  is  practically  pure  protein,  and  is  of  the 
same  chemical  composition  as  ordinary  hair,  but  differs  in  being  covered 
with  minute  overlapping  scales.  The  suint,  chiefly  composed  of  com- 
pounds of  potassium  with  organic  acids,  comprises  from  15  to  over  50 
per  ct.  of  the  unwashed  fleece,  being  especially  high  in  Merinos.  As 
suint  is  soluble  in  water,  most  of  it  is  removed  by  washing  the  sheep  or 
fleece,  and  less  is  present  in  the  wool  of  sheep  exposed  to  the  weather. 
The  fat,  often  incorrectly  called  yolk,  is  a  complex  mixture  of  fatty  sub- 
stances, insoluble  in  water,  and  may  make  up  8  to  30  per  ct.  of  the  weight 
of  a  washed  fleece. 

152.  Requirements  for  wool  production. — Owing  to  the  large  amount  of 
protein  stored  by  sheep  in  their  fleece,  their  ration  should  contain  some- 
what more  protein  than  rations  for  cattle  or  swine  at  the  same  stage  of 
maturity.  As  is  shown  in  the  next  chapter,  this  is  taken  into  considera- 
tion in  the  various  feeding  standards  which  have  been  formulated  for 
various  classes  of  animals.  With  ewes  which  are  either  pregnant  or 
suckling  lambs,  there  is  a  double  demand  for  food  protein,  which  makes 
a  liberal  supply  especially  advisable.  Tho  the  suint  of  vv'ool  is  rich  in 
potassium,  this  constituent  is  amply  supplied  by  all  usual  rations,  since 
practically  all  the  common  roughages  are  rich  in  potassium,  and  most 
concentrates  carry  a  fair  amount. 

Experiments  by  Wolffs*  and  Hennebergi^  show  that  when  sheep  are  fed 
insufficient  food  to  maintain  their  weight,  the  yield  of  wool  is  consider- 
ably diminished.  On  the  other  hand,  according  to  Warington,"  the 
production  of  wool  hair  and  wool  fat  is  practically  no  greater  when  a 
full-grown  sheep  receives  a  liberal  fattening  diet  than  when  it  is  main- 
tained in  ordinary  condition.  Feeding  lambs  liberally  produces  a  larger 
body  and  consequently  a  heavier  fleece.  At  the  Wisconsin  Station^^ 
Craig  found  that  lambs  fed  grain  from  an  early  age  sheared  about  1  lb. 

"Landw.  Vers.  Stat,  1870,  p.  57.  "Chemistry  of  the  Farm. 

"Jour.  Landw.,  12,  1864,  p.  48.  ^' Wis.    Rpt.    1896. 


108  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

more  of  unwashed  but  practically  the  same  amount  of  washed  wool  as 
those  getting  no  grain  until  after  they  were  weaned.  The  early  feeding 
had  produced  more  yolk  but  no  more  wool  fiber. 

The  strength  of  the  wool  fiber  is  dependent  on  the  breed,  the  quality 
of  the  individual  sheep,  and  the  conditions  under  which  they  are  reared. 
Conditions  which  cheek  the  growth  of  the  wool,  such  as  insufficient  feed, 
undue  exposure,  or  sickness,  will  produce  a  weak  spot  in  the  wool  fiber, 
thus  lessening  its  strength.  The  feed  and  care  for  the  flock  should  there- 
fore be  as  uniform  as  possible.  Certain  regions  or  districts  may  produce 
wool  of  superior  or  inferior  quality,  due  to  the  climate,  soil,  topography, 
and  the  forms  of  vegetation. 


CHAPTER  VII 

FEEDING    STANDARDS— CALCULATING    RATIONS 
I.  Early  Feeding  Standards 

In  the  preceding  chapters  Ave  have  considered  the  functions  of  the 
various  nutrients  in  the  nourishment  of  animals  and  have  studied  the 
general  requirements  for  maintenance,  grovi'th,  fattening,  and  the  pro- 
duction of  work,  milk,  and  vi^ool.  To  guide  the  farmer  in  choosing 
and  computing  rations  for  his  stock,  scientists  have  put  these  require- 
ments into  definite  form  thru  the  drawing  up  of  feeding  standards. 
These  are  tables  showing  the  amount  of  each  class  of  nutrients  which,  it 
is  believed,  should  be  provided  in  rations  for  farm  animals  of  the  various 
ages  and  classes,  to  keep  them  in  the  best  condition  and  secure  maximum 
production. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  last  century  almost  nothing  was  known  con- 
cerning the  chemistry  of  plants  and  animals.  The  farmer  then  gave  his 
stock  hay  and  corn  without  knowing  what  there  Avas  in  this  provender 
that  nourished  them.  But  science  soon  permeated  every  line  of  human 
activitj^  and  agriculture  was  benefited  along  with  the  other  arts.  Davy, 
Liebig,  Boussingault,  Henneberg,  Wolff,  Lawes  and  Gilbert,  and  other 
great  scientists  were  early  laying  the  foundations  for  a  rational  agri- 
cultural practice  based  on  chemistry,  and  animal  feeding  gained  with 
the  rest. 

153.  Hay  equivalents. — The  first  attempt  to  express  the  relative  value 
of  different  feeding  stuffs  in  a  systematic  manner  was  by  Thaer^  of 
Germany,  who  in  1810  published  a  table  of  hay  equivalents  with  meadow 
hay  as  the  standard.  According  to  this  writer  the  amounts  of  various 
other  feeding  stuffs  required  to  equal  100  lbs.  of  meadow  hay  in  feeding 
value  were : 

91  lbs.  clover  hay  417  lbs.  rutabagas 

91  lbs.  alfalfa  hay  602  lbs.  cabbages 

200  lbs.  potatoes  625  lbs.  mangels 

Naturally  opinions  on  feed  values  varied,  and  so  there  were  about 
as  many  tables  of  hay  equivalents  as  there  were  writers  on  the  subject. 

154.  The  first  feeding  standard. — Chemistry  having  paved  the  way, 
Grouven^  in  1859  proposed  the  first  feeding  standard  for  farm  animals, 
based  on  the  crude  protein,  carbohydrates,  and  fat  in  feeding  stuffs. 

'Landwirtschaft,  New  ed.,  1880,  p.  211. 

= Feeding  Standard  for  Dom.  Anim.,  Expt.  Sta.  Jlec,  IV;  also  Agricultur- 
chemie,  Koln,  1889,  p.  834. 

109 


110  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

This,  however,  was  imperfect  since  it  was  based  on  the  total  instead 
of  the  digestible  nutrients. 

155.  The  Wolff  feeding  standards.— In  1864  Dr.  Emil  von  Wolff,  the 
great  German  scientist,  presented  in  the  Mentzel  &  von  Lengerke's  Agri- 
cultural Calendar^  for  that  year  the  first  table  of  feeding  standards 
based  on  the  digestible  nutrients  contained  in  feeding  stuffs.  These 
standards  set  forth  the  amount  of  digestible  crude  protein,  carbohydrates, 
and  fat  required  daily  by  the  different  classes  of  farm  animals. 

The  value  and  importance  of  the  Wolff  standards  were  at  once  recog- 
nized; and  with  their  promulgation  and  adoption  came  the  first  wide- 
spread effort  toward  the  rational  feeding  of  farm  animals.  The  Wolff 
standards  were  first  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  American  people 
in  1874  by  Atwater,*  America's  worthy  pioneer  in  the  science  of  animal 
nutrition.  Armsby's  Manual  of  Cattle  Feeding,  based  on  Wolff's  book^ 
on  the  same  subject,  appeared  in  1880. 

The  Wolff  feeding  standards  appeared  annually  in  the  Mentzel-Len- 
gerke  Calendar  down  to  1896.  From  1897  to  1906  they  were  presented 
by  Dr.  C.  Lehmann  of  the  Berlin  Agricultural  High  School  -with  some 
modifications.  In  1907  Dr.  0.  Kellner,  the  talented  director  of  the 
Mockern  (Germany)  Experiment  Station,  took  charge  of  this  portion 
of  the  Calendar  and  substituted  tables  and  feeding  standards  based  on 
starch  values,  as  elsewhere  briefly  presented  in  this  work.  (170) 

The  numerous  feeding  experiments  which  have  been  carried  on  since 
the  Wolff-Lehmann  standards  were  formulated  have  given  us  a  more 
complete  knowledge  of  the  nutrient  requirements  of  the  various  classes 
of  farm  animals  than  was  possessed  by  these  pioneers  in  the  field  of 
animal  nutrition.  Naturally  such  results  show  that  the  standards  set 
forth  by  Wolff  and  Lehmann  are  in  some  respects  inaccurate.  Taking 
these  facts  into  consideration  later  scientists  have  formulated  other 
standards  which  are  presented  elsewhere  in  this  chapter.  The  Wolff- 
Lehmann  standards  are  briefly  explained  first  on  account  of  their  his- 
torical and  foundational  importance. 


II.  The  Wolff-Lehmann  Feeding  Standards 

156.  The  Wolff-Lehmann  standards. — The  nutrient  requirements  of 
the  various  classes  of  farm  animals,  as  prescribed  in  the  Wolff-Lehmann 
standards,  are  given  in  Appendix  Table  IV.  From  this  table  the  fol- 
lowing examples  have  been  selected  for  purposes  of  study: 

'Published  annually  by  Paul  Parey,  Berlin,  Germany. 
*Rpt.  Me.  State  Bd.  Agr.,  1874;  Rpt.  Conn.  Bd.  Agr.,  1874-5. 
^Fiitterungslehre,  1st  ed.,  1874. 


FEEDING  STANDARDS— CALCULATING  RATIONS       111 

Digestible  nutrients  required  daily  hy  farm  animals  per  1000  lbs. 
live  weight 


Dry 

matter 

Digestible  nutrients 

Crude 
protein 

Carbo- 
hydrates 

Fat 

Nutritive 
ratio 

Lbs. 
18 
30 
29 
24 

Lbs. 
0.7 
2.5 
2.5 
2.0 

Lbs. 
8.0 
15.0 
13.0 
11.0 

Lbs. 

0.1 
0.5 
0.5 
0.6 

1  •  11  8 

Fattening  cattle,  1st  period 

Cow,  yielding  22  lbs.  milk 

Horse,  at  medium  work 

1  :    6.5 
1  :    5.7 
1  :    6.2 

The  table  shows  that  according  to  Wolff's  teachings  a  1000-lb.  ox  at 
rest,  neither  gaining  nor  losing  in  weight,  requires  for  1  day's  main- 
tenance 18  lbs.  of  dry  matter  containing  the  following  digestible  nutri- 
ents: 0.7  lb.  crude  protein,  8.0  lbs.  carbohydrates,  and  0.1  lb.  fat,  with 
a  nutritive  ratio  of  1 :11.8.  Tho  the  ox  is  resting,  work  is  still  being 
performed;  the  beating  of  the  heart,  mastication,  digestion,  standing, 
breathing — all  the  manifestations  of  life  in  fact — imply  internal  work 
and  call  for  energy  and  for  repair  material. 

When  the  animal  is  growing,  fattening,  giving  milk,  or  doing  external 
work,  a  larger  quantity  of  nutrients  must  be  supplied  than  for  main- 
tenance, as  the  table  shows.  For  the  cow  yielding  22  lbs.  of  milk  daily, 
the  standard  calls  for  the  following  quantities  of  the  several  digestible 
nutrients:  Crude  protein  2.5  lbs.,  carbohydrates  13.0  lbs.,  and  fat  0.5 
lb.  These  have  a  nutritive  ratio  of  1 : 5.7,  which  is  much  narrower  than 
for  the  ox  at  rest.  In  his  effort  to  attain  the  proper  standard  Wolff" 
reasoned  that,  since  pasture  grass  is  the  natural  food  of  the  dairy  cow, 
the  nutritive  ratio  of  such  grass  might  most  properly  serve  as  the 
chosen  standard. 

157.  Notes  on  the  Wolff-Lehmann  standards. — Later  investigations 
have  shown  that  the  Wolff-Lehmann  standards  are  only  approximately 
correct.  Klihn  of  the  Mockern  Station^  found  that  the  1000-lb.  ox  can  be 
maintained  on  0.7  lb.  of  digestible  crude  protein  and  6.Q  lbs.  of  digestible 
carbohydrates.  Kellner,  who  was  Klihn 's  successor,  has  practically 
adopted  the  Klihn  standard  as  will  be  shown  later.  (170)  It  has  been 
previously  pointed  out  that  Armsby  succeeded  in  maintaining  steers 
for  70-day  periods  on  rations  containing  only  0.5  lb.  of  digestible  true 
protein  per  1000  lbs.  live  weight.  (94)  Wliether  this  allowance  would 
satisfactorily  maintain  animals  in  good  health  over  still  longer  periods 
has  not  yet  been  definitely  shown. 

Haecker  of  the  Minnesota  Station^  found  that  the  1000-lb.  dry, 
barren  cow  can  be  maintained  on  0.6  lb.  of  crude  protein,  6  lbs.  of 
carbohydrates,  and  0.1  lb.  of  fat,  all  digestible.     For  the  maintenance 


'Farm  Foods,  Eng.  Ed.,  p.  224. 
'  Landw.  Vers.  Stat,  44,  p.  450. 


'Minn.  Bui.  79. 


112  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

of  the  1000-lb.  cow  producing  milk  he  would  allow  0.7  lb.  of  crude 
protein,  7  lbs.  of  carbohydrates,  and  0.1  lb.  of  fat,  all  digestible.  In 
his  standard,  which  is  presented  later  (182),  he  holds  that  the  Wolff- 
Lehmann  allowance  of  crude  protein  for  the  cow  in  milk  may  be  ad- 
vantageously cut  19  per  ct.  or  more,  unless  feeds  rich  in  that  nutrient 
are  available  at  relatively  low  cost.  WoU  of  the  Wisconsin  Station* 
likewise  found  that  the  Wolff  standard  for  dairy  cows  was  higher  in 
crude  protein  than  necessary. 

The  Wolff  allowance  of  crude  protein  for  fattening  animals  may  be 
materially  reduced  without  decreasing  the  rate  of  gain.  It  has  also 
been  found  that  less  protein  is  needed  by  the  work  horse  than  these 
standards  recommend.  These  various  findings  are  taken  into  consider- 
ation in  the  "Modified  Wolff-Lehmann  Standards"  which  are  presented 
later  in  this  chapter. 

Altho  we  now  have  more  accurate  guides  to  the  nutrient  requirements 
of  certain  classes  of  animals  than  furnished  in  the  Wolff-Lehmann  stand- 
ards, both  students  and  stockmen  should,  first  of  all,  familiarize  them- 
selves with  the  Wolff  standards  on  account  of  their  historical  interest 
and  because  they  are  still  widely  and  helpfully  used  in  computing 
rations.  These  standards,  coupled  with  tables  of  the  digestible  nutrients 
in  feeding  stuffs,  such  as  Appendix  Table  III  of  this  work,  have  been 
profoundly  useful  in  advancing  the  great  art  of  feeding  farm  animals. 
Having  familiarized  himself  with  the  Wolff^-Lehmann  standards,  one  is 
prepared  for  the  study  of  other  more  accurate  systems  and  standards 
now  in  the  process  of  formation. 


III.  Calculating  Rations  for  Farm  Animals 

158.  General  requirements  of  satisfactory  rations. — The  various  feeding 
standards  make  recommendations  only  in  regard  to  the  amounts  of  dry 
matter,  of  the  various  nutrients,  and,  in  the  case  of  the  Kellner  and 
Armsby  standards,  of  the  net  energy  which  the  ration  should  supply. 
However,  the  following  highly  important  factors  should  also  be  taken 
into  account  in  computing  rations  for  farm  animals. 

159.  Suitability  of  feeds. — The  feeds  selected  for  any  animal  should 
be  such  that  they  will  not  injure  its  health  or  the  quality  of  the  product 
yielded.  Feeds  which  are  suited  to  one  class  of  farm  animals  may  not 
be  adapted  to  others.  Again,  a  given  feed  may  give  satisfactory  results 
when  combined  with  certain  other  feeds,  yet  in  other  combinations  it 
may  prove  unsatisfactory.  A  few  examples  of  such  conditions  are  fur- 
nished in  the  follovsdng:  Cottonseed  meal  in  moderate  amount  is  an 
excellent  feed  for  cattle,  sheep,  and  horses,  yet  it  is  so  frequently 
poisonous  to  pigs  that  feeding  the  meal,  as  at  present  prepared,  to  these 
animals  cannot  be  advised.  (249)  While  there  is  always  danger  from 
using  feeds  damaged  by  mold,  such  material  may  often  be  eaten  with 

»Wis.  Rpt.  1894. 


FEEDING  STANDARDS— CALCULATING  RATIONS       113 

impunity  by  cattle  when  it  would  poison  horses  or  sheep.  (397)  Tim- 
othy hay,  which  is  the  standard  roughage  for  the  horse,  is  unsatisfactory 
for  the  dairy  cow,  and  may  cause  serious  trouble  with  sheep  on  account 
of  its  constipating  effect.    (312) 

Feeding  cows  a  heavy  allowance  of  ground  soybeans  produces  unduly 
soft  butter,  while  an  excess  of  cocoanut  meal  makes  the  butter  too  hard. 
(256,  260)  Peanuts  and  soybeans  produce  soft  lard  when  forming  too 
large  a  part  of  the  ration  of  fattening  pigs.  (258) 

It  is  often  highly  beneficial  to  add  wheat  bran  or  linseed  meal  to  the 
ration  on  account  of  their  slightly  laxative  effect.  (218,  254)  On  the 
other  hand,  when  animals  are  already  receiving  such  laxative  feeds  as 
silage,  pasture  grass,  and  legume  hay,  the  use  of  bran  or  linseed  meal 
may  be  unwise. 

160.  Bulkiness  of  ration. — ^We  have  already  seen  that  at  least  with 
the  horse  and  with  young  ruminants  the  ration  must  contain  some  rough- 
age to  distend  the  digestive  tract  properly.  (106)  Furthermore, 
for  the  best  results  the  proportion  of  concentrates  and  roughages  in  the 
ration  should  be  regulated  according  to  the  kind  and  class  of  animal 
to  be  fed  and  the  results  sought.  Cattle,  sheep,  and  horses  can  be 
wintered  satisfactorily  on  roughages  alone,  if  of  suitable  quality.  (80,  91) 
Even  brood  sows  may  be  maintained  chiefly  on  legume  hay,  when  not 
suckling  their  young.  In  the  rations  for  growing  and  fattening  animals 
and  those  at  work  or  in  milk,  a  considerable  part  of  the  ration  should 
consist  of  concentrates.  The  various  feeding  standards  recognize  these 
facts  in  the  amount  of  drj^  matter  which  they  prescribe  in  the  rations 
for  the  different  classes  of  animals.  Obviously,  when  the  requirement  of 
digestible  nutrients  or  of  net  energy  is  high  compared  with  the  total 
amount  of  dry  matter  advised,  the  proportion  of  concentrates  in  the 
ration  must  be  large.  On  the  other  hand,  for  the  mere  maintenance  of 
animals  the  standards  call  for  a  much  smaller  amount  of  digestible 
nutrients  or  of  net  energy  compared  with  the  amount  of  total  dry 
matter. 

161.  Mineral  matter. — In  the  various  feeding  standards  no  statement 
is  made  as  to  the  amount  or  kind  of  mineral  matter  required  by  the  differ- 
ent classes  of  animals,  the  supposition  being  that  a  ration  which  provides 
the  proper  amount  of  protein  and  other  nutrients  ^^dll  also  furnish  an 
adequate  supply  of  mineral  matter.  "We  have  already  seen  that  in  some 
cases,  especially  ■s\'ith  the  pig,  the  mineral  supply  may  be  deficient  in 
amount  or  unbalanced  in  character  in  rations  which  meet  the  ordinary 
standards.  (96-101,  119)  In  computing  rations  the  special  requirements 
of  the  various  classes  of  animals,  as  set  forth  in  the  preceding  chapters, 
should  therefore  be  kept  clearly  in  mind. 

162.  Palatability. — As  has  already  been  pointed  out  (56),  the  palata- 
bility  of  the  ration  is  an  important  factor  in  stimulating  digestion  and  in 
inducing  the  animal  to  consume  heavy  rations.  The  wise  feeder  will  uti- 
lize feeds  of  low  palatability  chiefly  for  such  animals  as  are  being  merely 


114  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

maintained,  and  will  feed  growing  and  fattening  animals,  milch  cows, 
and  horses  at  hard  work  rations  made  up,  for  the  most  part  at  least,  of 
well-liked  feeds.  Some  concentrates,  such  as  malt  sprouts  and  dried  dis- 
tillers' grains,  which  may  not  be  relished  when  fed  alone,  are  entirely 
satisfactory  if  given  in  mixture  with  other  better-liked  feeds.  Similarly, 
such  roughages  as  straw  and  marsh  hay,  which  are  of  low  palatability, 
may  be  given  in  limited  amount  even  to  animals  fed  for  production,  a 
practice  widely  followed  by  European  farmers.  While  the  maximum 
gains  may  be  made  on  rations  composed  entirely  of  exceedingly  palatable 
feeds,  it  should  be  remembered  that  one  of  the  chief  functions  of  our 
useful  domestic  animals  is  to  consume  and  convert  into  useful  products 
materials  which  would  otherwise  be  wasted.   (2) 

163.  Variety  of  feeds. — Skilled  feeders  usually  maintain  that  a  ration 
composed  of  a  variety  of  feeds  will  give  better  results  than  when  a 
smaller  number  are  employed,  even  tlio  the  latter  ration  supplies  the 
proper  amount  of  protein,  carbohydrates,  and  fat.  From  the  discussions 
in  the  preceding  chapters,  in  which  it  has  been  pointed  out  that  the 
protein  furnished  by  certain  feeds  is  unbalanced  in  composition,  it  is 
evident  that  a  larger  variety  of  feeds  may,  by  the  law  of  chance,  furnish 
a  better  balanced  mixture  of  proteins  than  1  or  2  feeds  alone.  (94,  118) 
With  these  facts  in  mind  it  would  seem  wise,  in  choosing  supplements 
for  a  ration  low  in  protein,  to  select  those  which  will  supply  protein 
from  different  sources.  For  example,  it  is  injudicious,  if  other  supple- 
ments are  equally  available,  to  use  corn  by-products,  such  as  corn  gluten 
feed  or  gluten  meal,  in  balancing  the  ration  of  pigs  otherwise  fed  corn 
only.  With  dairy  cows,  especially  in  the  case  of  high-producing  animals 
being  forced  on  official  test,  skilled  feeders  place  emphasis  on  having 
variety  in  the  ration,  tho  this  does  not  imply  changes  in  the  ration  from 
day  to  day.  Indeed,  sudden  changes  in  kinds  of  feed  are  to  be  avoided. 
At  least  with  horses  and  fattening  animals,  the  advantage  of  a  large 
variety  of  feeds  in  the  ration  does  not  seem  to  have  been  proven,  pro- 
vided the  simple  ration  furnishes  the  proper  amount  and  kind  of  nutri- 
ents. For  example,  oats  and  timothy  hay  for  the  horse,  and  corn  and 
skim  milk  for  the  fattening  pig,  furnish  rations  which  can  scarcely  be 
improved  from  the  standpoint  of  production  and  health,  tho  other  com- 
binations may  perhaps  be  cheaper. 

164.  Cost  of  the  ration. — The  most  important  factor  of  all,  for  the 
farmer  who  must  depend  on  the  profits  from  his  stock  for  his  income, 
is  the  cost  of  the  ration.  In  securing  a  ration  which  provides  the  nutri- 
ents called  for  by  the  standards  and  meets  the  other  conditions  previously 
discussed,  lies  a  great  opportunity  for  exercising  foresight  and  business 
judgment  on  every  farm  where  animals  are  fed.  The  wise  farmer- 
feeder  will  consider  the  nutrient  requirements  of  his  animals  in  planning 
his  crop  rotations.  Thru  the  use  of  grain  from  corn  or  the  sorghums, 
legume  hay,  and  such  cheap  succulence  as  silage  from  com  or  the  sor- 
ghums, it  is  possible  in  most  sections  of  the  country  to  go  far  toward 
solving  the  problem  of  providing  a  well-balanced,  economical  ration. 


FEEDING  STANDARDS— CALCULATING  RATIONS       115 

165.  Feeding  standards  only  approximate  guides. — In  a  previous  chap- 
ter it  has  been  shown  that  the  composition  of  a  given  feeding-stuff  is  not 
fixed,  but  may  be  materially  influenced  by  such  factors  as  climate,  stage 
of  maturity  when  harvested,  etc.  (81)  Individual  animals  also  differ 
from  one  another  in  their  ability  to  digest  and  utilize  their  feed.  (85-6) 
It  should,  therefore,  be  borne  in  mind  that  tables  of  digestible  nutrients 
and  likewise  feeding  standards  are  but  averages  and  approximations — 
something  far  different  from  the  multiplication  table  or  a  table  of  loga- 
rithms. They  should  be  regarded  as  reasonable  approximations  to  great 
vital  facts  and  principles  in  the  feeding  of  farm  animals. 

The  allowance  of  protein  set  forth  in  the  standards  is  the  minimum 
amount  recommended  by  the  scientists  for  the  best  results.  Where  pro- 
tein-rich feeds  are  lower  in  price  than  those  carbonaceous  in  character,  as 
alfalfa  in  the  alfalfa  districts  of  the  West  and  cottonseed  meal  in  the 
cotton-belt,  it  is  often  economical  to  furnish  more  protein  than  is  called 
for  by  the  standards.  Except  in  the  case  of  very  young  animals,  it  is, 
however,  probably  not  advisable  to  feed  rations  having  a  nutritive  ratio 
narrower  than  1 : 4  or  1 :  4.5.  Where  protein-rich  feeds  are  high  in  price 
it  may  be  economical  to  feed  a  wider  ration  than  advised  by  the  stand- 
ards, tho  it  is  rarely  wise  to  depart  far  from  them. 

166.  Limitations  of  balanced  rations. — That  other  factors  than  the  total 
amount  of  protein,  carbohydrates,  fat,  and  net  energy  are  of  importance 
in  determining  the  value  of  rations,  is  shown  in  a  striking  manner  by 
Hart,  McCollum,  Steenbock,  and  Humphrey^"  at  the  Wisconsin  Station 
in  experiments  which  are  still  in  progress.  In  these  trials,  which  have 
so  far  covered  8  years,  heifers  were  fed  to  maturity  on  rations  from  a 
single  plant  source,  which  furnished  the  full  amount  of  nutrients  and 
of  net  energy  called  for  by  the  standards.  One  lot  was  fed  wholly  on 
products  from  the  corn  plant  alone,  including  corn  stover,  corn  grain, 
and  gluten  feed;  a  second,  a  ration  from  the  w^heat  plant,  including 
wheat  straw,  wheat  grain,  and  wheat  gluten;  a  third,  a  similar  ration 
from  the  oat  plant ;  and  a  fourth,  a  combination  ration  from  all  3  plants. 
The  effects  of  these  restricted  rations  w^ere  not  especially  marked  until 
the  animals  underwent  the  strain  of  reproduction.  Then  it  became  evi- 
dent that  the  wheat  ration  was  strikingly  deficient  in  some  hidden  way, 
the  cows  in  this  lot  invariably  bringing  forth  either  dead  or  weak,  under- 
sized offspring.  On  the  other  hand,  the  calves  from  the  corn-fed  mothers 
were  always  strong  and  healthy.  Contrary  to  what  many  practical 
feeders  w^ould  expect,  the  ration  from  the  corn,  wheat,  and  oat  plants 
combined,  altho  supplying  a  much  greater  variety,  proved  inferior  to 
the  ration  from  the  corn  plant  alone.  Apparently  the  bad  results  from 
the  wheat  ration  are  due  to  an  unbalanced  protein  supply  (94-5,  118, 
150),  to  a  deficiency  of  mineral  matter  (96-100,  119),  and  perhaps  to 
other  causes  not  yet  ascertained,  (104)  It  was  found  that  when  alfalfa 
hay  replaced  part  of  the  wheat  straw  in  the  wheat  ration  normal  calves 
were  produced. 

"Wis.  Res.  Bui.  17;  Rpts.,  1912,  1914. 


116  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

It  should  not  be  concluded  from  these  trials  that  feeding  stuffs  from 
the  wheat  plant  are  dangerous  feeds  or  that  feeding  standards  are  of 
little  value.  They  merely  emphasize  the  fact  that,  in  forming  rations, 
we  must  consider  not  only  the  phj'siological  action  of  the  individual 
feeds,  but  also  the  effect  of  the  combination  as  it  is  found  in  the  ration. 
"With  this  in  view  the  practical  feeder  and  the  student  alike  will  attach 
especial  importance  to  the  summaries  presented  in  Part  III  of  the  re- 
sults actually  secured  with  all  classes  of  animals  when  fed  many  different 
rations. 

167.  Hints  on  formulating  rations. — In  computing  rations  one  should 
have  in  mind  the  approximate  amount  of  roughage  and  concentrates  re- 
quired per  1000  lbs.  live  weight  by  the  various  classes  of  animals.  As 
will  be  shown  in  the  experiments  reviewed  in  Part  III,  the  proportion 
of  concentrates  and  roughages  depends  first  of  all  on  how  much  it  is 
desired  to  force  the  animal;  for  example,  when  it  is  desired  to  fatten 
animals  rapidly  the  allowance  of  concentrates  must  be  considerably 
larger  than  when  they  are  fattened  more  slowly  and  thru  a  longer 
period.  In  a  similar  manner,  the  horse  at  hard  work  should  be  given 
more  grain  and  less  roughage  than  the  horse  working  but  little.  In 
general,  the  following  summary  will  be  helpful  as  a  guide  in  computing 
rations : 

Mature  idle  horses  and  mature  cattle  and  sheep  being  maintained  at  constant  weight 
may  be  fed  chiefly  or  entirely  on  roughage,  unless  it  is  of  poor  quality,  when  some  grain 
must  be  used. 

Horses  at  work  should  be  given  2  to  3  lbs.  of  feed  (roughages  and  concentrates  com- 
bined) daily  per  100  lbs.  live  weight,  the  allowance  of  concentrates  ranging  from  10  to 
18  lbs.,  depending  on  the  severity  of  the  work. 

Dairy  coios  in  milk  should  be  fed  about  2  lbs.  of  dry  roughage  or  1  lb.  of  dry  roughage 
and  3  lbs.  of  sUage  daily  per  100  lbs.  live  weight,  with  sufficient  concentrates  in  addi- 
tion to  bring  the  nutrients  up  to  the  standard. 

Fattening  steers  should  receive  2.1  lbs.  or  more  of  concentrates  and  dry  roughage 
(or  the  equivalent  in  silage)  daily  per  100  lbs.  live  weight,  the  allowance  of  concentrates 
ranging  from  less  than  1  lb.  to  1 .7  lbs.  or  more,  depending  on  the  rate  of  gain  desired 
and  the  character  of  the  roughage. 

Fattening  lambs  will  consume  about  1 .4  lbs.  of  dry  roughage  daily  when  fed  all  the 
grain  they  will  eat,  and  up  to  2  .3  lbs.  or  over  when  the  grain  allowance  is  restricted. 
Silage  may  replace  a  corresponding  amount  of  dry  matter  in  dry  roughage. 

Pigs  can  make  but  limited  use  of  drj'  roughage,  except  in  the  case  of  brood  sows  not 
Buckling  young. 

168.  Maintenance  ration  for  steers. — Having  discussed  the  general 
factors  which  should  be  considered  in  computing  rations  for  farm  ani- 
mals, let  us  now  calculate  the  feed  required,  according  to  the  Wolff- 
Lehmann  standard,  to  maintain  a  1000-lb.  ox  at  rest  in  his  stall  when 
neither  gaining  nor  losing  in  weight.  Since  it  has  been  sho-s\Ti  that 
mature  animals  can  be  maintained  largely  on  roughages  (91),  let  us  see 
how  nearly  field-cured  corn  stover  and  oat  straw  will  meet  the  require- 
ments. Since  the  standard  calls  for  18  lbs.  of  dry  matter  we  ^vill  first 
try  quantities  of  these  feeds  which  supply  slightly  less  than  this  amount. 

If  for  the  trial  ration  it  is  decided  to  feed  10  lbs.  of  corn  stover  and  10 


FEEDING  STANDARDS— CALCULATING  RATIONS       117 

lbs.  of  oat  straw  for  roughage,  then,  using  the  values  for  digestible  nu- 
trients given  in  Appendix  Table  III,  the  calculations  for  dry  matter  and 
digestible  nutrients  would  be  as  given  below : 

Corn  stover,  field-cured 

In  100  In  10 

pounds         pounds 

Dry  matter 59.0-^100X10=5.90 

Crude  protein 1 .4 --100X10=0. 14 

Carbohydrates 31 .1 -f- 100X10=3  .11 

Fat 0.6-^100X10=0.06 

Oat  straw 

Dy  matter 88  .5-^100X10=8.85 

Crude  protein 1 .0^100X10=0.10 

Carbohydrates ; 42  .6-^  100X10=4  .26 

Fat 0 . 9  -^  100  X  10=0 .  09 

Arranging  these  results  in  tabular  form,  we  have : 

First  trial  ration  for  maintaining  1000-lh.  ox  at  rest 


Dry 

matter 

Digestible  nutrients 

Nutritive 
ratio 

Feeding  stuffs 

Crude 
protein 

Carbo- 
hydrates 

Fat 

Lbs. 
5.90 

8.85 

Lbs. 
0.14 
0.10 

Lbs. 

3.11 

4.26 

Lbs. 
0.06 
0.09 

Oat  straw,  10  lbs 

14.75 

18.00 

0.24 

0.70 

7.37 
8.00 

0.15 
0.10 

1  :  32  2 

1  :  11  8 

E.xcess  or  deficit 

-3.25 

-0.46 

-0.63 

-fO.05 

This  trial  ration  contains  only  about  one-third  the  digestible  crude 
protein  called  for  and  also  falls  below  the  standard  in  dry  matter  and 
carbohydrates.  To  improve  it  let  us  substitute  5  lbs.  of  clover  hay, 
which  is  high  in  protein,  for  the  same  weight  of  corn  stover,  and  add  0.5 
lb.  of  protein-rich  linseed  meal.     We  then  have : 


Second  trial  ration  for  maintaining  1000-lb.  ox  at  rest 


Dry 

matter 

Digestible  nutrients 

Feeding  stuffs 

Crude 
protein 

Carbo- 
hydrates 

Fat 

ratio 

Lbs. 

4.36 
2.95 
8.85 
0.45 

Lbs. 
0.38 
0.07 

0.10 
0.15 

Lbs. 

1.96 
1.56 
4.26 
0.16 

Lbs. 
0.09 
0.03 
0.09 
0.03 

Oat  straw,  10  lbs 

16.61 
18.00 

0.70 
0.70 

7.94 
8.00 

0.24 
0.10 

1  :  12  1 

1  •  11  8 

-1.39 

0  0 

-0.06 

+0.14 

118  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

This  ration  closely  approaches  the  standard.  It  falls  below  by  more 
than  1  lb.  of  dry  matter,  but  this  deficiency  is  unimportant.  Dry  matter 
is  only  an  indication  of  the  bulk  or  volume  of  the  ration,  and  may  vary 
greatly  with  different  feeds  and  animals  without  affecting  results.  The 
excess  of  fat  will  more  than  make  up  the  trifling  deficit  of  carbohy- 
drates, for  fat  has  2.25  times  the  heat  value  of  carbohydrates.  The 
nutritive  ratio  of  this  ration  is  1 :12.1,  which  is  very  close  to  that 
called  for  by  the  standard.  From  this  we  learn  that  5  lbs.  of  clover  hay, 
5  lbs.  of  field-cured  corn  stover,  10  lbs.  of  oat  straw,  and  0.5  lb.  of  lin- 
seed meal  should  furnish  sufficient  nutrients  to  maintain  a  1000-lb.  ox  for 
24  hours  at  rest  when  neither  gaining  nor  losing  in  weight. 

It  is  practically  impossible,  as  well  as  useless,  to  attempt  to  formulate 
rations  that  will  exactly  agree  with  the  standard  in  all  nutrients.  The 
Wolff-Lehmann  standards  were  devised  to  cover  the  common  systems  of 
feeding  in  Europe,  where  some  straw  or  other  low  grade  roughage  is 
commonly  included  in  rations  for  horses  and  ruminants.  When  only 
such  high  grade  roughages  as  silage  and  legume  hay  are  used,  rations 
which  supply  enough  digestible  nutrients  will  fall  below  the  standard 
requirement  in  dry  matter.  Provided  the  ration  furnishes  bulk  suffi- 
cient to  distend  the  digestive  tract  properly,  no  further  attention  need 
be  paid  to  such  a  deficit  of  dry  matter.  American  rations  will  usually 
furnish  an  excess  of  fat  over  the  standard,  in  which  case  the  carbohy- 
drates may  fall  somewhat  below  the  standard  as  an  offset,  it  being  borne 
in  mind  that  1  lb.  of  fat  will  replace  2.25  lbs.  of  carbohydrates.  (70) 

Several  devices  and  expedients  have  been  offered  to  shorten  the  work 
of  calculating  rations.  Willard  of  the  Kansas  Station"  presents  a  sys- 
tem based  on  alligation,  while  Spillman  of  the  Washington  Station^-  and 
Jeffers^^  have  invented  ingenious  mechanical  computers.  It  seems  best 
in  this  work  to  show  how  to  perform  the  calculations  in  the  simplest  and 
most  direct  manner.  Thru  such  drill  the  student  will  become  familiar 
with  the  quantity  and  proportion  of  the  several  nutrients  in  common 
feeding-stuffs  and  the  amount  of  these  required  by  farm  animals  ac- 
cording to  the  standards.  The  whole  matter  is  less  difficult  and  no  more 
fatiguing  than  the  simpler  arithmetical  operations  of  the  secondary 
schools,  while  the  benefits  should  richly  compensate  the  agricultural 
student  for  the  time  and  effort. 


IV.  Kellner's  Starch  Values  and  Feeding  Standards 

We  have  already  pointed  out  that  the  careful  and  laborious  investi- 
gations conducted  by  Kellner  and  Zuntz  by  means  of  a  modern  respira- 
tion apparatus  and  by  Armsby  by  means  of  a  respiration  calorimeter 
show  that  the  total  quantity  of  digestible  nutrients  in  a  feeding-stuff 
is  not  necessarily  the  true  measure  of  its  feeding  value,  as  is  assumed  in 

"Kan.  Bui.  115;  Cyclopedia  of  Am.  Agr.,  Bailey,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  103. 

"Wash.  Bui.  48.  "H.  W.  Jeffers,  Plainsboro,  N.  J. 


FEEDING  STANDARDS— CALCULATING  RATIONS       119 

the  Wolff-Lehmann  feeding  standards.  These  investigators  have  found 
that,  to  determine  the  true  net  value  of  any  given  feeding-stuff  to  the 
animal,  it  is  necessary  to  deduct  the  energy  expended  in  the  work  of 
mastication,  digestion,  and  assimilation  from  the  total  available  energy 
furnished  by  the  digestible  nutrients  in  the  feeding-stuff.  (78-80) 

169.  Kellner's  starch  values. — As  a  result  of  his  investigations  Kellner 
formulated  feeding  standards  based  on  what  he  called  "starch  values."^* 
He  found  that  on  the  average  1  lb.  of  digestible  starch  fed  to  the  ox  in 
excess  of  maintenance  requirements  produced  0.248  lb.  of  body  fat. 
(129)  Taking  1  lb.  of  digestible  starch  as  his  unit,  he  gives  the  follow- 
ing starch  values  for  the  digestible  nutrients  in  feeding-stuffs,  based  on 
the  amount  of  body  fat  these  several  pure  nutrients  will  form  if  fed  to 
the  ox: 

Starch  Value 

In  1  lb.  of  digestible  Lba. 

Protein 0 .94 

Nitrogen-free  extract  and  fiber 1 .00 

Fat  in  roughage,  chaff,  roots,  etc 1 .61 

Fat  in  cereals,  factory  and  mill  by-products 2.12 

Fat  in  oil-bearing  seeds  and  oil  meal 2 .41 

Kellner  further  found  that  the  net  nutritive  value  of  certain  concen- 
trates, such  as  grains  and  seeds,  oil  cake,  roots,  and  slaughter-house  by- 
products was  about  the  same  as  that  obtained  when  the  several  pure 
nutrients  in  them  were  fed  separately.  Tho  the  exact  starch  value  of 
each  such  feed  can  be  determined  only  by  careful  experimentation,  the 
approximate  value  may  be  computed  from  amounts  of  each  class  of 
digestible  nutrients  the  feed  furnishes.  For  example,  the  approximate 
starch  value  of  dent  corn  can  be  found  as  follows,  using  the  content  of 
digestible  nutrients  as  given  in  Appendix  Table  III. 

Calculation  of  approximate  starch  value  of  dent  corn 

Digestible  a+„,„i. 

nutrients  Factor                ^^^p'^ 

in  100  lbs.  ^*1"« 

Lbs.  Lba. 

Digestible  protein 7.5     X  0.94     =       7.05 

Nitrogen-free  extract  and  fiber 67 .8     X  1 .00     =    67 .80 

Fat 4.6     X  2.12     =      9.75 

Total 79.9  84.60 

The  approximate  starch  value  of  dent  corn  is  thus  about  84.6  lbs.  It 
is  not  possible  to  compute  the  starch  values  of  feeds  high  in  fiber  with 
any  degree  of  exactness.  From  the  few  typical  feeds  which  he  actually 
studied  in  respiration  experiments,  Kellner  found  that  with  such  feeds 
it  was  necessary  to  make  deductions  from  the  starch  values  computed 
as  before,  ranging  all  the  way  from  5  to  30  per  ct.  with  mill  and  factory 
by-products,  and  from  50  to  70  per  ct.  with  straw,  to  get  their  true 
starch  values.    By  making  arbitrary  deductions  in  this  manner  he  com- 

"Landw.  Kal.,  1909,  I,  pp.  103-119;  Ernahr.  Landw.  Nutztiere,  1907. 


120  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

puted  the  starch  values  for  a  long  list  of  feeding-stuffs.  Owing  to  the 
great  amount  of  labor  involved,  he  determined  the  starch  values  by 
actual  experiment  for  only  about  a  dozen  feeds.  The  others  must, 
therefore,  be  regarded  as  approximations,  which  are  helpful  until  the 
true  net  values  of  such  feeds  have  been  found.  Moreover,  he  ascer- 
tained the  starch  values  of  these  feeds  only  when  they  were  fed  in  a 
moderate  ration  to  the  mature  ox  during  the  first  stages  of  fattening. 
Eckles  of  the  Missouri  Station^^  has  found  these  values  too  low  when 
applied  to  the  dairy  cow,  and  Woods^"  of  Cambridge  University,  Eng- 
land, has  shown  that  they  are  too  high  for  the  ox  toward  the  end  of  fat- 
tening. Concerning  the  starch  values  for  other  classes  of  animals  we 
know  little  or  nothing.  With  Kellner  we  must  therefore  conclude  that, 
despite  the  vast  amount  of  study  given  to  the  subject,  there  are  still 
many  gaps  in  our  knowledge  of  the  actual  net  value  of  the  different 
feeding  stuffs. 

170.  Kellner's  feeding  standards. — Kellner  has  formulated  feeding 
standards  for  the  various  classes  of  animals  in  which  the  requirements 
are  expressed  in  dry  matter,  digestible  protein,  and  starch  values.  For 
example,  his  standard  for  the  maintenance  of  the  mature  steer  per 
1000  lbs.  live  weight  calls  for  15  to  21  lbs.  dry  matter,  0.6  to  0.8  lb. 
digestible  protein,  and  6.0  lbs.  starch  values. 

The  Kellner  tables  of  starch  values  and  his  feeding  standards  are  not 
here  given  in  detail,  but  instead  Armsby  's  tables  of  net  energy  values 
and  of  feeding  standards,  which  are  similar  and  which  are  chiefly  used 
in  this  country  by  those  desiring  to  compute  rations  according  to  the  net 
energy  system. 

V.  The  Armsby  Feeding  Standards 

171.  The  Armsby  energy  values. — Armsby^^  of  the  Pennsylvania  Sta- 
tion is  studying  the  nutrient  requirements  of  the  ox  with  the  first  and 
only  respiration  calorimeter  used  in  the  study  of  farm  animals  in 
America.  From  his  own  work  and  that  of  Kellner  he  has  constructed 
the  following  table,  which  shows  the  net  energy  of  feeding  stuffs  ex- 
pressed in  therms  (75)  in  place  of  Kellner's  starch  values,  and  has  also 
formulated  feeding  standards  based  thereon. 

The  last  column  of  the  table  does  not  show  the  total  energy  in  the 
digestible  portion  of  100  lbs.  of  the  various  feeding  stuffs,  but  only  the 
net  energy,  i.e.,  that  portion  which  is  finally  available  to  the  animal  after 
deducting  the  losses  occurring  thru  mastication,  digestion,  and  assimila- 
tion. 

i^Mo.  Res.  Bui.  7. 

"Jour.  Agr.  Sci.,  5,  1914,  p.  248. 

"U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  Anim.  Indus.,  Buls.  51,  74,  101;  Farmer's   Bui.  346. 


FEEDING  STANDARDS— CALCULATING  RATIONS       121 


The  Armshy  table  of  dry  matter,  digestible  protein,  and  net  energy 
values  in  100  lbs.  of  various  feeding  stuffs 


Feeding  stuffs 


Green  fodder  and  silage: 

Alfalfa 

Clover,  crimson 

Clover,  red 

Corn  fodder,  green 

Corn  silage 

Hungarian  grass 

Rape 

Rye  fodder 

Timothy 

Hay  and  dry  coarse  fodder: 

Alfalfa  hay 

Clover  hay,  red 

Soy  bean  hay 

Covtpea  hay 

Corn  forage,  field-cured  . 

Corn  stover 

Hungarian  hay 

Oat  hay 

Timothy  hay 

Straws : 

Oat  straw 


Wheat  straw 

Roots  and  tubers: 

Carrots 

Mangels 

Potatoes 

Rutabagas 

Turnips 

Grains: 

Barley 

Corn 

Corn-and-cob  meal 

Oats 

Pea  meal 

Rve 

Wheat 

By-products: 

Brewers'  grains — dried .  .  . . 

Brewers'  grains — wet 

Buckwheat  middhngs 

Cottonseed  meal 

Distillers'  grains— dried — 

Principally  corn 

Principally  rye 

Gluten  feed 

Gluten  meal — Buffalo 

Gluten  meal — Chicago  .  .  .  . 

Linseed  meal,  old  process. . 

Linseed  meal,  new  process . 

Malt  sprouts 

Rye  bran 

Sugar-beet  pulp,  fresh 

Sugar-beet  pulp,  dried.  .  .  . 

Wheat  bran 

Wheat  middlings 


Total  dry 

Digestible 

Net  energy 

matter 

protein 

value 

Pounds 

Pounds 

Therms 

28.2 

2.50 

12.45 

19.1 

2.19 

11.30 

29.2 

2.21 

16.17 

20.7 

.41 

12.44 

25.6 

1.21 

16.56 

28.9 

1.33 

14.76 

14.3 

2.16 

11.43 

23.4 

1.44 

11.63 

38.4 

1.04 

19.08 

91.6 

6.93 

34.41 

84.7 

5.41 

34.74 

88.7 

7.68 

38.65 

89.3 

8.57 

42.76 

57.8 

2.13 

30.53 

59.5 

1.80 

26.53 

92.3 

3.00 

44.03 

84.0 

2.59 

36.97 

80. 8 

2.05 

33.56 

90.8 

1.09 

21.21 

92.9 

.63 

20.87 

90.4 

.37 

16.56 

11.4 

.37 

7.82 

9.1 

.14 

4.62 

21.1 

.45 

18.05 

11.4 

.88 

8.00 

9.4 

.22 

5.74 

89.1 

8.37 

80.75 

89.1 

6.79 

88.84 

84.9 

4.53 

72.05 

89.0 

8.36 

66.27 

89.5 

16.77 

71.75 

88.4 

8.12 

81.72 

89.5 

8.90 

82.63 

92.0 

19.04 

60.01 

24.3 

3.81 

14.82 

88.2 

22.34 

75.92 

91.8 

35.15 

84.20 

93.0 

21.93 

79.23 

93.2 

10.38 

60.93 

91.9 

19.95 

79.32 

91.8 

21.56 

88.80 

90.5 

33.09 

78.49 

90.8 

27.54 

78.92 

90.1 

29.26 

74.67 

89.8 

12.36 

46.33 

88,2 

11.35 

56.65 

10.1 

.63 

7.77 

93.6 

6.80 

60.10 

88.1 

10.21 

48.23 

84.0 

12.79 

77.65 

Of  all  the  feeds  listed,  corn  has  the  highest  net  energy  value,  88.84 
therms  per  100  lbs.  Due  to  the  large  amount  of  fiber  contained  in  the 
hulls,  the  net  energy  value  of  oats  is  only  66.27  therms  per  100  lbs.  The 
dry  roughages  furnish  much  less  net  energy  than  the  concentrates,  wheat 
straw  having  a  value  of  only  16.56  therms  per  100  lbs. 

172.  The  Armsby  standards  for  maintenance. — The  following  table  by 
Armsby  sets  forth  the  maintenance  requirements  of  horses,  cattle,  and 
sheep,  no  table  having  yet  been  formulated  for  swine : 


122 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Armsly's 

maintenan 

ce  standards  for  horses,  cattle, 

and  sheep 

Horses 

Cattle 

Sheep 

weight 

Digestible 

Energy 

Digestible 

Energy 

Live 

Digestible 

Energy 

protein 

value 

protein 

value 

weight 

protein 

value 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Therms 

Lbs. 

Therms 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Therms 

150 

0.30 

2.00 

0.15 

1.70 

20 

0.023 

0.30 

250 

0.40 

2.80 

0.20 

2.40 

40 

0.05 

0.54 

500 

0.60 

4.40 

0.30 

3.80 

60 

0.07 

0.71 

750 

0.80 

5.80 

0.40 

4.95 

80 

0.09 

0.87 

1000 

1.00 

7.00 

0.50 

6.00 

100 

0.10 

1.00 

1250 

1.20 

8.15 

0.60 

7.00 

120 

0.11 

1.13 

1500 

1.30 

9.20 

0.65 

7.90 

140 

0.13 

1.25 

The  table  shows  that  a  young  horse  weighing  500  lbs.,  if  neither 
gaining  nor  losing  in  weight,  would  require  for  its  daily  support  0.60 
lb.  of  digestible  protein  and  4.40  therms  of  net  digestible  matter,  the 
latter  including  the  0.60  lb.  of  digestible  protein.  When  this  growing 
horse  reaches  1000  lbs.,  there  is  required  for  its  maintenance  1  lb.  of 
digestible  protein  and  7  therms  of  net  digestible  matter.  Tho  it  has 
doubled  in  weight,  the  food  requirement  has  not  likewise  doubled.  "When 
the  horse  reaches  the  weight  of  1500  lbs.,  there  is  required  a  further  in- 
crease of  only  0.3  lb.  of  protein  and  2.20  therms  of  net  energy.  This  is 
due  to  the  fact,  already  pointed  out  (91),  that  the  maintenance  require- 
ment depends  not  on  body  weight  but  upon  body  surface.  In  recog- 
nizing this  fact,  Armsby  has  made  an  important  advance  over  the  Wolff- 
Lehmann  standards. 

173.  Standards  for  growing  animals. — In  the  table  which  follows, 
Armsby  sets  forth  the  digestible  protein  and  net  energy  requirements  of 
growing  cattle  and  sheep,  no  data  as  yet  having  been  given  for  horses  and 
swine.    The  figures  include  the  maintenance  requirements. 

The  Armshy  standards  for  growing  cattle  and  sheep 


Cattle 

Sheep 

Age 

Live 

Digestible 

Net  energy 

Live 

Digestible 

Net  energy 

weight 

protein 

value 

weight 

protein 

value 

Months 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Therms 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Therms 

3 

275 

1.10 

5.0 

6 

425 

1.30 

6.0 

70 

0.30 

1.30 

9 

90 

0.25 

1.40 

12 

650 

1.65 

7.0 

110 

0.23 

1.40 

15 

130 

0.23 

1.50 

18 

850 

1.70 

7.5 

145 

0.22 

1.60 

24 

1000 

1.75 

8.0 

30 

1100 

1.65 

8.0 

The  table  shows  that  a  3-months-old  calf,  weighing  275  lbs.,  requires 
1.10  lbs.  of  digestible  protein  and  5  therms  of  net  energy  value,  the  latter 
including  the  1.10  lbs.  protein.     When  the  calf  has  grown  to  1100  lbs., 


FEEDING  STANDARDS— CALCULATING  RATIONS       123 

or  quadrupled  in  weight,  it  requires  but  0.55  lb.  more  protein  and  3 
more  therms  than  before.  This  relative  lessening  in  feed  requirement  is 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  larger  animal  requires  relatively  less  for  main- 
tenance, as  explained  elsewhere.  (91)  For  the  1000-lb.  steer  Armsby  al- 
lows 1.75  lbs.  of  digestible  protein,  and  but  1.65  lbs.,  or  0.10  lb.  less,  for 
the  same  animal  when  weighing  1,100  lbs.  This  is  because  at  the  higher 
weight  the  steer  has  practically  ceased  muscular  growth  and  therefore 
needs  less  protein  than  earlier  in  life.  A  comparison  of  the  maintenance 
and  growth  requirements  of  animals,  as  here  set  forth,  reveals  the  fact 
that  a  large  portion  of  all  the  feed  the  animal  consumes  is  used  for  the 
support  of  the  body,  and  that  the  additional  requirements  for  growth  are 
not  relatively  large. 

174.  Milch  cows,  fattening  steers,  and  other  animals. — Armsby  supple- 
ments the  foregoing  partial  standards  with  the  following : 

1.  For  milk  production,  add  to  the  maintenance  standard  0.05  lb.  of 
digestible  protein  and  0.3  therm  for  each  pound  of  4  per  et.  milk  to  be 
produced. 

2.  For  2-  to  3-year-old  fattening  cattle,  add  3.5  therms  to  the  standard 
for  growth  for  each  pound  of  gain  to  be  made. 

For  the  milch  cow  Armsby  provides  additional  food,  both  protein  and 
therms,  as  noted  in  the  foregoing,  because  milk  is  rich  in  complex  pro- 
tein compounds,  and  also  contains  carbohj^drates  and  fat.  Furthermore, 
the  cow  is  usually  gro^\dng  a  calf.  Armsby  holds  that,  after  providing 
the  protein  set  forth  in  the  ration  for  growth,  the  steer  will  fatten  sat- 
isfactorily without  any  additional  protein,  provided  there  are  supplied 
sufficient  carbohydrates  and  fat  to  meet  the  standard.  It  should  be  borne 
in  mind  that  to  prevent  a  depression  of  the  digestibility  of  the  ration  on 
account  of  too  large  a  proportion  of  carbohydrates,  at  least  1  lb.  of 
digestible  protein  should  be  supplied  in  the  ration  for  each  8  to  10  lbs. 
of  carbohydrates  and  fat.  (84)  As  a  rough  guide  to  the  amount  of  dry 
matter  to  be  fed,  Armsby  recommends  that: 

1.  A  1000-lb.  ruminant  should  receive  20  to  30  lbs.,  or  an  average  of 
25  lbs.,  dry  matter  per  day. 

2.  The  horse  should  receive  somewhat  less  dry  matter  than  ruminants. 
For  work  horses  he  recommends  Kellner's  standard  which  is  based 

upon  the  extensive  work  of  Zuntz.  This  standard,  converted  from  starch 
values  to  therms,  is  given  in  a  later  chapter.  (456)  Armsby  has  formu- 
lated no  standards  for  fattening  sheep  or  lambs,  for  growing  horses,  or 
for  pigs. 

175.  Fattening  lambs. — Bull  and  Emmett  of  the  Illinois  Station^^  have 
made  a  critical  and  comprehensive  study  of  the  American  investigations 
in  fattening  lambs,  covering  trials  in  which  265  lots  of  lambs,  aggregat- 
ing 5,127  animals,  were  fed.  From  the  results  secured  in  these  trials, 
they  give  the  following  as  the  approximate  minimum  requirements  of 
digestible  crude  protein  and  net  energy  per  1000  lbs.  live  weight. 

"111.  Bui.  166. 


124 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


BuU-Emmett  standards  for  fattening  lambs 


Per  1000  lbs.  live  weight 

Weight 

Digestible  crude 
protein 

Net  energy 
value 

Lambs  weiffhinE;  50-70  lbs 

Lbs. 

3.1-3.3 
2.5-2.8 
2.2-2.4 
1.4-1.9 

Therms 
17-19 

Lambs  weighing  70—90  lbs 

18-20 

Lambs  weighing  90-110  lbs 

17-20 

Lambs  weighing  110-150  lbs 

16-19 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  requirements  for  protein  are  expressed  in  terms 
of  crude  protein  instead  of  true  protein,  as  in  the  Armsby  standards. 
Bull  and  Emmett  state  that  the  figures  for  lambs  weighing  110  to  150  lbs. 
are  only  approximations,  owing  to  the  small  amount  of  data  available  for 
animals  of  these  weights.  It  will  be  noted  that  as  the  lambs  become  more 
mature  the  amount  of  protein  required  per  1000  lbs.  live  weight  grows 
less. 

176.  Ration  for  maintaining  the  steer. — To  illustrate  the  method  of 
using  the  Armsby  standards  and  table  of  net  energy  values,  let  us  com- 
pute a  ration  for  maintaining  a  mature  steer  weighing  1000  lbs.,  when 
neither  gaining  nor  losing  weight,  assuming  that  there  are  available  corn 
stover,  oat  straw,  dent  corn,  and  cottonseed  meal.  According  to  the 
standard,  an  animal  of  this  weight  requires  0.5  lb.  digestible  protein  and 
6.0  therms  of  net  energy.  As  corn  stover  and  oat  straw  are  much  cheaper 
than  the  concentrates,  let  us  first  see  how  nearly  a  ration  of  these  rough- 
ages alone  will  meet  the  requirements.  Suppose  that  we  select  for  a  trial 
ration  10  lbs.  of  oat  straw  and  15  lbs.  of  corn  stover.  The  calculations 
will  then  be  as  follows: 


Calculations  for  trial  ration  for  maintaining  1000-lb.  steer 


Corn  stover 
In  100  lbs.  In  15  lbs. 

Dry  matter 59.5   -^  100x15=8. 92  Dry  matter. 

Dig.  protein 1 .80^-100x15=0 .27  Dig.  protein . 

Net  energy 26 .53  ^100x15=3 .98  Net  energy . 


Oat  straw 
In  100  lbs.         In  10  lbs. 

.90,8  H- 100x10=9  .08 
.  1.09^100x10=0.11 
.21.21-^100x10=2.12 


First  trial  ration  for  maintaining  1000-lb.  steo 


Feeding  stuffs 

Total 
dry  matter 

Digestible 
protein 

Net  energy 
value 

Corn  stover,  15  lbs 

Oat  straw,  10  lbs 

Lbs. 
8.92 

9.08 

Lbs. 

0.27 
0.11 

Therms 
3.98 
2.12 

18.00 

0.38 
0.50 

6.10 

Standard  requirement .... 

6.00 

—0.12 

+0.10 

This  ration  furnishes  enough  net  energy  but  is  deficient  in  digestible 
protein.    Corn,  which  is  high  in  net  energy  but  low  in  protein,  will  not 


FEEDING  STANDARDS— CALCULATING  RATIONS       125 

improve  the  ration,  while  cottonseed  meal,  which  is  rich  in  protein,  will 
supply  the  deficiency  of  this  nutrient.  Let  us  therefore  substitute  one- 
half  pound  of  cottonseed  meal  for  1  lb.  of  com  stover.    We  then  have : 

Second  trial  ration  for  maintaining  1000-lb.  steer 


Feeding  stuffs 

Total 
dry  matter 

Digestible 
protein 

Net  energy- 
value 

Com  stover,  14  lbs 

Oat  straw,  10  lbs 

Cottonseed  meal,  0.5  1b.. 

Lbs. 
8.33 
9.08 
0.46 

Lbs. 
0.25 
0.11 

0.18 

Therms 

3.71 
2.12 
0.42 

Second  trial  ration 

Standard  requirement .... 

17.87 

0.54 
0.50 

6.25 
6.00 

Excess  or  deficit 

+0.04 

+0  25 

This  ration  agrees  closely  with  the  standard  in  digestible  protein  and 
net  energy  value.  Thus,  according  to  the  Armsby  standard,  a  satisfactory 
ration  for  maintaining  a  1000-lb.  steer  may  be  composed  of  14  lbs.  corn 
stover,  10  lbs.  oat  straw,  and  0.5  lb.  cottonseed  meal. 

177.  Discussion  of  the  net  energy  systems. — The  determination  of  the  net 
energy  values  of  feeding-stuffs  is  an  important  advancement  in  our  knowl- 
edge of  the  values  of  different  feeds  for  productive  purposes.  0-v\dng  to 
the  immense  amount  of  labor  involved  in  each  such  determination,  data  of 
this  kind  can  be  secured  but  slowly.  In  14  years  Armsby  has  been  able  to 
study  only  10  feeds,  several  determinations  of  course  having  been  made 
upon  each.  The  actual  net  energy  value  of  only  22  feeding-stuffs  has 
thus  been  determined  by  both  Kellner  and  Armsby.  While  these  values 
are  helpful  in  estimating  the  probable  net  energy  values  of  other  feeds 
not  yet  tested,  such  computed  results  are  but  approximations.  For  ex- 
ample, in  his  table  of  energy  values,  Armsby  gives  a  net  energy  value  of 
33.56  therms  for  timothy  hay  containing  86.8  per  ct.  dry  matter.  This 
value  was  computed  from  Kellner 's  data.  After  conducting  several  res- 
piration experiments  in  which  the  actual  net  value  was  determined, 
Armsby  has  now  found  that  timothy  hay  containing  the  same  amount  of 
dry  matter  has  a  net  energj'-  value  of  42.20  therms,  or  25.7  per  ct.  more 
than  his  former  figure.  Even  for  the  feeds  on  which  experiments  have 
been  conducted,  the  values  are  far  from  exact.  Not  only  do  different 
samples  of  a  given  feeding-stuff  vary  in  composition  (81),  but  the  trials 
show  that  the  ability  to  utilize  feed,  even  by  animals  of  the  same  kind, 
age,  and  condition,  may  vary  to  a  greater  or  less  extent.  Moreover,  both 
Kellner  and  Armsby  have  practically  worked  only  with  the  steer,  and 
the  extent  to  which  the  values  thus  secured  apply  to  other  classes  of  ani- 
mals is  still  a  question.  (169)  Zuntz,^^  who  has  conducted  extensive 
studies  on  the  utilization  of  different  feeding-stuffs,  states  that  with  the 
horse  and  pig  only  a  small  portion  of  the  starch  in  feeds  ferments  in  the 

>»  Inter.  Inst.  Agr.,  Monthly  Bui.,  5,  1914,  No.  4,  pp.  435,  446. 


126  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

digestive  tract.  On  the  other  hand,  in  cattle  upwards  of  10  per  ct.  of  the 
heat  value  of  the  digested  food  is  lost  in  methane  gas  and  about  7  per  ct. 
is  wasted,  so  far  as  productive  purposes  are  concerned,  in  the  heat  pro- 
duced in  the  fermentations.  (79-80)  Accordingly,  with  horses  and  pigs 
starch  will  have  a  higher  value  compared  with  fat  than  in  the  case  of 
ruminants.  Zuntz  concludes :  "If  we  apply  to  pigs  or  horses  the  same 
starch  values  for  a  fat  food,  such  as  an  oil  seed,  as  was  determined  by 
Kellner,  we  commit  a  notable  error,  .  .  .  We  must  no  longer  attribute  to 
a  certain  food  the  same  nutritive  value  under  all  circumstances,  as  has 
hitherto  been  done.  We  must  rather  find  out  in  what  combination  the 
nutritive  value  of  a  food  proves  the  most  advantageous. ' '  We  must  thus 
regard  the  present  net  energy  values  of  feeding  stuffs,  not  as  exact 
measures  of  their  value  for  all  classes  of  animals,  but  as  approximations 
which  are  most  helpful  in  teaching  great  principles  in  the  feeding  of  live 
stock. 

From  the  foregoing  discussion  the  wise  feeder  will  see  the  importance 
of  studying  carefully  the  results  actually  secured  with  different  combina- 
tions of  feed  when  fed  to  the  various  classes  of  animals,  as  presented  in 
detail  in  the  respective  chapters  of  Part  III. 


VI.  The  Scandinavian  Feed-Unit  System 

A  system  of  feed  equivalents,  based  mainly  on  the  extensive  experi- 
ments with  milch  cows  and  swine  by  Fjord  and  his  successors  at  the 
Copenhagen  Station,  has  been  adopted  in  Denmark  and  other  Scandina- 
vian countries,  especially  by  the  cow-testing  associations,  for  measuring 
the  relative  production  economy  of  cows.  This  system  is  extensively  used 
with  cows,  occasionally  with  pigs,  and  rarely  with  other  animals.  It  has 
great  merit,  especially  in  co-operative  efforts  to  improve  dairy  cattle  and 
their  feeding — lines  in  which  the  Scandinavian  farmers  are  leaders. 

178.  The  feed  unit. — The  feed  unit  of  the  Danish  associations  is  1  lb.  of 
standard  grain  feed,  such  as  corn  and  barley,  or  their  equivalents  in  feed- 
ing value.  In  Sweden  it  is  one  kilo  (2.2  lbs.)  of  mixed  concentrates  or 
their  equivalent.  All  feeding-stuffs  are  reduced  to  this  standard  in  cal- 
culating the  feed  consumption  of  the  animal.  The  amounts  of  various 
feeds  required  to  equal  1  feed  unit  are  shown  in  the  following  table . 

The  table  shows  that  corn,  wheat,  rye,  barley,  hominy  feed,  the  dry 
matter  in  roots,  etc.,  are  all  considered  to  have  about  the  same  value  for 
the  dairy  cow,  1  lb.  equaling  1  feed  unit.  On  this  basis  it  requires  1.1 
lbs.  of  wheat  bran  or  oats,  or  1.5  to  3  lbs.  of  alfalfa  or  clover  hay  to  equal 
1  unit.  Cottonseed  meal,  linseed  meal,  dried  distillers'  grains,  gluten 
feed,  and  soybeans  are  rated  at  a  higher  value  than  the  same  weight  of 
corn  or  wheat,  less  than  a  pound  of  these  concentrates  being  required  for 
a  feed  unit. 


FEEDING  STANDARDS— CALCULATING  RATIONS       127 

Amount  of  different  feeds  required  to  equal  one  feed  unit* 


Feed 

Feed  required  to 
equal  1  unit 

Average 

Range 

For  dairy  cows 
Concentrates 

Corn,  wheat,  rye,  barley,  hominy  feed,  dried  brewers'  grains,  whea 

middlings,  oat 

Lbs. 

1.0 
0.8 
0.9 
1.1 
1.2 

2.0 
2.5 
3.0 
4.0 

7.0 
8.0 
5.0 
6.0 
4.0 
6.0 
7.0 
8.0 
9.0 
10.0 
12.0 
12.5 

1.0 
1.4 
4.0 
6.0 
12.0 

Lbs. 

Cottonseed  meal  . .        .               .  .                               

Oil  meal,  dried  distillers'  grains,  gluten  feed,  soy  beans 

Hay  and  straw 

1.5-3.0 

Mixed  hay,  oat  hay,  oat  and  pea  hay,  barley  and  pea  hay,  red  top  hay 

Timothy  hay,  prairie  hay,  sorghum  hay 

2.0-3.0 
2  5-3  5 

Corn  stover,  stalks  or  fodder,  marsh  hay,  cut  straw 

3  5  6  0 

Soiling  crops,  silage  and  other  succulent  feeds 
Green  alfalfa 

6  0  8  0 

7.0-10.0 

Alfalfa  silage 

Corn  silage,  pea  vine  silage 

5  0-7  0 

Wet  brewers'  grains 

Sugar  beets 

Carrots               ... 

Field  beets,  green  rape 

Sugar  beet  leaves  and  tops,  whey 

The  value  of  pasture  is  generally  placed  at  8  to  10  units  per  day, 
varying  with  kind  and  condition. 

For  pigs 

sn  the  average, 

Rye,  wheat  bran 

Whey 

For  horses 
One  lb.  of  Indian  corn  equals  1  lb.  of  oats  or  1  lb.  of  dry  matter  in 

roots. 

*The  values  for  pigs  and  horses  are  those  given  in  the  Danish  valuation 
table  and  those  for  dairy  cows  the  values  as  revised  by  Woll  for  American 
feeding  stuffs,  given  in  Wis.  Cir.  37. 


The  feed-unit  values  are  not  true  expressions  of  net  energy,  for  in  this 
system  feeds  rich  in  protein  are  given  a  higher  value  than  feeds  low  in 
protein  which  furnish  the  same  amount  of  net  energy.  For  example,  in 
the  feed-unit  system,  only  0.8  lb.  of  cottonseed  meal  or  0.9  lb.  of  linseed 
meal  is  required  to  equal  1  feed  unit.  Yet,  according  to  Armsby  and 
Kellner  the  net  energy  value  of  these  feeds  is  lower  than  that  of  corn. 
Again,  the  energy  value  of  timothy  hay  is  about  the  same  as  that  of 
clover  or  alfalfa  hay,  but  in  the  feed-unit  system  timothy  hay  is  rated  50 
per  ct.  below  the  legume  hays.  When  added  to  rations  deficient  in  pro- 
tein, feeds  rich  in  protein  will  have  a  higher  value  than  those  supplying 
an  equal  amount  of  net  energy  but  which  are  low  in  protein.  But  as 
has  been  pointed  out  (63,  93),  when  the  protein  supply  in  the  ration  is 
already  adequate,  any  additional  amount  of  this  nutrient  is  broken  down 
in  the  body,  the  nitrogenous  portion  being  excreted  in  the  urine,  and  only 
the  remainder  utilized  for  the  formation  of  the  fat  and  carbohydrates  in 


128  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

flesh  or  milk,  for  body  fuel,  or  for  the  production  of  work.  In  all  such 
cases  protein  will  have  a  value  corresponding  only  to  the  amount  of  net 
energy  it  furnishes.  Over  large  sections  of  our  country  protein-rich 
feeds  are  cheaper  than  those  high  in  carbohydrates.  In  the  West  with 
its  abundant  and  cheap  alfalfa  hay,  and  in  the  South  with  its  low-priced 
cottonseed  meal,  it  is  often  necessary  to  add  carbonaceous  feeds  rather 
than  protein-rich  concentrates  to  balance  the  usual  rations.  Thus  the 
feed-unit  system  does  not  furnish  a  safe  guide  by  which  the  farmer  can 
determine  the  value  of  feeds  under  all  conditions.  The  worth  of  a  given 
feed  to  him  will  depend  on  the  other  feeding-stuffs  with  which  it  is  to  be 
combined.  In  some  instances  protein-rich  feeds  will  be  worth  the  most, 
and  in  others,  those  which  are  high  in  carbohydrates.  The  feed-unit 
system  has  been  evolved  in  a  comparatively  small  region,  where  similar 
crops  are  grown  on  the  different  farms  and  the  price  of  purchased  feeds 
does  not  vary  widely  thruout  the  entire  district,  hence  this  difficulty 
has  not  arisen  there.  No  arbitrary  values  for  feeding-stuffs,  expressed 
in  terms  of  money  or  other  fixed  units,  can  be  devised  which  will  hold 
good  under  widely  differing  conditions. 

179.  Measuring  economy  of  production  in  feed  units. — The  chief  value 
of  the  feed  unit  system  for  dairymen  in  any  given  region  is  that  it  fur- 
nishes a  simple  means  of  comparing  the  feed  consumption  and  the  milk 
and  fat  production  of  different  cows,  as  is  shown  in  the  following : 

If  during  a  month  a  cow  has  consumed  240  lbs.  of  hay,  750  lbs.  of 
silage,  60  lbs.  each  of  barley  and  ground  corn,  and  90  lbs.  of  linseed  oil 
meal,  the  calculation  based  on  the  valuation  table  would  be  as  follows : 

Feed  consumed 

240  lbs.  hay 

750  lbs.  silage 

120  lbs.  corn  and  barley 

90  lbs.  oil  meal 


Lbs.  for  1  unit 

Feed  units 

■i-        2.5        == 

96 

-         6.0         = 

125 

H-          1.0         = 

120 

-f-         0.9        = 

100 

Total  feed  units =        441 

It  is  shown  that  the  cow  consumed  441  feed  units  during  the  month. 
If  in  that  time  she  yielded  850  lbs.  of  milk,  containing  30.6  lbs.  of  fat, 
each  100  feed  units  produced  |^  =  193  lbs.  of  milk,  containing  |^^  = 
6.9  lbs.  butter  fat.  If  the  fat  brought  30  cents  per  lb.,  100  feed  units 
would  return  6,9x$0.30=$2.07. 

180.  The  Swedish  Test  Assooiations. — In  what  follows  is  shown  some 
of  the  work  of  the  Swedish  Test  Associations  for  the  year  1906-7.  The 
first  table  shoM^s  the  feed  units  consumed  per  cow  annually  in  the  associa- 
tion having  the  poorest  and  the  best  returns,  and  the  average  of  96 
associations.  The  second  table  shows  the  production  per  cow  and  per  100 
feed  units  consumed. 

The  first  table  shows  that  the  association  with  the  poorest  record  fed 
each  cow  on  the  average  4920  feed  units  during  the  year.  The  association 
with  the  highest  record  fed  5733  units  per  cow,  while  the  average  for  96 
associations  was  5280  feed  units. 


FEEDING  STANDARDS— CALCULATING  RATIONS       129 


Feed  units  consumed  annually  per  cow  in  the  Swedish  Test  Associations 


Concentrates 

Roughages 

Oil 
cakes 

Bran  and 
grains 

Roots,  beet 
pulp 

Hay  and 
straw 

Soilage  and 
pasture 

Total 

Association 

Showing  poorest  returns . . 
Showing  best  returns 

Average  of  96  associations .  . 

Units 

900 
1056 

856 

Units 

581 

878 

708 

Units 

900 
1410 

1166 

Units 
1142 
1078 

1256 

Units 

1397 
1311 

1294 

Units 

4920 
5733 

5280 

Average  production  per  cow  and  per  100  feed  units 

Production  per  cow 

Production  per  100  units 

MUk 

Butter  fat 

Butter 

Milk 

Butter 

Value  of 
product 

Association 

Showing  poorest  returns. . 
Showing  best  returns 

Average  of  96  associations .  . 

Lbs. 
6261 
8650 

7429 

Lba. 
200.0 

295.2 
239.9 

Lbs. 
218.0 
327.1 

265.3 

Lbs. 

280.1 
332.1 

309.5 

Lbs. 
10.0 
12.5 

11.0 

DoUars 
2.51 

3.17 

2.85 

The  second  table  shows  that  the  average  cow  in  the  poorest  association 
gave  6261  lbs.  of  milk,  while  in  the  best  association  she  gave  8650  lbs. 
The  herds  in  the  poorest  association  yielded  about  200  lbs.  of  butter  fat 
per  cow,  and  those  in  the  best  over  295  lbs.  The  w^ell-fed  herds  returned 
&Q  cents  more  for  each  100  feed  units  consumed  than  did  the  poorly-fed 
herds — a  difference  of  over  26  per  ct.  in  favor  of  the  heavier  feeding. 
These  results  show  the  manner  in  which  Scandinavians  have  utilized  the 
feed-unit  system  for  comparing  individual  cows,  herds,  and  associations 
to  the  great  betterment  of  their  dairy  industry.  The  same  comparisons 
can  be  made  by  means  of  the  Armsby  system  of  net-energy  values. 
Except  where  the  rations  fed  to  different  animals  vary  ^videly  in  pro- 
portion of  concentrates  to  roughages,  a  fair  comparison  may  also  be  made 
by  using  the  total  digestible  nutrients  in  the  ration,  as  given  for  each 
feed  in  Appendix  Table  III. 

181.  The  feed-unit  standard  for  dairy  cows. — Hansson-*^  has  proposed 
the  following  as  the  requirements  for  dairy  cows  according  to  the  feed- 
unit  system. 

For  maintenance,  feed  0.65  lb.  digestible  protein  and  6.6  feed  units 
daily  per  1000  lbs.  live  weight. 

For  each  pound  of  milk  produced  add  to  the  maintenance  requirement 
0.045  to  0.05  lb.  digestible  protein  and  0.33  feed  unit. 

The  requirements  of  a  cow  producing  any  given  amount  of  milk  can 
be  readily  ascertained  by  computation. 


="Kontrolforen,  Arbetsfalt,  1910. 


130 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


VII.  American  Standards  for  Dairy  Cows 

182.  The  Haecker  standard. — As  the  result  of  long  years  of  intimate 
study  with  a  high-grade  working  dairy  herd  at  the  Minnesota  Station,-^ 
Haecker  has  made  an  important  advance  in  the  formulation  of  rations 
for  the  dairy  cow.  He  has  shown  that  the  nutrients  required  for  her 
nourishment  should  vary  not  only  with  the  quantity  of  milk  yielded,  as 
is  taught  in  the  Wolff -Lehmann,  the  Kellner,  Armsby,  and  the  feed-unit 
standards,  but  also  with  the  quality  of  the  product.  The  allowance  of 
crude  protein  recommended  is  also  considerably  lower  than  that  set  forth 
in  the  Wolff-Lehmann  standard.  In  his  standard  Haecker  first  sets  down 
the  total  digestible  nutrients  dail}^  required  to  maintain  the  1000-lb.  cow, 
independent  of  the  milk  she  produces,  as  follows :  Crude  protein  0.7  lb., 
carbohydrates  7.0  lbs.,  and  fat  0.1  lb. 

For  each  100  lbs.  live  weight  the  cow  may  exceed  or  fall  below  the 
1000-lb.  standard  there  is  added  or  subtracted  one-tenth  of  the  standard 
ration. 

To  this  maintenance  provision  the  further  allowance  set  forth  in  the 
table  is  added. 


Haecker' s  feeding  standard  for  the  dairy  cow 

Daily  allowance  of  digestible  nutrients 

.Crude 
protein 

Carbo- 
hydrates 

Fat 

For  support  of  the  1000-lb.  cow 

To  the  alloivance  for  support  add: 
For  each  lb  of  3  0  per  ct  milk        

Lbs. 

0.700 

0.047 
0.049 
0.054 
0.057 
0.060 
0.064 
0.067 
0.072 
0.074 

Lbs. 

7.00 

0.20 
0.22 
0.24 
0.26 
0.28 
0.30 
0.32 
0.34 
0.36 

Lbs. 

0.100 
0.017 

For  each  lb   of  3  5  oer  ct   milk                   

0.019 

For  each  lb.  of  4  .0  per  ct.  milk 

For  each  lb.  of  4 .5  per  ct.  milk 

0.021 
0.023 
0.024 

0.026 

For  each  lb.  of  6  .0  per  ct.  milk 

For  each  lb.  of  6  .5  per  ct.  milk 

For  each  lb.  of  7 .0  per  ct.  milk 

0.028 
0.029 
0.031 

The  table  shows  that  a  cow  yielding  milk  containing  3  per  ct.  of  butter 
fat  should  be  fed,  in  addition  to  the  maintenance  ration,  0.047  lb.  crude 
protein,  0.20  lb.  carbohydrates,  and  0.017  lb.  fat,  all  digestible,  for  each 
pound  of  milk  she  gives.  If  the  milk  is  richer  than  3  per  ct.  the  provision 
must  be  greater.  Haecker  has  formulated  the  requirements  for  each 
increase  of  0.1  per  ct.  in  the  fat  content  of  milk.  At  least  for  ordinary 
herd  feeding  it  is  not  necessary  to  refine  the  calculation  of  rations  to  this 
extent.    Hence  only  a  condensed  table  is  here  presented. 


Minn.  Buls.  71,  79,  140. 


FEEDING-  STANDARDS— CALCULATING  RATIONS       131 

To  illustrate  the  use  of  the  table  there  is  formulated  below  the  nutrient 
allowance  for  a  1100-lb.  cow  producing  25  lbs.  of  4  per  ct.  milk  daily : 

Digestible  nutrients  required  daily  hy  a  1100-lh.  cow  yielding  25  lbs.  of 
4  per  ct.  milk 


Crude 
protein 

Carbo- 
hydrates 

Fat 

For  maintenance 

Lbs. 
0.77 
1.35 

Lbs. 

7.70 
6.00 

Lbs. 

0  11 

For  25  lbs.  of  4  per  cent  milk 

0  52 

Total 

2.12 

13.70 

0.63 

In  the  above  there  is  first  set  down  the  maintenance  allowance  for 
the  1000-lb.  cow,  increased  by  one-tenth  because  this  cow  weighs  100  lbs. 
more  than  the  standard;  this  is  0.77  lb.  crude  protein,  7.7  lbs.  carbo- 
hydrates, and  0.11  lb.  fat,  all  digestible.  The  previous  table  shows  the 
daily  nutrient  allowance  for  each  pound  of  4  per  ct.  milk  to  be  0.054  lb. 
crude  protein,  and  0.24  lb.  carbohydrates,  and  0.021  fat,  all  digestible. 
Since  this  cow  is  yielding  25  lbs.  of  milk  daily,  the  foregoing  numbers 
multiplied  by  25  are  placed  in  the  second  line  of  the  table.  Thus  it  is 
showTi  that  the  production  of  25  lbs.  of  4  per  ct.  milk  calls  for  1.35  lbs. 
of  crude  protein,  6.00  lbs.  of  carbohydrates,  and  0.52  lb.  of  fat.  Adding 
these  nutrients  to  those  for  maintenance,  we  have  2.12  lbs.  of  protein, 
13.7  lbs.  of  carbohydrates,  and  0.63  lb.  of  fat  as  the  quantity  of  digestible 
nutrients  required  daily  to  nourish  a  1100-lb.  cow  properly  when  giving 
25  lbs.  of  4  per  ct.  milk  daily. 

183.  The  Woll-Humphrey  standard. — From  studies  at  the  Wisconsin 
Station-  Woll  and  Humphrey  have  prepared  convenient  tables  showing 
the  feed  requirements  of  cows  of  different  weights  and  producing  various 
amounts  of  butter  fat  per  day.  To  simplify  the  computation  of  rations, 
in  these  tables  the  requirements  are  stated  in  terms  of  dry  matter,  digest- 
ible crude  protein,  and  total  digestible  nutrients,  the  latter  term  including 
the  digestible  protein,  the  digestible  carbohydrates,  and  the  digestible 
fat  X  2.25.  This  simplification  is  in  harmony  with  the  uses  made  of  the 
different  nutrients  in  the  animal  body,  for  as  we  have  already  learned 
(88,  124-9),  carbohydrates  and  fat  in  general  perform  the  same  functions 
in  the  body.  Likewise,  after  there  has  been  supplied  the  minimum 
amount  of  protein  needed  for  the  repair  of  body  tissues  and  the  formation 
of  milk  protein,  any  additional  amount  serves  the  same  purpose  as  do  the 
carbohydrates  and  fat.  (88,  128)  The  requirements  of  a  1000-lb.  cow 
according  to  these  tables  are  shown  in  the  table  on  the  next  page.  The 
allowance  for  maintenance  is  the  same  as  that  prescribed  in  the  Haecker 
standard.  For  the  1000-lb.  cow  yielding  1.0  to  1.25  lbs.  of  butter  fat 
==Wis.  Res.  Bui.  13;  Bui.  200. 


132 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


per  day  the  standard  calls  for  a  daily  allowance  of  23.6  lbs.  dry  matter, 
2.11  lbs.  of  digestible  crude  protein,  and  15.8  lbs.  of  total  digestible 
matter. 

W oil-Humphrey  standard  for  1000-lh.  dairy  cow 


Dry  matter 


Digestible 
crude  protein 


Total  digest- 
ible matter 


Maintenance 

Production  of  butter  fat  per  day : 

Less  than  0 . 5  pound 

0.5  to  0.75  pound 

0.75  to  1.0  pound 

1 .0  to  1 .25  pounds 

1 .25  to  1 .5  pounds 

1 .5  to  1 .75  pounds 

1 .75  to  2  .0  pounds 


Lb8. 

12.5 

16.2 
18.7 
21.1 
23.6 
26.0 
28.5 
30.9 


Lbs. 

0.70 

1.18 
1.49 
1.80 
2.11 
2.43 
2.74 
3.05 


Lbs. 
7.9 

10.6 
12.3 
14.1 
15.8 
17.6 
19.3 
21.1 


This  system  of  expressing  the  requirements  of  dairy  cows  has  been 
found  convenient  in  practice.  It  is  not  strictly  accurate,  however,  when 
applied  to  milks  varying  widely  in  the  percentage  of  fat  contained. 
Haecker's  table  places  the  requirements  for  a  pound  of  butter  fat  in 
rich  milk  considerably  lower  than  for  a  pound  in  milk  low  in  fat.  For 
example,  for  100  lbs.  of  3  per  ct.  milk  there  are  required  4.7  lbs.  pro- 
tein, 20.0  lbs.  carbohydrates,  and  1.7  lbs.  fat,  while  for  50  lbs.  of  6  per  ct. 
milk,  containing  the  same  amount  of  fat,  only  3.3  lbs.  protein,  16  lbs. 
carbohydrates,  and  1.4  lbs.  fat  are  required.  This  is  due  to  the  fact 
that,  tho  the  6  per  ct.  milk  contains  twice  as  much  fat  as  the  3  per  ct. 
milk,  it  is  not  twice  as  rich  in  sugar  and  protein. 

184.  The  Savage  standard. — From  trials  at  the  New  York  (Cornell) 
Station-"  Savage  concludes  that  for  maximum  production  the  nutritive 
ratio  of  rations  for  dairy  cows  should  not  be  wider  than  1 :  6.  He  has 
accordingly  modified  the  Haecker  standard  by  increasing  the  protein 
requirement  per  pound  of  milk  by  from  18  to  20  per  ct.  His  standard 
is  also  simplified  by  being  stated  in  terms  of  dry  matter,  digestible  crude 
protein,  and  total  digestible  nutrients  (or  as  Savage  terms  it  "total 
nutriment"),  in  the  same  manner  as  in  the  Woll-Humphrey  standard. 
The  requirements  according  to  this  standard  are  shown  in  Article  186. 

185.  The  Eckles  standard. — From  experiments  at  the  Missouri  Sta- 
tion-* and  from  the  work  of  Savage  and  Armsby,  Eckles  has  formulated  a 
tentative  standard  according  to  the  Armsby  system,  showing  the  require- 
ments of  cows  producing  milk  containing  various  percentages  of  fat.  He 
points  out  that  these  are  but  approximations,  for  the  following  reasons : 
The  digestion  coefficients  in  use,  which  have  been  chiefly  obtained  with 
steers  and  sheep,  are  too  high  for  feeds  fed  in  heavy  rations  to  dairy 
cows.  This  is,  however,  more  than  offset  by  the  fact  that  the  cow  is 
able  to  utilize  the  nutrients  she  actually  digests  more  efficiently  in  milk 
production  than  the  steer  or  sheep  does  in  formation  of  flesh.     Hence 

"N.  Y.  (Cornell)  Bui.  323.  =' Mo.  Res.  Bui.  7. 


FEEDING  STANDARDS— CALCULATING  RATIONS       133 

the  net  energy  values  given  by  Armsby  are  too  low  when  applied  to  milk 
production. 

186.  Comparison  of  standards  for  dairy  cows. — In  the  following  table 
the  Haeeker,  Savage,  and  Eckles  standards  are  brought  together  for 
comparison.  Haeeker 's  figures  have  been  converted  into  total  digestible 
nutrients  as  in  the  Savage  standard.  The  WoU-Humphrey  standard  can 
not  be  included  for  it  is  not  based  on  the  fat  content  of  the  milk,  as  are 
the  others. 


Feeding  standards  for 

dairy  cows  compared 

Haeeker  standard 

Savage  standard 

Eckles  standard 

Diges'ble 

Total 

Diges'ble 

Total 

Diges'ble 

Net 

crude 

digestible 

crude 

digestible 

true 

energy 

protein 

nutrients 

protein 

nutrients 

protein 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Therms 

For  maintenance  of  1000-lb.  cow . . 

0.700 

7.925 

0.700 

7.925 

0.500 

6.00 

To  allowance  for  maintenance  add: 

For  each  lb.  of  2  .5  per  ct.  milk 

0.045 

0.254 

0.053 

0.257 

For  each  lb.  of  3  .0  per  ct.  milk 

0.047 

0.284 

0.057 

0.287 

0.050 

0.26 

For  each  lb.  of  3  .5  per  ct.  milk. . .  , 

0.049 

0.313 

0.061 

0.319 

0.052 

0.28 

For  each  lb.  of  4  .0  per  ct.  milk. . .  . 

0.054 

0.343 

0.065 

0.350 

0.055 

0.30 

For  each  lb.  of  4 .5  per  ct.  milk. .  .  . 

0.057 

0.372 

0.069 

0.379 

0.058 

0.33 

For  each  lb.  of  5  .0  per  ct.  milk. . .  . 

0.060 

0.398 

0.073 

0.405 

0.062 

0.36 

For  each  lb.  of  5  .5  per  ct.  milk. . .  . 

0.064 

0.424 

0.077 

0.431 

0.066 

0.40 

For  each  lb.  of  6  .0  per  ct.  milk 

0.067 

0.451 

0.081 

0.457 

0.070 

0.45 

For  each  lb.  of  6 .5  per  ct.  milk. . .  . 

0.072 

0.480 

0.085 

0.484 

0.075 

0.50 

For  each  lb.  of  7  .0  per  ct.  milk. .  .  . 

0.074 

0.502 

0.089 

0.508 

The  Haeeker  and  Savage  standards  agree  in  the  requirements  for 
maintenance.  Savage's  digestible  crude-protein  requirement  for  pro- 
duction is  higher  in  each  case,  as  already  pointed  out.  In  total  digestible 
nutrients  he  agrees  almost  exactly  ^\dth  Haeeker.  As  Eckles'  standard 
is  expressed  in  digestible  true  protein  (not  crude  protein)  and  therms, 
it  can  not  be  directly  compared  with  the  othei-s.  We  may,  however, 
compare  this  standard  with  the  others  in  the  following  manner :  In  such 
a  ration  as  20  lbs.  clover  hay,  4  lbs.  corn,  and  4  lbs.  M^heat  bran,  we  would 
find  that  about  one-third  of  the  total  digestible  crude  protein  is  in  amid 
form  (11)  and  hence  not  included  in  Eckles'  figure  for  digestible  true 
protein.  With  rations  including  green  forage  or  silage,  the  proportion 
of  true  protein  will  be  still  lower.  It  is  evident,  then,  that  were  Eckles' 
figures  for  protein  converted  into  crude  protein  they  would  be  even 
higher  than  Savage's  when  applied  to  ordinary  rations.  As  about  1.1  to 
1.2  lbs.  total  digestible  nutrients  have  a  net-energy  value  of  1  therm  in  the 
ordinary  rations  used  for  milk  production,  it  will  be  found  on  compu- 
tation that  Eckles'  standard  calls  for  about  the  same  amount  of  total 
nutrients  as  the  others  for  milk  low  in  fat,  but  up  to  one-fifth  more  for 
milk  high  in  fat. 

From  the  foregoing  we  may  conclude  that  when  protein-rich  feeds  are 
high  in  price  compared  with  those  low  in  protein,  it  will  usually  be 
economical  to  feed  no  more  protein  than  is  called  for  by  the  Haeeker 


134  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

standard,  at  least  to  cows  of  average  production.  On  the  other  hand, 
when  protein-rich  feeds  are  comparatively  cheap  the  dairyman  may  well 
feed  as  heavy  an  allowance  as  Savage  and  Eckles  recommend.  Even  these 
amounts  are  lower  than  called  for  in  the  original  Wolff-Lehmann  stand- 
ards. (156)  The  skilled  dairyman  will  adapt  the  amount  of  concen- 
trates fed  to  the  productive  ability  of  each  cow,  not  compounding  a 
different  ration  for  each  animal,  but  will  balance  the  ration  for  the 
average  of  the  herd  and  then  feed  the  cows  as  much  roughage  as  they 
will  consume  and  concentrates  in  proportion  to  the  milk  or  butter  fat 
produced  by  the  several  cows,  as  is  explained  in  a  later  chapter.  (661) 


VIII.  Modified  Wolff-Lehmann  Standards 

187.  Methods  of  computing  rations  compared. — In  this  chapter  it  has 
been  pointed  out  that  the  valuation  of  feeding  stuffs  for  productive 
purposes,  on  the  basis  of  their  net  energy  content,  is  theoretically  more 
accurate  than  the  Wolff-Lehmann  method  of  comparing  them  in  terms 
of  the  digestible  nutrients  they  furnish.  Unfortunately,  the  net-energy 
values  have  actually  been  determined  for  but  a  few  feeds,  and  with 
these  only  for  the  fattening  ox.  For  other  feeds  and  other  classes  of 
animals,  the  values  which  may  be  computed  are  but  approximations. 
On  the  other  hand,  during  the  last  half-century  scores  of  thousands 
of  analyses  of  feeding  stuffs  have  been  made,  as  shown  in  Appendix 
Table  I,  and  large  numbers  of  digestion  experiments  have  been  con- 
ducted in  which  the  coefficients  of  digestibility  have  been  determined, 
as  given  in  Appendix  Table  II.  Thus  the  values  for  digestible  nutrients 
in  the  various  feeding-stuffs,  given  in  Table  III,  rest  on  a  reasonably 
secure  basis,  tho  we  must  remem-ber  that  different  kinds  of  animals 
digest  somewhat  different  percentages  of  feeds,  especially  of  roughages. 
(85) 

The  value  of  a  concentrate  and  of  a  roughage  for  productive  purposes 
can  not  be  compared  on  the  basis  of  the  digestible  nutrients  each  fur- 
nishes, for  in  the  roughage,  containing  more  fiber,  a  larger  part  of  the 
energy  in  the  digested  nutrients  is  used  up  in  the  non-productive  work 
of  mastication,  digestion,  and  assimilation.  (78-80)  In  the  ordinary 
rations  for  each  class  of  animals,  concentrates  and  roughages  are,  how- 
ever, usually  fed  in  about  the  same  proportions.  This  tends  to  lessen 
any  error  due  to  inaccuracy  in  computing  rations  according  to  the 
Wolff-Lehmann  method.  Furthermore,  the  prescription  of  a  definite 
allowance  of  dry  matter  is  a  check  upon  the  net-energy  value  of  the 
ration.  If  a  ration  contains  sufficient  digestible  nutrients  to  meet  the 
Wolff-Lehmann  standards,  but  carries  an  excess  of  dry  matter,  obviously 
too  much  roughage  or  concentrates  too  high  in  fiber  have  been  used 
and  the  net-energy  value  will  consequently  be  too  low.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  the  content  of  digestible  nutrients  satisfies  the  standard,  while 
the  ration  does  not  contain  the  dry  matter  called  for,  it  indicates  that 


FEEDING  STANDARDS— CALCULATING  RATIONS       135 

feeds  more  concentrated  in  character  than  necessary  have  been  used,  in 
which  case  some  roughage  or  feeds  higher  in  fiber  may  be  substituted  till 
the  dry-matter  content  is  brought  up  to  the  standard.  With  this  simple 
check  any  large  error  in  formulating  the  ration  may  be  avoided. 

188.  Necessity  for  modifying  the  Wolff-Lehinann  standards. — It  has 
already  been  shown  in  this  chapter  that  in  several  instances  the  original 
Wolff-Lehmann  standards  do  not  set  forth  the  actual  requirements  of 
farm  animals  as  revealed  by  the  many  experiments  which  have  been 
carried  on  since  these  standards  were  drawn  up.  We  know,  for  example, 
that  the  allowance  of  digestible  crude  protein  prescribed  is  higher  than 
is  needed  by  fattening  animals,  dairy  cows,  and  work  horses.  Yet 
these  standards  are  today  more  commonly  employed  in  this  country, 
except  perhaps  with  the  dairy  cow,  than  any  other  system  for  formu- 
lating rations.  Indeed,  the  authors  have  recently  found  feeders,  annu- 
ally fattening  hundreds  and  even  thousands  of  animals,  who  were 
balancing  rations  according  to  the  original  Wolff-Lehmann  standards 
by  the  addition  of  unnecessary  amounts  of  high-priced  protein-rich  con- 
centrates. 

189.  Modified  Wolff-Lehmann  standards. — With  these  facts  in  mind 
the  authors  have  attempted  to  combine  in  one  standard  what  appear  in 
their  judgment  to  be  the  best  guides  we  have  at  present  in  the  formu- 
lation of  rations  for  various  classes  of  animals.  To  facilitate  the 
computations,  the  standards,  which  are  given  in  detail  in  Appendix 
Table  V,  are  expressed  simply  in  terms  of  total  dry  matter,  digestible 
crude  protein,  and  total  digestible  nutrients.  Realizing  that  feeding 
standards  are  but  approximations,  in  most  cases  minimum  and  maxi- 
mum figures  are  given  for  dry  matter,  digestible  crude  protein,  and 
total  digestible  nutrients.  Since  progressive  feeders  thruout  the  country 
now  appreciate  the  significance  of  the  nutritive  ratio  of  a  ration,  the 
approximate  upper  and  lower  advisable  limits  of  nutritive  ratios  for 
the  different  classes  have  been  stated.  To  correspond  with  these  stand- 
ards a  column  has  been  added  to  Appendix  Table  III,  showing  the  total 
digestible  nutrients  furnished  in  100  lbs.  of  each  feed.  Likewise,  so 
that  one  may  see  at  a  glance  which  feeds  are  high  and  which  are  low  in 
protein,  compared  with  carbohydrates  and  fat,  the  nutritive  ratio  for  each 
feed  has  been  computed  and  is  given  in  the  table.  With  these  aids  it  is 
hoped  that  the  standards  presented  may  be  of  real  assistance  to  students 
and  feeders  who  desire  to  compute  rations  substantially  in  accordance 
with  the  Wolff-Lehmann  method,  while  recognizing  the  results  of  the 
later  investigations  in  animal  feeding. 

The  recommendations  gathered  together  in  these  standards  are  from 
many  sources.  The  standards  for  the  dairy  cow  are  those  formulated 
by  Haecker  and  Savage.  The  data  for  growing,  fattening  steers  have 
been  kindly  furnished  by  Haecker,^^  and  are  based  upon  his  extensive  in- 
vestigations of  the  nutrient  requirements  of  steers  of  various  ages.  (123) 

*"  Information  to  the  authors. 


136 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


The  figures  for  fattening  2-yr.-old  steers  and  for  growing,  fattening 
pigs  are  based  chiefly  upon  studies  made  at  the  "Wisconsin  Station  by 
the  junior  author^"  of  the  feeding  experiments  carried  on  at  American 
stations.  Those  for  fattening  lambs  are  computed  from  the  Bull-Emmett 
standards,  based  on  their  study  of  American  feeding  trials,  and  that  for 
work  horses  from  the  investigations  of  Zuntz  and  from  American  feeding 
trials.  In  revising  the  requirements  for  the  other  classes  of  animals 
there  have  been  utilized  the  Kellner  and  Armsby  standards,  which  have 
already  been  discussed,  and  the  extensive  standards  of  Pott-^  of  Ger- 
many, which  are  formulated  in  substantially  the  same  terms  as  the  WoLff- 
Lehmann  standards. 

190.  Ration  for  fattening  2-yr.-old  steers. — To  illustrate  the  manner  of 
computing  rations  in  accordance  with  the  Modified  Wolff-Lehmann 
standards,  let  us  formulate  a  ration  for  fattening  2-yr.-old  feeder  steers. 
The  steers,  averaging  900  lbs.  when  placed  in  the  feed  lot,  are  to  be  fed 
a  heavy  fattening  ration  for  150  days  so  that  they  will  gain  2.4  lbs.  per 
head  daily,  or  more.  The  Modified  Wolff-Lehmann  standards  for  2-yr.- 
old  steers  on  full  feed  are  as  follows : 

Modified   Woljf-Lehmann  standards  for  2-yr.-old  steers  on  full  feed 
(From  Appendix  Table  V) 


Per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight 


Dry 

matter 

Minimum 

of  dig. 

crude  protein 

Total  dig. 
nutrients 

Nutritive 
ratio 

Lbs. 
22-25 
21-24 
18-22 

Lbs. 

2.0-2.3 
1.9-2.3 
1.8-2.1 

Lbs. 
18.0-20.0 
17.0-19.5 
16.0-18.5 

1:7.0-1:7.8 
1:7.0-1:7.8 
1:7.0-1:7.8 

First  50  to  60  days .  . 
Second  50  to  60  days . 
Third  50  to  60  days.. 


It  will  be  noted  that  the  allowance  of  dry  matter  is  the  largest  for  the 
first  50  to  60  days  of  fattening.  During  this  period  the  steers  are  being 
brought  to  a  full  feed  of  grain  and  are  hence  consuming  a  larger  pro- 
portion of  roughage  to  concentrates  than  in  the  later  periods.  The 
amount  of  total  digestible  nutrients  required  per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight 
also  decreases  as  the  steers  fatten,  but  not  so  much  as  does  the  dry 
matter.  The  minimuyi  amount  of  digestible  crude  protein  advised  for 
the  first  period  is  2.0  to  2.3  lbs.  per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight.  The  larger 
amount  will  probably  tend  to  slightly  more  rapid  fattening  than  the 
lower  figure,  but  as  is  pointed  out  later,  may  be  less  economical  than 
the  lesser  amount.  (196) 

On  comparing  these  standards,  which  are  based  on  the  results  of 
American  feeding  trials,  with  the  original  Wolff-Lehmann  standards,  it 

^'The  compilation  and  computation  of  data  in  the  study  of  the  pig  feeding 
experiments  was  chiefly  done  by  Messrs.  M.  L.  Geraldson  and  J.  G.  Poynton, 
students  in  the  Wis.  College  of  Agriculture.  Mr.  G.  Bohstedt,  a  graduate 
student  in  the  same  College,  has  assisted  in  the  compilation  of  still  other  data 
upon  which  these  standards  are  based. 

"  Handb.  Ernahr.  u.  Futter.,  1, 1907,  pp.  374-376. 


FEEDING  STANDAKDS— CALCULATING  RATIONS       137 

is  seen  that  the  minimum  allowance  of  digestible  crude  protein  advised 
is  considerably  lower  than  in  the  original  standards.  The  dry  matter 
is  also  materially  lower,  for  fattening  steers  fed  roughage  of  good  qual- 
ity, as  is  commonly  done  in  this  country,  will  not  consume  as  much  dry 
matter  as  set  forth  in  the  original  Wolff-Lehmann  standards. 

In  formulating  rations  for  these  steers,  the  most  accurate  way  is  to 
compute  the  rations  on  the  basis  of  the  average  live  weight  of  the  steers 
during  each  period  of  fattening.  If  the  steers  weigh  900  lbs.  when 
placed  on  feed  and  gain  2.4  lbs.  per  head  daily,  their  average  weight  for 
the  first  50  days  will  be  1,020  lbs. ;  for  the  second  50  days,  1,140  lbs. ; 
and  for  the  last  50  days,  1,260  lbs.  Computing  the  standard  require- 
ments for  each  period  on  this  basis  we  have : 


Requirements 

for  giv 671 

steers  at  different  periods  of  fattening 

Av.  wt. 
during 
period 

Dry 

matter 

Dig.  crude 
protein 

Total  dig. 
nutrients 

Nutritive 
ratio 

First  50  days 

Second  50  daj's 

Third  50  days 

Lbs. 

1,020 
1,140 
1.260 

Lbs. 
22.4-25.5 
23 .9-27 .4 
22.7-27.7 

Lbs. 
2.04-2.35 
2.17-2.62 
2.27-2.65 

Lbs. 
18.4-20.4 
19.4-22.2 
20.2-23.3 

1:7.0-1:7.8 
1:7.0-1:7.8 
1:7.0-1:7.8 

Owing  to  the  greater  weight  of  the  cattle  in  the  last  periods,  tho  they 
require  less  dry  matter  and  total  digestible  nutrients  per  1,000  lbs.  live 
weight,  the  requirements  per  steer  are  slightly  greater.  Let  us  now 
formulate  rations  to  meet  these  requirements.  The  steers  are  to  be  fed 
all  the  well-matured  corn  silage  and  good  clover  hay  they  will  clean  up, 
morning  and  night,  and  shelled  corn  is  to  be  fed  as  the  chief  concentrate, 
with  choice  cottonseed  meal  if  needed  to  balance  the  ration.  As  shown 
later  (776),  2-yr.-old  steers  full  fed  on  corn  will  eat  25  to  30  lbs.  of  corn 
silage  during  the  first  period  of  fattening  and  gradually  less  as  fattening 
progresses.  Owing  to  the  palatability  of  the  silage  they  will  usually  eat 
only  3  to  6  lbs.  of  clover  hay.  For  a  trial  ration  during  the  first  period 
we  will  therefore  take  28  lbs.  of  com  silage,  4  lbs.  of  clover  hay,  and 
enough  shelled  corn  to  bring  the  amount  of  total  digestible  nutrients  up 
to  the  standard.  As  sho-^Ti  in  the  following  table,  this  \nll  require  14 
lbs.  of  corn : 


Trial  ration  for  fattening  2-yr.-o 

^d  steers, 

first  period 

Feeding  stuff 

Dry 

matter 

crude 
protein 

Total 

dig. 

nutrients 

Nutritive 
ratio 

Com  silage,  28  0  lbs 

Lbs. 

7.36 

3.48 

12.53 

Lbs. 

0.308 
0.304 
1.050 

Lbs.         ' 
4  96       i 

Clover  hay,  4  0  lbs . . 

2.04 
12.00 

Shelled  com,  14  0  lbs 

Total 

23.37 

1.662 

19.00 

1:10.4 

138 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


This  ration  furnishes  sufficient  total  digestible  nutrients  and  agrees 
with  the  standard  in  dry  matter,  but  falls  far  short  in  protein.  Let 
us,  therefore,  replace  some  of  the  com  with  cottonseed  meal.  As  we 
wish  these  steers  to  make  maximum  gains  we  will  supply  somewhat  more 
protein  than  called  for  by  the  lowest  figure  in  the  standard.  Substitut- 
ing 2.0  lbs.  of  choice  cottonseed  meal  for  the  same  weight  of  corn,  we 
will  have  the  ration  sho^\^l  in  the  first  division  of  the  following  table. 
This  agrees  well  with  the  standard  and  should  produce  rapid  gains 
when  fed  to  thrifty  feeders.  In  the  same  manner  we  will  formulate 
rations  for  the  middle  and  the  last  periods  of  fattening,  bearing  in  mind 
that  steers  on  full  feed  will  eat  less  roughage  and  more  concentrates  as 
they  fatten.  Since  we  wish  these  steers  to  reach  a  high  finish  we  will 
increase  the  protein  supply  during  the  last  period  to  the  higher  figure 
set  forth  in  the  standard,  2.65  lbs.  per  head  daily.  Arranging  the  data 
as  before,  we  will  have  the  rations  shown  in  the  table : 

Rations  for  fattening  2-yr.-old  steers,  for  first,  second,  and  third  periods 


Feeding  stuff 

Dry 

matter 

c?i^de 
protein 

Total 
dig. 

nutnents 

Nutritive 
ratio 

First  50  datjs 

Corn  silace  28  0  lbs               

Lbs. 

7.36 

3.48 

10.74 

1.85 

Lbs. 

0.308 
0.304 
0.900 
0.740 

Lbs. 

4.96 

2.04 

10.28 

1.56 

Clover  hay,  4 .0  lbs 

Shelled  corn,  12  0  lbs 

Cottonseed  meal,  2 . 0  lbs 

Total                

23.43 

6.31 

2.61 

13.42 

2.31 

2.252 

0.264 
0.228 
1.125 
0.925 

18.84 

4.25 

1.53 

12.86 

1.96 

1:7.4 

Second  50  days 

Corn  silage  24  0  lbs     

Clover  hay  3  0  lbs           

Shelled  corn,  15 .0  lbs 

Cottonseed  meal,  2 .5  lbs 

Total             

24.65 

5.52 

2.61 

14.32 

2.54 

2.542 

0.231 
0.228 
1.200 
1.018 

20.60 

3.72 

1.53 

13.71 

2.15 

1:7.1 

Third  50  days 
Corn  silage  21  0  lbs 

Clover  hay  3  0  lbs       

Shelled  com  16  0  lbs           

Cottonseed  meal  2  75  lbs 

Total 

24.99 

2.677 

21.11 

1:6.9 

These  rations  meet  the  standards  in  all  particulars  and  should  give 
good  results  in  practice.  (777)  As  is  explained  later  (196) ,  when  protein- 
rich  feeds  are  high  in  price  compared  with  those  carbonaceous  in  char- 
acter, it  may  be  more  economical  to  supply  only  as  much  protein  as 
called  for  in  the  lower  figures  in  the  standard.  If  the  steers  were  to  be 
fattened  more  slowly,  the  rations  could  be  computed  in  accordance  with 
the  standards  for  "growing,  fattening  steers,"  based  on  Haecker's  ex- 
tensive studies.  These  would  require  less  concentrates  and  in  many 
instances  result  in  much  cheaper  gains.  (716,  768,  780) 


CHAPTER  VIII 

ECONOMY  IN  FEEDING  LIVE  STOCK 

I.  Selecting  Economical.  Rations 

To  secure  the  largest  returns  from  his  farm  animals  the  stockman 
must,  first  of  all,  thoroly  understand  the  fundamental  nutrient  require- 
ments of  the  various  classes  of  live  stock  which  have  been  discussed  in 
the  preceding  chapters.  He  must  next  study  the  possibilities  of  his  farm 
for  the  production  of  crops,  paying  attention  to  both  the  probable  yields 
and  the  value  of  the  various  crops  for  feeding  to  stock  or  for  selling  on 
the  market.  It  is  also  necessary  to  consider  the  feeding  value  of  the 
many  feeds  on  the  market  and  compare  the  prices  at  which  they  can  be 
secured.  With  this  knowledge  he  is  in  a  position  to  plan  his  rotations 
so  that  from  the  crops  raised,  supplemented  when  it  is  economical  by 
purchased  feeds,  well-balanced  rations  for  his  stock  may  be  provided  at 
minimum  expense.  As  a  rule  it  will  be  found  wise  to  raise  all  needed 
roughage  on  the  farm.  Owing  to  the  increasing  demand  for  the  cereal 
grains  for  human  consumption,  it  is  often  economical  to  sell  more  or  less 
of  the  farm-gro^^Ti  grains  and  replace  them  with  purchased  concentrates 
which  economically  supplement  the  feeds  raised  on  the  farm. 

191.  Market  prices  not  guides  to  value. — On  studying  the  market  prices 
of  different  feeds  it  will  be  evident  that  the  market  price  is  often  no 
index  to  the  value  of  a  feed  to  the  individual  stockman.  A  few  examples 
will  illustrate  this  fact.  In  the  northeastern  states  timothy  hay  is  gen- 
erally higher  in  price  than  clover  hay,  tho  it  is  much  inferior  to  clover 
for  all  animals  except  the  horse.  In  the  South  cottonseed  hulls  usually 
cost  more  than  the  sum  for  which  an  equivalent  amount  of  corn  silage,  a 
much  more  palatable  feed,  can  be  produced  on  the  farm.  Owing  to  their 
popularity,  some  feeds,  such  as  linseed  meal  and  wheat  bran,  are  often 
high  in  price  compared  with  other  concentrates  M^hich  are  entirely  satis- 
factory substitutes.  At  the  other  extreme,  low  grade  concentrates,  such 
as  trashy  corn  and  oat  feed,  cottonseed  feed,  and  inferior  mixed  feeds 
often  sell  for  as  much  or  but  slightly  less  than  high  grade  concentrates 
of  far  greater  feeding  value. 

192.  How  to  select  feeds  for  economical  rations. — Many  attempts  have 
been  made  to  assign  a  definite  money  value  to  1  lb.  of  digestible  crude 
protein,  digestible  carbohydrates,  and  digestible  fat,  and  then  compute 
the  value  of  different  feeds  on  the  basis  of  the  amount  of  these  nutrients 
they  contain,  the  same  as  is  commonly  done  in  arriving  at  the  money 
value  of  fertilizers.  (432)  While  such  a  system  of  valuation  may  be  of 
some  limited  value  for  a  short  period  of  time  and  when  applied  to  a 

139 


140  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

small  district  where  the  systems  of  farming  do  not  vary  widely,  no  such 
set  of  values  has  general  application  to  the  United  States.  As  has  been 
emphasized  before  (178),  the  value  of  any  given  feed  to  the  stockman 
depends  on  the  nature  and  composition  of  the  other  feeds  he  has  at  hand. 
If  his  chief  roughage  is  alfalfa  hay,  protein-rich  concentrates  are  often 
worth  less  to  him  than  those  rich  in  carbohydrates.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  the  cheapest  roughage  he  can  provide  is  corn  or  sorghum  silage,  low 
in  protein,  then  concentrates  rich  in  protein  will  be  of  higher  value 
to  him  than  those  carbonaceous  in  character. 

In  planning  economical  rations  for  any  class  of  animals  the  stockman 
should  first  choose  from  suitable  feeds  a  combination,  containing  the 
proper  proportion  of  concentrates  and  roughages,  which  will  supply  the 
necessary  total  amount  of  nutrients  at  the  minimum  expense.  If  this 
ration  is  too  low  in  protein,  protein-rich  feeds  should  be  substituted  for 
those  lower  in  protein,  until  the  protein  supply  is  brought  to  the  de- 
sired amount.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  ration  which  supplies  the  neces- 
sary total  amount  of  nutrients  is  too  rich  in  protein,  then  carbonaceous 
feeds  should  be  substituted  until  the  nutritive  ratio  is  widened  as  much 
as  is  desired. 

In  determining  which  feeds  furnish  total  nutrients  at  the  lowest  price, 
the  comparisons  may  be  made  on  the  basis  of  the  cost  per  therm  of  net 
energy,  per  feed-unit,  or  per  pound  of  total  digestible  nutrients.  For 
the  reasons  pointed  out  in  preceding  articles  (177-8),  the  authors  be- 
lieve that  the  most  convenient  system  for  American  farmers  is  on  the 
basis  of  the  cost  per  pound  of  total  digestible  nutrients.  In  comparing 
roughages  with  concentrates  this  system  gives  roughages  somewhat  too 
high  a  relative  value,  for  1  lb.  of  total  digestible  nutrients  in  a  roughage 
is  lower  in  net  energy  than  1  lb.  of  digestible  nutrients  in  concentrates. 
However,  in  most  cases,  the  desire  will  be,  not  to  compare  roughages 
with  concentrates,  but,  instead,  to  determine  which  one  of  several  con- 
centrates is  the  cheapest  source  of  total  nutrients,  or  which  of  the  differ- 
ent available  roughages  is  the  most  economical  feed.  To  determine  which 
feeds  are  the  cheapest  supplements  to  balance  a  ration  low  in  protein, 
it  will  be  found  convenient  to  compute  the  cost  of  the  different  feeds 
per  pound  of  digestible  crude  protein. 

In  comparing  the  relative  cheapness  of  different  feeds,  it  is  reasonable 
to  value  marketable  farm-grown  grain  or  roughage  at  the  market  price 
less  the  cost  of  hauling  to  market.  Feeds  which  are  not  usually  market- 
able may  be  assigned  a  value  based  on  the  cost  of  production.  To  the 
price  of  any  purchased  feeds  should  be  added  any  cost  of  hauling  to  the 
farm.  Often,  however,  purchased  concentrates  may  be  brought  back  to 
the  farm  on  a  return  trip  from  market  with  little  or  no  additional 

expense. 

193.  A  comparison  of  corn-belt  feeds  for  milk  prodTiction. — To  illustrate 
the  manner  in  which  the  prices  of  the  available  feeds  should  be  studied 
in  computing  rations,  let  us  assume  that  a  dairyman  in  the  corn  belt 
has  available  the  following:    Ground  dent  corn  at  $20,  ground  oats  at 


ECONOMY  IN  FEEDING  LIVE  STOCK 


141 


$25,  ground  barley  at  $26,  timothy  hay  at  $16,  red  clover  hay  at  $12, 
and  corn  silage  from  weU-matured  corn  at  $3.50  per  ton.  He  can  pur- 
chase hominy  feed  at  $26,  high-grade  gluten  feed  at  $30,  wheat  bran  at 
$25,  corn  and  oat  feed  at  $25,  choice  cottonseed  meal  at  $34,  old-process 
linseed  meal  at  $34,  and  alfalfa  meal  at  $22  per  ton.  For  convenience 
we  will  arrange  in  tabular  form  the  data  from  Appendix  Table  III  for 
these  different  feeds,  and  compute  the  cost  per  pound  of  digestible  crude 
protein  and  the  cost  of  1  lb.  of  total  digestible  nutrients  in  each. 


Comparison  of  the  economy  of  various  feeds  at  the  stated  prices 


Feeding  stuff 


Concentrates 

Dent  com 

Hominy  feed 

Gluten  feed,  high  grade 

Wheat  bran,  all  analyses 

Oats 

Corn  and  oat  feed 

Barley,  ground 

Cottonseed  meal,  choice 

Linseed  meal,  old-process 

Distillers'    grains,    dried,    froi 
corn 

Roughages 

Timothy  hay,  all  analyses .... 

Alfalfa  meal 

Red  clover  hay,  aU  analyses . . . 
Com  silage,  recent  analyses . . . 


Dry 

matter 

in  100 

lbs. 


Lbs. 
89.5 

89.9 
91.3 
89.9 
90.8 
88.6 
90.7 
92.. 5 
90.9 

93.4 

88.4 
91.2 
87.1 
26.3 


Dig. 

crude 

protein 

in  100 

lbs. 


7.5 
7.0 

21.6 


22.4 

3.0 

10.2 

7.6 

1.1 


Total 
dig. 
nutri- 
ents in 
100  lbs. 


Lbs. 

85.7 
84.6 
80.7 
60.9 
70.4 
75.6 
79.4 
78.2 
77.9 

88.9 

48.5 
50.7 
50.9 
17.7 


Nutri- 
tive 
ratio 


1: 

10.4 
11.1 

2.7 
3.9 
6.3 
9.4 
7.8 
1.1 
1.6 

3.0 

15.2 
4.0 
5.7 

15.1 


Price 
per 


Dollars 

20.00 
26.00 
30.00 
25.00 
25.00 
25.00 
26.00 
34.00 
34.00 

31.00 


16.00 

22.00 

12.00 

3.50 


Cost 
per  lb. 
of  dig. 
crude 
protein 


Cents 

13.33 
18.57 
6.94 
10.00 
12.89 
17.12 
14.44 
4.59 
5.63 

6.92 


26.67 
10.78 
7.89 
15.91 


Cost  of 
1  lb.  of 
total 
dig. 
nutri- 
ents 


Cents 

1.17 
1.54 
1.86 
2.05 
1.78 
1.65 
1.64 
2.17 
2.18 

1.74 

1.65 
2.17 
1.18 
0.99 


This  table  does  not  assume  to  represent  average  conditions  in  any  dis- 
trict of  the  country,  but  illustrates  the  manner  in  which  any  stockman 
may  compare  the  relative  economy  of  the  different  available  feeds  at  local 
prices.  The  last  column  shows  clearly  that,  for  the  feeds  given  and  with 
prices  as  stated,  corn  is  by  far  the  cheapest  source  of  total  digestible 
nutrients  among  the  concentrates.  Of  the  roughages,  corn  silage  sup- 
plies total  digestible  nutrients  most  cheaply,  followed  by  clover  hay.  For 
balancing  a  ration  deficient  in  protein,  cottonseed  meal  will  furnish  di- 
gestible crude  protein  at  4.59  cts.  per  pound,  linseed  meal  at  5.63  cts., 
dried  distillers'  grains  at  6.92  cts.,  gluten  feed  at  6.94  cts.,  red  clover  hay 
at  7.89  cts.,  and  wheat  bran  at  10.00  cts.  In  supplying  protein  these  feeds 
will  of  course  also  furnish  carbohydrates  and  fat  as  well,  which  are  in- 
cluded in  the  total  digestible  nutrients. 

194.  A  corn-belt  ration  for  milk  production. — From  the  feeds  listed 
let  us  now  formulate  the  most  economical  ration  which  will  be  satis- 
factory for  a  1200-lb.  cow  yielding  daily  30  lbs.  of  3.5  per  ct.  milk.  For 
this  cow  there  wall  be  required,  according  to  the  Modified  WoLff-Lehmann 
standard   (Appendix  Table  V)    a  minimum  daily  allowance  of  2.31  to 


142 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


2.67  lbs.  digestible  crude  protein  and  18.99  lbs.  total  digestible  nutrients. 
The  ration  should  contain  from  25  to  30  lbs.  of  dry  matter,  and  should 
have  a  nutritive  ratio  no  wider  than  1 :  6.1  to  1 :  7.2. 

Altho  corn  silage  is  the  cheapest  roughage  available,  some  dry  rough- 
age should  be  fed  with  it  to  dairy  cows.  (629,  664)  Of  the  dry  rough- 
ages, clover  hay  is  the  cheapest.  Let  us  then  follow  the  general  rule 
of  feeding  1  lb.  of  dry  roughage  and  8  lbs.  of  silage  per  100  lbs.  live 
weight.  (167)  To  this  allowance  of  roughage,  we  will  add  enough  corn 
to  bring  the  total  digestible  nutrients  up  to  the  amount  advised  in  the 
standard,  for  corn  is  the  concentrate  which  furnishes  total  digestible 
nutrients  most  cheaply.    Tabulating  the  results  we  will  have : 

First  trial  ration  for  1200-lb.  cow  yielding  30  lbs.  of  3.5  per  ct.  milk 


Feeding  stuff 

Dry 

matter 

Dig.   crude 
protein 

Total  dig. 
nutrients 

Cost 

Nutritive 
ratio 

Clover  hay,  12  0  lbs 

Lbs. 

10.45 

9.47 

7.16 

Lbs. 

0.912 
0.396 
0.600 

Lbs. 

6.108 
6.372 
6.856 

Cents 

7.20 
6.30 
8.00 

Corn  silage,  36  0  lbs  . 

Com  dent  8  0  lbs 

Total 

27.08 

1.908 

19.336 

21.50 

1:9.1 

This  ration,  which  costs  21.5  cts.,  meets  the  standard  in  total  digest- 
ible nutrients  and  dry  matter  but  is  decidedly  deficient  in  protein.  We 
could  narrow  the  nutritive  ratio  by  feeding  less  silage  and  more  clover 
hay,  but  corn  silage  is  the  cheapest  feed  available.  Therefore  we  should 
substitute  protein-rich  concentrates  for  a  part  of  the  dent  corn. 

If  1.5  lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal  was  substituted  for  the  same  weight  of 
corn  the  ration  would  furnish  about  2.3  lbs.  of  digestible  crude  protein, 
the  minimum  amount  recommended  in  the  standard.  Ground  corn  and 
cottonseed  meal  are,  however,  both  heavy  feeds,  weighing  about  1.5  lbs. 
per  quart.  (Appendix  Table  VII)  It  is  hence  desirable  to  add  some  bulky 
concentrate  which  is  also  high  in  protein.  Dried  distillers'  grains  are 
about  as  bulky  as  wheat  bran  and  furnish  protein  much  more  cheaply. 
Alfalfa  meal  is  not  so  economical  as  distillers'  grains,  and  gluten  feed 
is  a  somewhat  heavier  feed.  Let  us  then  substitute  0.5  lb.  of  cottonseed 
meal  and  2.0  lbs.  of  dried  distillers'  grains  for  2.5  lbs.  of  corn,  and  again 
tabulate  the  results: 


Second  trial  ration  for  1200-lb.  cow  yielding  30  lbs.  of  3.5  per  ct.  milk 


Feeding  stuff 

Dry 

matter 

Dig.  crude 
protein 

Total  dig. 
nutrients 

Cost 

Nutritive 
ratio 

Clover  hay,  12  0  lbs .  .  .    . 

Lba. 
10.45 
9.47 
4.92 
0.46 
1.87 

Lbs. 

0.912 
0.396 
0.412 
0.185 
0.448 

Lbs. 

6.108 
6.372 
4.714 
0.391 

1.778 

Cents 

7.20 
6.30 
5.50 
0.85 
3.10 

Corn  silage,  36  0  lbs 

Corn,  dent,  5  5  lbs 

Cottonseed  meal,  0 .5  lb 

Distillers'  grains,  dried,  2.0  lbs. 

Total 

27.17 

2.353 

19.363 

22.95 

1:7.2 

ECONOMY  IN  FEEDING  LIVE  STOCK 


143 


This  ration,  which  costs  22.95  cts.,  supplies  the  minimum  amount  of 
protein  recommended  by  the  standard,  and  is  slightly  above  it  in  total 
digestible  nutrients.  Tho  costing  1.45  cts.  more  than  the  first  ration, 
it  will  be  more  economical  for  it  should  produce  much  better  results. 
The  concentrate  mixture  weighs  about  1.2  lbs.  per  quart,  being  somewhat 
heavier  than  advised  by  some  dairymen.  Such  mixtures  as  this  have, 
however,  been  satisfactory  in  practice. 

It  is  explained  elsewhere  that  the  lower  amounts  of  digestible  crude 
protein  advised  for  the  dairy  cow  in  the  Modified  Wolff-Lehmann  stand- 
ards are  the  amounts  recommended  by  Haecker,  while  the  higher  fig- 
ures are  those  set  forth  by  Savage.  (182,  184,  186;  Appendix  Table  V) 
As  has  been  stated  before  (186),  for  cows  of  pronounced  dairy  temper- 
ament it  may  be  advisable  to  feed  as  much  protein  as  called  for  by  the 
higher  figures,  providing  this  does  not  greatly  increase  the  cost  of  the 
ration.  Let  us  then  see  how  cheaply  a  ration  can  be  provided  which 
will  supply  2.67  lbs.  of  digestible  crude  protein,  the  higher  figure  advised 
by  the  standard.  The  protein  can  be  added  most  cheaply  by  substi- 
tuting more  cottonseed  meal  for  corn,  but  instead  of  merely  using  more 
cottonsed  meal,  let  us  feed  1  lb.  of  wheat  bran,  which  will  lighten  the 
concentrate  mixture  and  which  is  much  relished  by  the  cow.  At  the 
prices  given  bran  is  an  expensive  source  of  protein,  since  it  is  not  high 
in  that  nutrient.  The  price  per  pound  of  total  digestible  nutrients  is, 
however,  slightly  lower  than  that  of  cottonseed  meal.  Arranging  the 
results  as  before,  we  will  have : 


Third  trial  ration  for  1200-lh.  cow  producing  30  lbs.  of  3.5  per  ct.  milk 


Feeding  stviff 

Dry 
matter 

Dig.  crude 
protein 

Total  dig. 
nutrients 

Cost 

Nutritive 
ratio 

Clover  hay,  12  0  lbs 

Lbs. 

10.45 
9.47 
3.13 
1.39 

1.87 
0.90 

Lbs. 

0.912 
0.396 
0.262 
0.555 
0.448 
0.125 

Lbs. 

6.108 
6.372 
3.000 
1.173 
1.778 
0.609 

Cents 

7.20 
6.30 
3.50 
2.55 
3.10 
1.25 

Com  silage,  36  0  lbs 

Corn,  dent,  3  5  lbs 

Cottonseed  meal,  1 .5  lbs 

Distillers'  grains,  dried,  2 .0  lbs. . 
Wheat  bran,  1  0  lb 

Total 

27.21 

2.698 

19.040 

23.90 

1:6.1 

This  ration,  which  has  a  nutritive  ratio  of  1 :  6.1,  costs  about  1  cent 
more  than  the  preceding  ration.  The  concentrate  mixture  will  be  pre- 
ferred by  many  dairymen,  for  it  is  more  bulky,  weighing  1.1  lbs.  per 
quart.  Whether  this  ration  will  produce  enough  more  milk  to  pay  for 
the  increased  cost  will  depend  on  how  pronounced  is  the  dairy  temper- 
ament of  the  particular  cow  getting  the  ration. 

195.  A  cotton-belt  ration  for  milk  production. — Let  us  next  use  the 
method  which  has  just  been  illustrated  in  determining  the  most  eco- 
nomical ration  for  the  same  cow  if  owned  by  a  southern  dairyman  who 
has  the  following  feeds  available:  Ground  corn  at  $30,  oats  at  $35, 
corn  silage  at  $3.50,  cowpea  hay  at  $15,  and  Johnson  grass  hay  at  $15 


144 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING- 


per  ton.  Cottonseed  meal  may  be  secured  at  $25,  dried  distillers'  grains 
at  $29,  dried  beet  pulp  at  $29,  wheat  bran  at  $32,  and  cottonseed  hulls 
at  $7.50  per  ton.  Arranging  the  data  for  these  feeds  as  before,  we  will 
have  the  following: 

Comparison  of  the  economy  of  various  feeds  at  the  stated  prices 


Feeding  stuff 


Dry 

matter 

in  100 

lbs. 


Dig. 

crude 

protein 

in  100 

lbs. 


Total 
dig. 

nutri- 
ents 

in  100 
lbs. 


Nutri- 
tive 
ratio 


Price 
per 
ton 


Coat 

per  lb.  of 

dig. 

crude 

protein 


Co.st  of 
1  lb.  of 
total 
dig. 
nutri- 
ents 


Concentrates 

Dent  com 

Wheat  bran,  all  analyses 

Oats 

Cottonseed  meal,  choice 

Dried  beet  pulp 

Distillers'    grains,    dried,    from 
corn 

Roughages 

Cottonseed  hulls 

Johnson  grass  hay 

Cowpea  hay,  all  analyses 

Corn  silage,  recent  analyses .... 


Lbs. 

89.5 
89.9 
90.8 
92.5 
91.8 

93.4 


90.3 
89.9 
90.3 
28.3 


Lbs. 

7.5 
12.5 

9.7 
37.0 

4.6 

22.4 


0.3 

2.9 

13.1 

1.1 


Lbs. 

85.7 
60.9 
70.4 
78.2 
71.6 

88.9 


37.0 
50.1 
49.0 
17.7 


10.4 
3.9 
6.3 
1.1 

14.6 

3.0 


122.3 
16.3 

2.7 
15.1 


Dollars 

30.00 
32.00 
35.00 
25.00 
29.00 

29.50 


7.50 
15.00 
15.00 

3.50 


Cents 

20.00 
12.80 
18.04 
3.38 
31.52 

6.59 


125.00 

25.86 

5.73 

15.91 


Cents 

1.75 
2.63 
2.49 
1.60 
2.03 

1.66 


1.01 
1.50 
1.53 
0.99 


With  feeds  at  these  prices  cottonseed  meal  is  not  only  the  cheapest 
source  of  protein,  but  also  furnishes  total  digestible  nutrients  at  the 
lowest  price  among  the  concentrates.  However,  it  is  not  safe  to  feed 
too  large  an  allowance  of  this  concentrate.  (249-50,  596-7)  In  economy 
with  which  they  furnish  total  digestible  nutrients,  dried  distillers '  grains 
and  dent  corn  rank  close  to  cottonseed  meal.  Among  the  roughages,  corn 
silage  is  still  the  cheapest  source  of  total  digestible  nutrients,  followed 
by  cottonseed  hulls.  Cowpea  hay  and  Johnson  grass  hay  furnish  total 
digestible  nutrients  at  about  the  same  price. 

Since  it  is  economy  to  feed  a  large  allowance  of  cottonseed  meal,  which 
is  exceedingly  rich  in  protein,  the  roughage  allowance  should  be  rela- 
tively low  in  protein.  We  might  feed  only  corn  silage  and  cottonseed 
hulls  as  roughage,  but  for  the  improvement  of  southern  farms  it  is  highly 
important  that  legumes  be  included  in  the  crop  rotation.  Tho  cowpea  hay 
is  more  expensive  than  cottonseed  hulls,  when  the  benefit  to  the  soil  from 
growing  the  crop  is  considered  the  wise  dairyman  will  decide  to  raise  cow- 
peas  or  some  other  legume  and  feed  the  resulting  hay.  L'^t  us  then  first 
compute  a  ration  with  a  heavy  allowance  of  silage,  42  lbs.,  with  8  lbs. 
of  cowpea  hay  and  3.5  lbs.  of  cottonseed  hulls,  and  to  this  add  sufficient 
choice  cottonseed  meal  to  bring  the  total  digestible  nutrients  up  to  the 
standard.  On  computing  we  will  find  that  about  8  lbs.  is  required,  as 
is  shown  in  the  table : 


ECONOMY  IN  FEEDING-  LIVE  STOCK  145 

First  trial  ration  for  1200-lh.  cow  yielding  30  lbs.  of  3.5  per  ct.  milk 


Feeding  stuff 

Dry 

matter 

Dig.  crude 
protein 

Total  dig. 
nutrients 

Cost 

Nutritive 
ratio 

Com  silage,  42 .0  lbs. .  .    . 

Lbs. 
11.05 
7.22 
3.16 
7.40 

Lbs. 
0.462 
1.048 
0.010 
2.960 

Lbs. 
7.434 
3.920 
1.295 
6.256 

Cents 

7.35 

6.00 

1.31 

10.00 

Cowpea  hay,  8 .0  lbs. . 

Cottonseed  hulls,  3 .5  lbs 

Cottonseed  meal,  8 .0  lbs 

Total 

28.83 

4.480 

18.905 

24.66 

1:3.2 

This  ration  contains  more  cottonseed  meal  than  is  safe  and  has  too 
narrow  a  nutritive  ratio.  To  improve  it  we  should  substitute  concen- 
trates Avhich  are  lower  in  protein  and  also  bulkier.  Of  the  concentrates 
listed  dried  beet  pulp  best  meets  both  these  requirements.  It  is  much 
more  economical  than  oats  or  bran,  and  is  bulkier  than  corn  which  sup- 
plies total  digestible  nutrients  somewhat  more  cheaply.  Let  us  there- 
fore substitute  2  lbs.  of  dried  beet  pulp  for  the  same  weight  of  cotton- 
seed meal  and  likewise  replace  1.5  lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal  with  the  same 
weight  of  dried  distillers '  grains,  which  are  bulky,  lower  in  protein  than 
cottonseed  meal,  and  nearly  as  cheap  a  source  of  total  digestible  nutri- 
ents.   We  will  then  have : 

Second  trial  ration  for  1200-lh.  cow  yielding  30  lbs.  of  3.5  per  ct.  milk 


Feeding  stuff 

Dry 

matter 

Dig.  crude 
protein 

Total  dig. 
nutrients 

Cost 

Nutritive 
ratio 

Com  silage,  42  0  lbs 

Lbs. 

11.05 
7.22 
3.16 
4.16 
1.84 
1.40 

Lbs. 
0.462 
1.048 
0.010 
1.665 
0.092 
0.336 

Lbs. 
7.434 

3.920 
1.295 
3.519 
1.432 
1.334 

Cents 
7.35 
6.00 
1.31 
5.62 
2.90 
2.21 

Cowpea  hay,  8  0  lbs 

Cottonseed  huUs,  3.5  lbs 

Cottonseed  meal,  4 . 5  lbs 

Dried  beet  pulp,  2.0  lbs 

Dried  distillers'  grains,  1 .5  lbs.. . 

Total 

28.83 

3.613 

18.934 

25.39 

1:4.2 

This  ration  costs  only  0.73  cts.  more  than  the  first,  and  does  not  con- 
tain more  cottonseed  meal  than  is  safe  when  fed  in  mixture  with  bulky 
concentrates  along  with  succulent  feed  like  silage.  It  is  evident  that 
with  feeds  at  the  prices  given  in  this  illustration  the  question  is  not  how 
little  protein  need  be  supplied,  but  how  much  may  be  safely  fed. 

The  2  examples  which  have  been  given  in  the  preceding  pages — the 
most  economical  ration  for  the  particular  corn-belt  dairyman,  and  the 
best  ration  for  a  given  cotton-belt  dairyman — show  how  widely  the  char- 
acter of  the  ration  should  be  changed  to  make  it  the  most  economical 
under  conditions  in  different  parts  of  the  country  or  with  varying  prices 
for  the  various  feeding  stuffs.  The  farmer  who  wishes  to  secure  the 
largest  returns  from  his  stock  should  use  a  similar  method  to  determine 
the  relative  economy  of  the  available  feeds  for  all  his  farm  animals. 


146  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

11.  Adapting  Systems  of  Feeding  to  Local  Conditions 

196.  Amount  of  protein  to  supply. — The  illustrations  given  in  the  pre- 
ceding articles  show  clearly  that  rations  should  be  adapted  to  the  local 
conditions.  Feeding  standards  set  forth  approximately  the  amount  of 
protein  and  total  nutrients,  which  it  is  believed  should  be  furnished  for 
the  maximum  production  of  flesh,  milk,  work,  etc.,  and  for  maintaining 
the  highest  well-being  of  the  animal.  It  will  be  noted  that  in  the  Modi- 
fied Wolff-Lehmann  standards  a  range  is  indicated  in  the  amount  of  di- 
gestible crude  protein  advised  for  most  classes  of  animals.  For  example, 
for  2-yr.-old  steers  on  full  feed  from  2.0  to  2.3  lbs.  of  digestible  crude 
protein  per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight  are  recommended  for  the  first  50-60 
days  of  fattening.  When  protein-rich  feeds  cost  but  little  or  no  more 
than  carbonaceous  feeds,  it  is  well  to  feed  at  least  as  much  protein  as 
indicated  by  the  higher  figures.  On  the  other  hand,  when  corn  or  the 
other  grains  are  relatively  cheap  it  may  be  better  economy  to  feed  no 
more  protein  than  called  for  by  the  lower  figures.  Rarely  is  it  advisable 
to  feed  a  materially  smaller  allowance  of  protein  than  the  lower  figures, 
for  the  production  will  be  thereby  lowered. 

As  is  sho\^Ti  later  (732,  844-5),  corn  and  clover  hay  alone  make  a  fairly 
well-balanced  ration  for  fattening  cattle  and  sheep.  However,  the  gains 
are  usually  slightly  increased  and  a  higher  finish  secured  when  a  small 
allowance  of  some  suitable  nitrogenous  concentrate  is  added  to  the  ration. 
Whether  such  addition  will  be  profitable  or  not  depends  on  the  prices 
of  the  feeds  and  on  whether  the  market  will  pay  a  better  price  for  the 
more  highly  finished  animal.  (733,  858) 

When  protein-rich  feeds  supply  nutrients  more  cheaply  than  those 
carbonaceous  in  character,  as  in  the  cotton  belt  and  the  alfalfa  districts 
of  the  West,  it  will  be  economy  to  feed  much  more  than  the  minimum 
amounts  of  protein  set  forth  in  the  standards.  (612,  768)  However, 
protein  should  not  be  supplied  in  such  excess  as  to  injure  the  health  of 
the  animals. 

197.  Proportion  of  concentrates  to  roughages. — To  meet  the  standards 
for  fattening  cattle  and  sheep  and  for  milch  cows,  fairly  liberal  amounts 
of  concentrates  are  required.  When  concentrates  furnish  total  digest- 
ible nutrients  nearly  as  cheaply  as  do  roughages  it  is  advisable  to  feed 
as  large  a  proportion  of  concentrates  as  is  called  for  by  the  standards. 
With  feeds  at  the  prices  given  in  Article  193  dent  corn  furnishes  nutri- 
ents at  no  greater  cost  than  red  clover  hay.  Under  such  conditions  it 
may  be  most  profitable  to  feed  fattening  steers  and  sheep  as  much  corn  as 
they  will  clean  up.  (716,  902,  906-7)  On  the  other  hand,  in  many  of 
the  alfalfa  districts  of  the  West,  grain  is  usually  high  in  price  compared 
with  alfalfa  hay.  Here  it  may  be  more  profitable  to  restrict  the  grain 
allowance,  even  tho  gains  are  slower.  (768) 

With  dairy  cows  much  depends  on  the  productive  capacity  of  the 
animal.    Except  when  concentrates  are  unusually  high  in  price,  the  cow 


ECONOMY  IN  FEEDING  LIVE  STOCK  147 

of  good  dairy  temperament  will  pay  for  at  least  a  fair  allowance  of  con- 
centrates. On  the  contrary,  for  a  low  or  limited  productive  capacity 
the  most  economical  ration  may  be  silage  and  legume  hay  with  no  con- 
centrates. (658-9) 

198.  Roughing  growing  animals  thru  the  winter. — The  recommenda- 
tions of  the  standards  for  growing  cattle  and  sheep  are  based  upon 
continuous  thrifty  growth,  and  hence  call  for  a  limited  allowance  of 
concentrates  in  addition  to  roughage.  The  breeder  of  pure-bred  ani- 
mals who  wishes  to  develop  the  best  there  is  in  his  young  stock  will  feed 
the  concentrates  needed  to  keep  them  growing  rapidly.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  western  beef  producer  may  find  it  most  profitable  to  carry 
young  stock  thru  the  winter  on  roughage  alone  or  with  but  a  small  allow- 
ance of  concentrates.  Thus  fed,  they  will  gain  in  frame,  and  tho  losing 
in  flesh,  will  be  thrifty  enough  in  the  spring  to  make  good  gains  on  the 
cheap  pasturage.  (138-9,  797-9) 

199.  Finish  animals  to  meet  demands  of  the  market. — The  wise  stock- 
man will  keep  in  close  touch  with  the  demands  of  the  market  and  adjust 
his  feeding  operations  accordingly.  If  the  market  pays  a  sufficient  pre- 
mium for  thoroly  fattened  animals  he  will  finish  his  stock  well  before 
marketing  them.  On  the  other  hand,  on  local  markets  which  pay  no 
more  for  a  prime  carcass  than  for  one  carrying  less  fat,  it  will  pay  not 
to  prolong  the  fattening  process  or  to  feed  as  heavy  an  allowance  of 
concentrates  as  is  necessary  to  make  the  carcass  "ripe,"  or  thoroly  fat. 
(121-2,  768,  800) 

200.  Adapt  type  of  farming  to  local  conditions. — It  is  outside  the  field 
of  this  volume  to  discuss  in  detail  the  many  factors  which  the  stockman 
should  take  into  consideration  in  deciding  the  type  of  live-stock  hus- 
bandry in  which  to  engage  and  the  systems  and  methods  to  follow.  The 
foregoing  paragraphs  serve  to  illustrate  how  the  farm  operations  and 
practices  should  be  suited  to  local  conditions,  taking  into  consideration 
price  of  land  and  labor,  nearness  to  market,  and  available  crops.  For 
example,  the  beef  producer  on  high-priced  land  in  the  eastern  part  of 
the  corn  belt  will  generally  crowd  his  calves  to  rapid  growth  on  a  heavy 
allowance  of  grain  and  fatten  them  as  baby  beef.  Or  he  "will  raise  no 
cattle,  but  fatten  feeder  steers  from  the  western  ranges  on  a  liberal 
allowance  of  corn.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the  West  where  pasture  is 
cheap  compared  with  grain  the  stockman  will  usually  follow  a  less  in- 
tensive system,  roughing  his  growing  stock  thru  the  winter  and  market- 
ing them  from  grass  as  2-  or  3-yr.-olds,  having  been  fed  little  grain  at 
any  time. 

The  market  milk  for  our  cities  must  come  from  the  surrounding  dis- 
tricts which  are  within  easy  shipping  distance.  Dairymen  maintaining 
herds  on  high-priced  land  to  meet  this  demand  properly  tend  to  use  a 
minimum  acreage  as  pasture,  but  instead  rely  largely  on  corn  silage  or 
soilage  during  the  summer  months.  They  often  buy  much  of  their  con- 
centrates, for  grain  can  be  produced  on  land  farther  from  market  and 


148  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

shipped  in  at  less  expense  than  it  may  be  possible  to  grow  it  on  their 
farms.  Such  a  system  is  not,  however,  economical  for  the  dairyman 
remote  from  the  large  markets,  whose  milk  is  used  in  the  manufacture 
of  butter  or  cheese.  Since  with  him  land  is  relatively  less  expensive 
than  labor,  he  must  adopt  a  less  intensive  system  of  dairying,  where  the 
herd  is  maintained  largely  on  pasture  in  the  summer. 

The  reader  will  come  to  realize  as  he  goes  on  in  this  book  that,  while 
there  are  no  hard  and  fast  rules  for  successfully  managing  live  stock,  a 
clear  understanding  of  the  principles  of  the  nutrition  of  animals  is 
essential  to  the  highest  success.  This  must  be  supplemented  by  good 
judgment  and  by  a  thoro  knowledge  of  the  farm  animals  themselves, 
which  can  only  be  gained  by  actual  experience.  He  will  further  find 
that  expensive  buildings  for  housing  stock  and  complex  devices  for 
feeding  and  caring  for  them  are  not  necessary;  that  there  are  no  "best" 
feeds  for  all  conditions ;  that  elaborate  and  laborious  preparation  of  feed 
is  often  wasted ;  that  patent  stock  foods  guaranteed  to  work  miracles 
enrich,  not  the  farmer,  but  the  manufacturer. 

On  the  other  hand  he  will  come  to  appreciate  that  a  proper  balancing 
of  the  rations  for  his  stock  not  only  benefits  the  animals,  but  also  in- 
creases his  profits;  that  comfort  for  farm  stock  can  be  secured  in 
inexpensive,  easy  ways,  and  that  the  operations  of  preparing  and 
administering  feed  are  really  simple  and  direct,  when  once  understood. 
He  will  further  come  to  the  deep  and  fundamental  realization  that 
animal  husbandry  under  normal  conditions  is  most  successful  when  com- 
bined with  general  farming  and  the  raising  of  farm  crops,  that  it  rests 
upon  pasture  lots  which  are  fertilized  so  as  to  produce  abundant  forage 
and  upon  tilled  fields  which  are  so  managed  that  the  fertility  is  main- 
tained and  bumper  crops  are  grown,  a  large  part  of  which  is  marketed 
thru  the  animals  of  the  farm. 

Having  discussed  in  the  preceding  chapters  the  fundamental  principles 
governing  the  rational  feeding  and  care  of  the  various  classes  of  farm 
animals,  let  us  now  consider  in  detail  the  value  of  the  many  different 
feeding  stuffs  for  live  stock. 


Part  II 
FEEDING  STUFFS 


CHAPTER  IX 

LEADING  CEREALS  AND  THEIR  BY-PRODUCTS 

I.  Indian  Corn  and  its  By-products 

The  prime  importance  of  Indian  corn,  or  maize,  Zea  mays,  as  a  grain 
crop  in  the  United  States  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  in  1914,  about 
103,435,000  acres  were  growTi,  producing  two  and  a  half  billion  bushels 
of  grain,  worth  $1,720,000,000.  In  acreage,  in  total  production,  and  in 
value  of  grain,  the  corn  crop  of  the  United  States  exceeds  that  of  wheat, 
oats,  barley,  rye,  kafir,  milo,  emmer,  buckwheat,  and  rice,  combined. 
Indian  corn  can  be  successfully  grown  in  every  state  of  the  Union,  tho 
it  flourishes  best  in  the  great  middle  region  of  our  country  lying  between 
the  Appalachians  and  the  Rocky  Mountain  Plateau.  In  the  South  the 
tropical  corn  stems,  4  or  5  months  from  planting,  carry  great  ears 
burdened  with  grain  so  high  that  a  man  can  only  touch  them  by  reach- 
ing high  above  his  head.  At  the  other  extreme,  the  Mandan  Indian 
in  the  country  of  the  Red  River  of  the  North  developed  a  race  of  corn 
which  reached  only  to  the  shoulders  of  the  squaw,  with  tiny  ears  borne 
scarcely  a  foot  from  the  ground  on  pigmy  stalks.  Corn  is  a  heat-loving 
plant,  and  will  not  thrive  in  regions  having  cool  nights  during  the  grow- 
ing season. 

Like  the  other  leading  cereals  which  grow  en  masse,  the  corn  plant 
must  grow  with  others  of  its  kind,  but  it  requires  more  space,  air,  and 
sunlight.  Because  it  requires  thoro  tillage  and  makes  most  of  its  growth 
during  late  summer  and  early  fall,  Indian  corn  stands  in  a  class  by  itself 
among  the  cereals.  (23)  This  requirement  of  thoro  tillage  brings  many 
advantages  to  the  soil  not  forced  upon  us  in  growing  the  other  cereals. 
The  corn  grain  is  pre-eminently  a  carbohydrate  bearer,  every  100  lbs. 
containing  nearly  70  lbs.  of  starch,  which  is  its  chief  carbohydrate.  Add 
to  this  5  lbs.  of  oil,  and  we  can  understand  why  Indian  corn  among  the 
cereal  grains  may  be  likened  to  anthracite  coal  among  the  fuels. 

Corn  is  the  great  energizing,  heat-giving,  fat-furnishing  food  for  the 
animals  of  the  farm.  No  other  cereal  yields,  on  a  given  space  and  with 
a  given  expenditure  of  labor,  so  much  animal  food  in  both  grain  and  for- 
age. On  millions  of  farms  successful  animal  husbandry  rests  upon  this 
imperial  grain  and  forage  plant.  (475,  575,  732-7,  844-7,  ^39-42)     A  pos- 

149 


150  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

sible  explanation  of  the  great  fondness  of  farm  animals  for  corn  lies  in 
the  considerable  amount  of  oil  it  carries.  Again,  on  mastication  the  ker- 
nels break  into  nutty  particles  which  are  more  palatable,  for  example, 
than  meal  from  the  almost  oil-free  wheat  grain,  which  on  crushing  and 
mingling  with  the  saliva  turns  to  a  sticky  dough  in  the  mouth.  (For  a 
discussion  of  corn  as  a  forage,  see  Arts.  290  to  307.) 

201.  Corn  lacks  protein  and  mineral  matter. — Being  so  rich  in  carbo- 
hydrates, corn  is  naturally  low  in  crude  protein.  The  crude  protein  of 
this  grain  is  also  somewhat  unbalanced,  for  about  58  per  ct.  of  it  consists 
of  the  single  protein,  zein,  which  lacks  some  of  the  amino-acids  neces- 
sary for  animal  growth.  (118)  Corn  is  also  unusually  low  in  mineral 
matter,  especially  calcium,  so  necessary  for  growing  animals.  Numerous 
experiments  show  that  even  with  fattening  animals,  which  require  rela- 
tively little  protein  and  mineral  matter,  it  is  profitable  to  supplement 
these  deficiencies  of  the  corn  grain  by  other  feeds  high  in  the  nutrients 
which  corn  lacks.  (732,  845,  939)  Fortunately,  the  legume  hays  are  rich 
in  protein  and  calcium,  and  therefore  admirably  supplement  corn.  By 
the  use  of  these  roughages,  less  protein-rich  concentrates  are  needed  to 
balance  a  heavy  allowance  of  corn.  Indeed,  for  some  animals  legume 
hay  and  corn  alone  form  a  satisfactory,  well-balanced  ration.  (733,  844) 

202.  Races  of  corn. — Three  races  of  corn — dent,  flint,  and  sweet — are  of 
interest  to  the  stockman.  In  dent  corn  the  starch  is  partly  hornlike  and 
partly  floury,  rendering  the  kernel  easy  of  mastication.  In  flint  corn 
the  starch  is  mostly  hornlike  and  flinty,  making  the  kernel  more  difficult 
for  the  animal  to  crush.  Both  chemical  analysis  and  experience  oppose 
the  assertion,  often  heard,  that  yellow  corn  is  more  nutritious  than  white, 
or  the  opposite.  In  fact,  the  coloring  matter  of  yellow  corn  is  so  minute 
in  quantity  as  to  be  unweighable.  While  a  certain  strain  or  variety  of 
one  may  be  superior  to  any  particular  strain  or  variety  of  the  other  in 
a  given  locality,  there  is  no  uniform  difference  between  white  and  yellow 
corn  in  productiveness  or  feeding  properties. 

In  sweet  corn  the  starch  is  hornlike  and  tough.  Before  hardening, 
the  milky  kernels  of  this  race  carry  much  glucose,  which  is  changed  to 
starch  as  they  mature  into  the  shrunken  grain.  The  sweetness  of  the 
immature  grains  of  sweet  corn,  due  to  the  glucose  they  then  carry,  adds 
to  the  palatability  but  not  necessarily  to  their  nutritive  value,  since  glu- 
cose and  starch  have  the  same  feeding  value.  (48)  Sweet  corn  has  some- 
what more  crude  protein  and  fat  and  less  carbohydrates  than  the  other 
races. 

Earliness  of  maturity  tends  to  dwarf  the  corn  plant.  Hence,  the 
higher  the  latitude  or  the  altitude  at  which  a  variety  was  originated  the 
larger  will  be  the  proportion  of  ears  to  stalk  and  leaves,  tho  the  total 
yield  of  ears  will  usually  be  decreased. 

203.  Corn  cobs. — ^Well-dried  dent  ear  corn  of  good  breeding  carries 
about  56  lbs.  of  shelled  com  to  14  lbs.  of  cob.  The  proportion  of  cob 
to  grain  varies  according  to  race,  variety,  and  dryness,  ranging  from 


LEADING  CEREALS  AND  THEIR  BY-PRODUCTS        151 

below  20  to  about  40  per  ct.,  flint  varieties  having  a  larger  proportion  of 
cob  to  grain  than  does  dent  corn.  The  cobs  carry  about  30  per  ct.  of 
fiber,  which  at  best  is  of  low  feeding  value,  and  much  of  their  nitrogen- 
free  extract  is  in  the  form  of  pentosans.  (9)  Since  the  cobs  have  some 
nutritive  value,  under  certain  conditions  it  is  profitable  to  grind  the 
whole  ear  into  corn-and-cob  meal.  (208)  Manifestly  it  is  not  economical 
to  purchase  ground  corn  cobs  in  adulterated  commercial  feeds  at  a  price 
that  would  buy  good  concentrates.  (285) 

204.  Shrinkage  of  ear  corn. — ^While  the  amount  of  water  in  old  corn 
varies  but  little  from  12  per  ct.,  the  Iowa  Station^  found  as  high  as  36 
per  ct.  in  freshly  husked  ear  corn.  Rarely  will  corn  carrying  20  per  ct, 
or  more  of  water  keep  if  stored  in  any  considerable  quantity.  Studies 
conducted  by  the  Kansas  Station-  with  3  lots  of  ear  corn  fairly  dry 
when  cribbed,  others  by  the  Illinois  Station^  with  2  cribs,  each  contain- 
ing 20,000  lbs.,  and  an  8-year  test  by  the  Iowa  Station*  show  the  fol- 
lowing results : 

ShrinJiage  in  ear  corn  during  storage 

Nov.  and  Dec.     Nov.  to  Mar.      Nov.  to  Apr.  In  1  year  In  2  years 

Per  ct.  Per  ct.  Per  ct.  Per  ct.  Per  ct. 

Kansas 3.3  6.8  8.6 

Illinois 2.6  6.0  17.8  19.4  20.6 

Iowa 6.9  9.7  12.8  18.2 

In  a  year  the  corn  in  the  Kansas  trial  shrank  only  8.6  per  ct.  while 
that  in  the  Iowa  trial  shrank  18.2  per  ct.  The  rate  of  shrinkage  de- 
pends not  only  on  the  maturity  of  the  corn  when  husked,  but  also  on  the 
moisture  content  of  the  air.  When  the  water  content  of  ear  corn  falls 
to  12  per  ct.,  shrinkage  practically  ceases.  A  large  part  of  the  shrinkage 
of  ear  corn  is  in  the  cobs,  which  usually  form  about  one-fourth  of  the 
weight  of  the  ears  at  husking  and  one-fifth  of  their  cured  weight.  Twist- 
ing the  ears  slightly  will  fairly  indicate  the  moisture  contained.  Loose 
grained,  ''sappy"  ears  carry  20  per  ct.  or  more  of  water,  while  solid  ones 
usually  contain  not  much  over  12  per  ct.  Seventy  lbs.  of  dry  dent  corn 
of  good  varieties  will  make  1  bushel,  or  56  lbs.,  of  shelled  corn,  but  in 
early  fall  the  buyers  frequently  demand  75  or  80  lbs.,  according  to  the 
estimated  water  content.  According  to  the  Federal  corn  grades,  by 
which  corn  is  sold  on  the  large  markets,  the  percentage  of  water  in  corn 
must  not  exceed  for  Number  1,  14  per  ct. ;  Number  2,  15.5  per  ct. ;  Num- 
ber 3,  17.5  per  ct. ;  Number  4,  19.5  per  ct, ;  Number  5,  21.5  per  ct. ;  and 
Number  6,  23  per  ct.  Corn  is  stored  mostly  on  the  husked  ear  in  the 
North,  but  in  the  South  the  husks  are  left  on  the  ears  because  of  the  wee- 
vil, a  beetle  that  lives  in  the  kernels  unless  they  are  protected.  Shelled 
corn  does  not  keep  well  in  bulk,  especially  in  summer,  and  so  corn  is 
held  in  ear  form  as  long  as  possible. 

205.  Soft  corn. — Corn  frosted  before  the  grains  mature  contains  too 
much  water  for  storage  or  shipment,  and  is  best  utilized  by  immediate 

'Iowa  Bui.  77.     =Kan.  Bui.  144.     "III.  Bui.  113.      "Hoard's  Dairyman,  49,  463. 


152  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

feeding.  Soft  com  has  been  fed  successfully  to  swine  (940),  and  for 
steers  a  pound  of  dry  matter  in  soft  corn  containing  35  per  ct.  of  water 
is  equal  in  feeding  value  to  a  pound  of  dry  matter  in  hard  corn.   (737) 

A  late-maturing  variety  of  corn  should  not  be  planted  in  a  locality 
having  a  short  growing  season,  with  the  hope  of  getting  a  larger  yield. 
The  corn  mil  usually  not  mature,  there  is  great  danger  of  its  heating 
and  molding,  and  the  shrinkage  is  large.  It  is  also  difficult  to  secure 
seed  for  the  following  year  which  will  retain  its  vitality. 

206.  Composition  of  the  corn  kernel. — To  determine  the  composition 
of  the  different  parts  of  the  corn  kernel,  Hopkins  of  the  Illinois  Station^ 
separated  the  kernels  of  an  ear  of  average  dent  corn  into  their  several 
parts  and  analyzed  each.  The  weights  of  each  part  and  the  nutrients 
contained  therein  for  100  lbs.  of  air-dry  corn  are  shown  in  the  following 
table : 

Location  of  nutrients  in  the  water-free  corn  kernel 

Total  wt.  in         Crude  Carbo- 

100  lbs.  corn        protein  hydrates  Fat  Ash 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Hull  and  tip  cap 7.39  0.36  6.88  0.08  0.07 

Hornlike  gluten 8.51  1.89  5.88  0.59  0.15 

Hornlike  starch 47.08  4.80  42.05  0.11  0.11 

Floury  starch 25.49  2.00  23.36  0.06  0.07 

Germ 11.53  2.28  4.09  4.02  1.14 

Whole  kernel 100.00  11.33  82.26  4.86  1.54 

In  100  lbs.  of  water-free  corn  the  hulls  and  tip  caps  together  weighed 
7.39  lbs.,  the  hornlike  layer  of  gluten  just  under  the  skin  8.51  lbs.,  and 
the  flinty,  hornlike  starch  at  the  sides  and  base  of  the  kernel  47.08  lbs., 
or  nearly  one-half  of  the  total  weight.  In  each  100  lbs.  of  kernels  the 
soft,  floury  starch  in  the  middle  portion  of  the  kernel  formed  25.49  lbs. 
and  the  germ  11.53  lbs.  The  last  4  columns  of  the  table  show  the  number 
of  pounds  of  each  nutrient  contained  in  each  of  the  several  parts  of  100 
lbs.  of  water-free  corn.  It  is  seen  that  the  hull  and  tip  cap  are  largely 
carbohydrates,  while  the  germ  is  heavily  charged  with  crude  protein  and 
fat,  or  oil. 

Appendix  Table  I  shows  that  air-dry  dent  corn  contains  70.9  per  ct. 
nitrogen-free  extract — nearly  all  starch — and  only  2.0  per  ct.  fiber, 
which  comprises  the  fiber  of  the  hull,  or  skin,  of  the  kernel,  and  of  the 
cell  walls  inclosing  the  starch  grains.  On  comparing  the  composition  of 
corn  with  that  of  the  other  common  cereals,  it  will  be  noted  that  corn  is 
by  far  the  richest  in  fat,  containing  5.0  per  ct.  fat,  or  oil.  Because  of 
this  abundance  of  starch  and  oil,  corn  excels  as  a  fattening  food.  Corn 
has  slightly  less  crude  protein  than  wheat,  barley,  oats,  or  rye  and  is 
also  lower  in  ash.  It  is  especially  deficient  in  lime,  containing  only  0.2 
lb.  per  1,000  lbs.  of  grain.  As  has  been  emphasized  before  (201) ,  in  feed- 
ing corn  we  must  bear  in  mind  these  facts  concerning  its  composition. 

"111.  Bui.  87. 


LEADING  CEREALS  AND  THEIR  BY-PRODUCTS        153 

207.  Corn  meal;  corn  chop;  corn  feed-meal. — The  term  corn  meal,  as 
applied  to  feeding  stuffs,  is  most  correctly  used  to  denote  the  entire 
ground  corn  grain,  from  which  the  bran  and  hulls  have  not  been  re- 
moved by  bolting.  In  preparing  corn  for  human  food  the  grain  is  either 
ground  to  a  rather  coarse  meal  or  cracked  coarsely,  the  fine  siftings  and 
also  the  bran  or  hulls  being  removed.  The  milled  product,  which  is  like- 
^vise  called  corn  meal,  has  a  more  attractive  appearance  than  the  entire 
ground  grain,  but  contains  somewhat  less  protein  and  fat.  Much  of  the 
commercial  corn  meal,  particularly  in  the  Mississippi  valley,  is  made 
from  the  part  of  the  kernel  left  after  the  manufacture  of  cracked  corn 
or  table  meal.  It  is  most  correctly  called  corn  feed-meal,  and  according 
to  Smith  and  Beals  of  the  Massachusetts  Station,®  is  equal  in  feeding 
value  to  corn  meal  made  from  the  entire  grain.  Corn  chop  is  a  name 
sometimes  applied  to  ground  corn,  and  also  to  mixtures  of  ground  corn 
and  corn  by-products.  Since  it  has  often  been  found  best  not  to  grind 
corn  for  stock  (423,  475,  735,  847,  921),  the  question  whether  this  grain 
should  be  reduced  to  a  coarse  or  a  fine  meal  has  lost  much  of  the  interest 
once  taken  in  it.  On  grinding  corn  the  oil  it  carries  soon  becomes  rancid 
and  gives  the  meal  a  stale  taste.  Hence  this  grain  should  never  be  ground 
far  in  advance  of  use. 

208.  Corn-and-cob  meal. — ^When  ear  corn  is  ground  the  product  is 
called  corn-and-cob  meal.  Because  of  the  rubber-like  consistency  of  the 
cobs,  much  power  is  required  to  reduce  ear  corn  to  meal.  If  the  cob 
particles  in  corn-and-cob  meal  are  coarse,  the  animal  will  not  usually 
eat  them,  but  when  finely  ground  corn-and-cob  meal  proves  satisfactory 
with  most  farm  animals.  (576,  941)  Much  evidently  depends  on  the 
nature  of  the  roughage  fed  with  the  meal.  The  Paris  Omnibus  Company 
found  corn-and-cob  meal  more  acceptable  than  pure  corn  meal  to  its 
thousands  of  horses  (475),  and  stockmen  generally  report  favorably  on 
its  use.  It  has  been  suggested  that  corn  meal  when  fed  alone  lies  too 
compactly  in  the  stomach  to  be  readily  attacked  by  the  digestive  fluids, 
while  corn-and-cob  meal  forms  a  loose  mass  more  easy  of  digestion. 
Where  there  is  an  abundance  of  cheap  roughage,  it  is  best  to  omit  the 
cobs  in  grinding  unless  there  is  ample  power  at  low  cost. 

209.  Starch  and  glucose  by-products. — In  the  manufacture  of  com- 
mercial starch  and  glucose  from  corn,  the  grain  is  first  passed  thru 
cleaning  machinery.  It  is  then  soaked  in  warm  water,  slightly  acidulated 
with  sulfurous  acid,  which  softens  the  grain  and  facilitates  the  separ- 
ation of  the  germ.  Next  the  grain  is  coarsely  ground  and  the  mass  passed 
into  tanks  containing  ' '  starch  liquor. ' '  Here  the  germs,  which  are  lighter 
on  account  of  the  large  amount  of  oil  they  carry,  rise  to  the  surface,  and 
are  removed.  After  washing,  the  residue  is  then  finely  ground,  and  the 
coarser  part,  the  bran,  separated  by  silk  sieves.  The  remainder,  called 
"starch  liquor,"  which  contains  the  starch,  gluten,  and  fine  particles  of 
fiber,  is  then  passed  slowly  thru  shallow,  slightly  inclined  troughs  where 

"Mass.  Bui.  146. 


154  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

the  starch  settles  like  wet  lime,  while  the  lighter  ingredients — the  gluten, 
fiber,  etc. — are  carried  off  in  the  current  of  water.  In  this  process  there 
are  thus  obtained,  (1)  the  germ,  from  which  corn  oil  and  germ  oil  meal 
or  corn  oil  cake  are  secured,  (2)  the  bran,  consisting  of  the  hulls,  (3) 
the  starch,  and  (4)  the  gluten.  The  bran,  together  with  some  light 
weight  and  broken  germs,  was  formerly  dried  and  sold  as  corn  bran. 
Now,  however,  the  bran  and  gluten  are  usually  united  while  still  wet, 
and  then  dried  and  ground,  the  product  being  sold  as  corn  gluten  feed, 
or  corn  starch  hy-product  with  corn  hran,  as  it  is  sometimes  called.^  The 
term  corn  gluten  feed  is  used  to  distinguish  this  feed  from  "Continental 
Gluten  Feed,"  a  proprietary  name  for  certain  dried  distillers'  grains. 
(282) 

210.  Com  gluten  feed. — Formerly,  the  steep  water,  which  contains  the 
soluble  materials,  such  as  soluble  protein  and  phosphates,  was  allowed  to 
run  to  waste.  It  is  now  often  evaporated  and  the  residue,  called  corn 
solubles,  is  added  to  the  gluten  feed.  Gluten  feed  is  rich  in  crude  pro- 
tein and  fat,  contains  a  fair  amount  of  carbohydrates  and  is  bulkier 
than  corn.  The  protein  content  varies  from  18  to  over  29  per  ct., 
depending  chiefly  on  how  completely  the  starch  has  been  removed.  The 
ash  content  ranges  from  less  than  1  per  ct.  when  the  corn  solubles  have 
not  been  added  to  5  or  6  per  ct.  when  this  residue  has  been  incorporated. 
Owing  chiefly  to  the  acid  nature  of  some  of  the  protein  and  phosphorus 
compounds  naturally  occurring  in  the  corn  solubles,  gluten  feed  to  which 
these  have  been  added  has  an  acid  taste  unless  the  acid  has  been  neutral- 
ized in  the  process  of  manufacture.  While  the  small  amount  of  acid 
present  is  probably  not  injurious  to  live  stock,  the  feed  is  more  palat- 
able when  the  acidity  is  neutralized. 

In  early  years  gluten  feed  was  normally  yellow,  since  it  was  usually 
made  from  yellow  corn.  AVhen  manufacturers  began  to  use  white  corn 
the  resulting  product  had  an  uninviting  grayish-white  color,  and  was 
sometimes  refused  by  purchasers.  The  manufacturers  thereupon  added 
artificial  coloring  matter  to  maintain  the  standard  color.  Tho  the  little 
coloring  matter  used  is  probably  not  injurious,  it  certainly  adds  nothing 
of  value  to  the  feed.  Fortunately  purchasers  are  learning  to  be  governed 
by  the  guarantee  and  the  taste,  rather  than  by  the  color,  and  some  manu- 
facturers are  hence  discontinuing  the  coloring  of  this  feed.  Gluten 
feed  is  a  most  valuable  concentrate,  especially  in  the  ration  of  the  dairy 
cow.  (590,  757,  856) 

211.  Gluten  meal. — This  by-product,  now  sometimes  called  corn  hy- 
product  tvithout  corn  hran,  is  one  of  the  richest  of  concentrates  in  crude 
protein  and  fat,  while  fair  in  carbohydrates  and  low  in  mineral  matter. 
It  is  a  heavy  feed,  and,  as  mentioned  before,  is  usually  mixed  with  corn 
bran  to  form  gluten  feed.  (491,  591,  981) 

212.  Germ  oil  meal. — The  corn  germs  removed  in  the  manufacture  of 
starch  are  dried,  crushed,  and  much  of  the  oil  pressed  out,  leaving  the 

'Wagner,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  Chem.,  Bui.  122,  1909;  Lindsey,  Mass.  (Hatch) 
Bui.  78. 


LEADING  CEREALS  AND  THEIR  BY-PRODUCTS         155 

residue  in  cakes.  This  is  exported  as  corn  oil  cake,  or  ground  and  sold 
in  this  country  as  germ  oil  meal  or  corn  germ  meal.  This  feed  contains 
somewhat  less  protein  than  the  usual  gluten  feed,  but  carries  a  much 
larger  amount  of  fat.  (592) 

213.  Hominy  feed,  meal,  or  chop. — This  by-product,  variously  called 
hominy  feed,  hominy  meal,  or  hominy  chop,  is  a  mixture  of  the  bran 
coating,  the  germ,  and  a  part  of  the  starchy  portion  of  the  corn  kernel 
obtained  in  the  manufacture  of  hominy  grits  for  human  consumption 
and  of  brewers '  grits.  It  is  a  carbonaceous  feed,  similar  in  composition 
to  corn,  but  somewhat  bulkier.  It  is  slightly  lower  in  nitrogen-free  ex- 
tract, higher  in  fiber,  and  contains  much  more  fat.  "While  slightly  less 
digestible  than  corn  meal,  it  is  kiln-dried,  almost  invariably  sweet,  and 
keeps  better  in  storage  than  does  corn  meal.  As  it  is  a  bulkier  feed  than 
corn  meal  it  is  preferred  for  dairy  cattle  and  has  also  proven  superior 
to  corn  meal  for  fattening  pigs.  Cochel  of  the  Kansas  Station^  reports 
that  fattening  calves  would  not  eat  as  heavy  an  allowance  of  hominy  feed 
as  of  corn  meal,  perhaps  owing  to  the  larger  amount  of  oil  in  the  hominy 
feed.  (577,  749,  943) 

214.  Corn  bran. — But  little  corn  bran  now  comes  upon  the  market  as 
such,  for,  as  we  have  seen,  it  is  usually  mixed  with  other  by-products. 
(209)  Corn  bran  contains  about  three-fifths  as  much  protein  as  wheat 
bran,  is  somewhat  higher  than  that  feed  in  nitrogen-free  extract  and  fat, 
and  contains  slightly  more  fiber. 


II.  Wheat  and  its  By-products  in  Milling 

Since  it  costs  more  to  produce  wheat,  Triticum  sativum,  tenax,  than 
corn,  and  since  our  population  is  steadily  increasing,  it  is  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  wheat  will  never  again  be  used  in  any  considerable  amount 
for  feeding  stock  in  this  country,  as  it  was  at  one  time.  But  the  feeder 
should  know  both  its  absolute  and  relative  value,  for  the  low  grades  of 
wheat  would  better  be  fed  to  stock  than  sold. 

215.  Wheat  as  a  feed. — Compared  with  corn,  wheat  carries  slightly 
more  carbohydrates  in  the  form  of  starch,  more  crude  protein,  and  much 
less  fat.  Tho  low  in  mineral  matter,  it  contains  somewhat  more  lime, 
phosphoric  acid,  and  potash  than  corn.  While  the  nutritive  ratio  of  dent 
corn  is  1 :  10.4,  that  of  wheat  is  1 :  7.7.  Tho  wheat  thus  carries  a  larger 
proportion  of  protein,  this  nutrient  is  unbalanced  in  composition,  like 
that  of  corn.  (118)  Probably  due  to  this,  Hart,  McCollum,  and  Fuller® 
have  found  in  trials  at  the  Wisconsin  Station  that  pigs  fed  on  wheat  as 
the  sole  source  of  protein  for  long  periods  are  unable  to  make  normal 
growth,  even  w^hen  an  abundance  of  mineral  matter  is  supplied.  (105) 
Like  corn,  wheat  should  be  supplemented  by  feeds  rich  in  protein  and 
lime.  Fed  in  properly  balanced  rations  wheat  is  about  equal  to  corn 
for  milk  production  or  for  fattening  animals.  (578,  739,  849,  945)  Fed 
"Kansas  Industrialist,  41,  1915.  'Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  19,  1914,  pp.  373-395. 


156  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

in  large  amounts  to  horses  it  lias  occasioned  digestive  disturbances  and 
eruptions  of  the  skin.  (479)  Because  the  kernels  are  small  and  hard, 
wheat  should  be  ground  for  all  farm  animals  except  sheep.  Wheat  flour 
and  meal  fed  alone  are  unsatisfactory  because  they  form  a  pasty  mass 
in  the  animal's  mouth,  a  condition  which  can  be  remedied  by  adding 
some  such  material  as  bran  or  coarse  corn  meal.  (423) 

As  stated  before  (81),  the  composition  of  the  wheat  kernel  is  markedly 
influenced  by  climate,  especially  in  protein  content.  Wheat  from  the 
northern  plains  region  is  highest  in  crude  protein,  while  that  from  the 
Pacific  coast  districts  is  unusually  low  in  this  nutrient.  When  grown 
under  the  same  climatic  conditions  spring  wheat  is  usually  slightly  richer 
in  crude  protein  than  winter  wheat.^"  Durum,  or  macaroni,  wheat  is 
extensively  grown  in  parts  of  the  plains  states,  especially  the  Dakotas, 
on  account  of  its  higher  yield  in  these  sections.  This  variety  shows  no 
appreciable  difference  in  composition  or  feeding  value  from  ordinary 
wheat  grown  under  the  same  environment.^^  (849) 

Wheat  growers  should  sell  only  the  best  grades,  retaining  for  their 
animals  all  shrunken,  frosted,  or  otherwise  damaged  grain,  for  while 
such  wheat  has  low  selling  value,  it  is  often  equal  to  grain  of  good  qual- 
ity for  feeding.  (739,  849,  945)  As  a  rule  such  gi-ain  is  richer  in  pro- 
tein than  is  wheat  of  good  quality. 

Salvage  grain,  which  has  been  slightly  charred  or  injured  by  smoke 
and  water  in  elevator  fires,  thus  being  unfitted  for  human  food,  may 
have  its  value  for  stock  feeding  but  little  impaired. 

216.  Flour  manufacture. — The  wheat  kernel  is  covered  with  three  straw- 
like coats  or  skins.  Beneath  these  comes  the  fourth,  called  the  "aleurone 
layer,"  rich  in  crude  protein,  and  which  in  milling  goes  with  the  other 
coats  to  form  bran.  The  germ,  or  embryo  plant,  in  each  kernel  is  rich 
in  oil,  crude  protein,  and  mineral  matter.  The  remainder  of  the  kernel 
consists  of  thin-walled  cells  packed  with  starch  grains.  Among  the  starch 
grains  are  protein  particles  called  ''gluten,"  that  give  wheat-flour  dough 
the  tenacity  so  essential  in  bread  making.  In  producing  flour  the  miller 
aims  to  secure  all  the  starch  and  gluten  possible  from  the  wheat  grains, 
while  avoiding  the  germ  and  bran.  He  leaves  out  the  germs  because  they 
make  a  sticky  dough  and  also  soon  turn  dark  and  rancid,  giving  the  flour 
a  specked  appearance.  Nor  does  he  use  the  aleurone  layer,  as  it  gives  a 
brownish  tint  to  the  flour. 

In  modern  milling,  flour  is  produced  by  passing  the  thoroly  cleaned 
wheat  thru  a  series  of  hardened  steel  rollers,  each  succeeding  pair  being 
set  a  little  nearer  together  so  that  the  kernels  are  gradually  crushed  into 
smaller  and  smaller  particles.  After  passing  thru  each  pair  of  rollers, 
or  "breaks,"  the  flour  is  removed  by  sifting  or  passing  the  material  over 
bolting  cloth,  and  finally  only  the  by-products  remain. 

The  terms  employed  to  designate  the  various  mill  products  differ  some- 
what in  various  sections  of  the  country,  but  those  most  commonly  used 

"Bailey,  Minn.  Bui.  143.  "Ladd  and  Bailey,  N.  D.  Bui.  93. 


LEADING  CEREALS  AND  THEIR  BY-PRODUCTS         157 

are  wheat  bran,  standard  middlings  or  shorts,  white  or  flour  middlings, 
red  dog  flour  and  wheat  mixed  feed. 

In  the  manufacture  of  flour,  from  25  to  33  per  ct.  of  the  weight  of  the 
wheat  grain  remains  as  bran,  middlings,  etc.  Since  the  annual  con- 
sumption of  wheat  in  this  country  is  about  4.5  bushels,  or  270  lbs.,  for 
each  person,  the  by-products  of  this  grain  amount  to  nearly  70  lbs.  for 
each  person,  not  including  that  resulting  from  the  wheat  milled  for 
export. 

217.  Feeding  bread. — ^When  available,  the  stale  bread  from  bakeries  is 
used  for  feeding  animals,  especially  horses.  Gay^-  states  that  a  Phila- 
delphia teamster  fed  stale  bread  mixed  with  molasses,  at  a  considerable 
saving  and  with  entire  success.  An  English  writer^'  also  reports  good 
results  from  feeding  bread  to  cab  horses  in  London,  the  only  trouble 
being  that  many  loaves  were  consumed  by  the  workmen. 

218.  Wheat  bran. — Bran,  which  consists  of  the  coarse  outer  coatings 
of  the  wheat  kernel,  is  comparatively  rich  in  digestible  crude  protein, 
carries  considerable  digestible  carbohydrates  and  fat,  and  is  high  in 
mineral  matter,  except  lime.  It  is  light  and  chaffy,  carrying  a  consider- 
able amount  of  fiber.  Bran  from  mills  lacking  machinery  for  perfect  sep- 
aration of  the  starch  from  the  bran  coats  is  somewhat  lower  in  crude 
protein  and  fiber  and  higher  in  carbohydrates  than  the  bran  from  the 
large  mills.  WolP*  concludes  that  the  nutritive  difference  is  usually 
small,  making  it  advisable  to  select  whichever  is  cheaper. 

Hart  and  Patten  of  the  New  York  (Geneva)  Station^^  have  shown  that 
ordinary  wheat  bran  contains  from  6  to  7  per  ct.  of  an  organic  compound 
containing  phosphorus,  magnesia,  and  potash.  In  the  past  the  laxative 
effect  of  bran,  one  of  its  beneficial  properties,  was  ascribed  to  the  mild 
irritation  produced  by  the  chaffy  bran  particles  on  the  lining  of  the  in- 
testinal tract.  These  chemists  have  found,  however,  that  the  laxative 
effect  of  bran  is  due  to  this  phosphorus  compound.  Phosphorus,  an 
essential  component  of  the  bones  and  of  milk,  is  abundant  in  bran,  while 
lime,  likewise  needed  in  still  larger  amount,  is  but  sparingly  present. 
Horses  heavily  fed  on  wheat  bran  or  middlings  sometimes  suffer  from 
* '  bran  disease, '  '^^^  which  seriously  affects  their  bones.  To  supply  the  lime 
which  bran  lacks,  farm  animals  may  be  fed  lime  in  inorganic  form — wood 
ashes,  ground  limestone,  burned  lime,  or  ground  rock  phosphate  (floats), 
or  they  may  be  supplied  lime  in  organic  form  by  feeding  lime-laden 
plants,  such  as  the  legumes,  which  include  alfalfa,  clover,  vetch,  cowpea, 
etc.  (98)  The  best  grades  of  bran  are  of  light  weight,  wdth  large,  clean 
flakes  and  no  foreign  matter. 

Knowing  the  properties  of  bran,  one  is  in  position  to  use  this  most 

"Productive  Horse  Husbandry,  p.  239. 
"The  Field,  England,  July  15,  1893. 
"Productive  Feeding  of  Farm  Animals,  p.  180. 
*=N.  Y.  (Geneva)  Bui.  250. 
"Law's  Vet.  Medicine,  III,  p.  572. 


158  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

valuable  feed  advantageously.  As  bran  is  ordinarily  too  expensive  to 
be  used  as  the  sole  concentrate  for  farm  animals,  it  should  be  mixed 
with  other  concentrates  to  lighten  the  ration  or  add  bulk  while  improving 
its  nutritive  qualities.  With  its  wealth  of  crude  protein  and  phosphorus, 
it  serves  its  highest  purpose  in  giving  virility  to  the  animal  and  in  help- 
ing build  bone  and  muscle  without  tending  to  fatten,  thus  being  especial- 
ly suited  to  young  animals  whose  digestive  capacities  are  sufficiently  de- 
veloped for  this  bulky  feed.  (523,  681,  894)  Both  on  account  of  its 
high  content  of  crude  protein  and  phosphorus  and  because  of  its  laxative 
action,  bran  is  of  great  value  in  putting  the  bodies  of  pregnant  mares, 
cows,  ewes,  or  sows  in  the  best  condition  for  bearing  young.  (514,  673-4, 
883,  1015)  Supplied  to  horses  once  or  twice  a  week  in  the  form  of  a 
"mash"  made  with  scalding  water,  bran  proves  a  mild,  beneficial  laxa- 
tive. (486)  When  used  continuously,  the  animal  system  becomes  accus- 
tomed to  it  and  the  laxative  property  is  less  marked.  Hard-worked 
horses  have  neither  time  nor  energy  to  digest  feeds  of  much  bulk,  and 
hence  their  allowance  of  bran  should  be  limited.  (457,  486)  Being  bulky, 
bran  is  often  mixed  with  corn  and  other  heavy  concentrates  for  starting 
fattening  cattle  or  sheep  on  feed.  (756,  856)  It  is  a  most  excellent  feed 
for  the  dairy  cow,  being  slightly  laxative,  giving  bulk  to  the  ration,  and 
providing  the  crude  protein  and  phosphorus  so  vital  to  the  formation  of 
milk.  (588)  Tho  too  strawlike  for  young  pigs,  it  is  valuable  for  giving 
bulk  and  nutriment  to  the  ration  for  breeding  swine  and  stock  hogs  not 
getting  legume  pasture  or  hay.  (972) 

Due  to  its  widespread  popularity,  bran  is  often  high  in  price  compared 
with  other  nitrogenous  concentrates  which  can  be  used  with  equally  good 
results  and  many  of  which  carry  more  protein  than  does  bran. 

219.  Red  dog  flour. — Red  dog  flour,  or  dark  feeding  flour,  generally 
contains  the  wheat  germs  and  is  therefore  rich  in  crude  protein  and  fat. 
Such  flour  differs  but  little  in  composition  and  feeding  value  from  the 
best  flour  middlings.  (971) 

220.  Wheat  middlings. — Middlings  vary  in  quality  from  red  dog  flour, 
which  contains  considerable  flour,  to  standard  middlings,  or  shorts,  which 
may  contain  but  little  flour.  To  some  extent  standard  or  hrown  mid- 
dlings and  shorts  are  interchangeable  terms.  Standard  wheat  middlings 
comprise  the  finer  bran  particles  with  considerable  flour  adhering. 
Shorts  too  often  consist  of  ground-over  bran  and  the  sweepings  and 
dirt  of  the  mills,  along  with  ground  or  unground  weed  seeds.  Flour  or 
white  middlings  are  of  somewhat  higher  grade  than  standard  middlings ; 
containing  considerable  low-grade  flour  and  carrying  slightly  more  crude 
protein  and  less  fiber.  Middlings  are  highly  useful  with  swine  of  all  ages. 
They  should  not  be  fed  alone,  but  always  with  more  carbonaceous  feeds, 
as  corn  or  barley.  (969-70)  Mixed  with  the  various  ground  grains,  mid- 
dlings and  shorts  are  helpful  with  dairy  cows,  since  they  add  crude  pro- 
tein and  phosphorus  to  the  ration.  (589)  Middlings  and  shorts  alone 
should  never  be  fed  to  horses,  since  they  are  too  heavy  and  pasty  in 


LEADING  CEREALS  AND  THEIR  BY-PRODUCTS        159 

character  and  are  liable  to  induce  colic.  (487)  Like  bran,  both  mid- 
dlings and  shorts  are  low  in  lime,  which  should  always  be  supplied  by 
the  other  feeds  in  the  ration. 

221.  Wheat  mixed  feed. — Wheat  mixed  feed,  or  shipstuff,  is,  strictly 
speaking,  the  entire  mill  run  of  the  residues  of  the  wheat  kernel  left  after 
separating  the  commercial  flour.  The  term  is  also  used  for  various  mix- 
tures of  bran  and  red  dog  flour  or  middlings.  Smith  and  Beals  of  the 
Massachusetts  Station^'  state  that  a  good  grade  is  superior  to  wheat  bran, 
but  that  a  difference  of  10  per  ct.  in  value  is  often  noted  in  different 
samples,  depending  on  the  amount  of  flour  contained. 

222.  Screenings. — In  cleaning  and  grading  wheat  at  the  elevators  and 
mills,  there  remain  great  quantities  of  screenings,  consisting  of  broken 
and  shrunken  wheat  kernels  having  a  high  feeding  value,  mixed  with 
weed  seeds.  Many  of  the  latter  are  nutritious,  while  others  are  of  little 
worth,  and  a  few  actually  poisonous.  Poisonous  seeds,  such  as  corn 
cockle,  are  rarely  present  in  screenings  in  sufficient  quantities  to  cause 
ill  effects.  Unground  screenings  will  never  be  used  by  farmers  who  seek 
to  keep  their  land  free  from  noxious  weeds,  for  many  such  seeds  will 
pass  thru  the  animals  uninjured  and  be  carried  to  the  field  in  the  ma- 
nure. Finely  ground  screenings  are  free  from  this  objection.  Screen- 
ings have  their  place  and  use,  tho,  because  of  their  variable  character, 
little  of  a  definite  nature  can  be  said  concerning  them.  (850,  954)  Along 
with  molasses  and  the  by-products  of  the  distilleries,  breweries,  flouring 
mills,  oatmeal  factories,  etc.,  they  are  now  largely  absorbed  in  the  manu- 
facture of  proprietary  feeding  stuffs.  (285) 

The  feed  control  laws  of  various  states  require  that  when  screenings 
are  present  in  feeds  the  fact  be  indicated  on  the  label  and  in  some  cases 
the  percentage  must  be  stated.  Wheat  bran  with  mill  run  screenings  is 
a  trade  term  for  pure  wheat  bran  plus  the  screenings  which  were  sep- 
arated from  the  wheat  whence  the  bran  originated.  Wheat  Iran  with 
screenings  not  exceeding  mill  run  may  be  either  wheat  bran  with  the 
whole  mill  run  of  screenings  or  with  but  a  portion  of  the  screenings 
output. 

III.  Oats  and  their  By-products 

Next  to  corn,  oats,  Avena  sativa,  are  the  most  extensively  groA\Ti  cereal 
in  America.  In  the  southern  portion  of  our  country  a  bushel  of  oats 
often  weighs  only  20  lbs.,  while  on  the  Pacific  coast  it  may  weigh  50  lbs. 
Southern  oats  have  a  larger  kernel  than  the  northern  grain,  but  bear 
an  inflated  husk  carrying  an  awn  or  beard,  which  causes  the  grains 
to  lie  loosely  in  the  measure.  In  the  North  the  kernel  is  encased  in  a 
compact  hull,  usually  not  awned.  The  hulls  of  oats  constitute  from  20 
to  45  per  ct.  of  their  total  weight,  the  average  being  about  30  per  ct. 
"Clipped  oats"  have  had  the  hulls  clipped  at  the  pointed  end,  thereby 

"Mass.  Bui.  146. 


160  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

increasing  the  weight  per  bushel.  A  huUess  oat,  but  little  grown  in  this 
country,  serves  well  for  poultry  and  swine,  while  the  varieties  with  hulls 
are  preferable  for  other  stock.  The  oat  grain  is  higher  in  crude  protein 
than  is  corn,  and  in  fat  it  exceeds  wheat  and  nearly  equals  corn. 

223.  Oats  as  a  feed. — Oats  are  the  safest  of  all  feeds  for  the  horse,  for 
the  hull  gives  them  such  volume  that  the  animal  rarely  suffers  from  gorg- 
ing; in  this  respect  they  are  in  strong  contrast  with  corn.  On  account 
of  the  mettle  so  characteristic  of  the  oat-fed  horse,  it  was  long  held  that 
there  is  a  stimulating  substance  in  the  oat  grain.  All  claims  of  the  dis- 
covery of  this  compound  have,  however,  melted  away  on  careful  exam- 
ination, and  rations  containing  no  oats  have  given  results  in  every  way 
as  good  as  where  oats  were  fed.  (473-4)  For  dairy  cows  there  is  no  better 
grain  than  oats,  but  their  use  is  restricted  by  their  high  price.  (579) 
Oats  mixed  with  other  concentrates  are  helpful  in  starting  fattening 
cattle  or  sheep  on  feed.  As  fattening  progresses  more  concentrated  feeds 
should  be  substituted  for  all  or  most  of  the  oats.  (740,  851)  Ground 
oats  with  the  hulls  sifted  out  provide  a  nourishing  and  wholesome  feed 
for  young  calves  and  pigs.  (946)  For  breeding  swine,  whole  oats  in 
limited  quantity  are  ahvays  in  place.  As  light  weight  oats  contain  more 
hull  and  less  kernel  than  plump,  heavy  oats,  their  feeding  value  per 
pound  will  be  correspondingly  less. 

In  recent  years  the  bleaching  of  low-grade  oats  and  barley  with  sul- 
furous  acid  fumes  to  whiten  the  grain  and  raise  the  market  grade,  has 
become  common.  Smith^^  estimates  that  in  6  months  beginning  October 
1,  1908,  nearly  19,000,000  bushels  of  oats  and  barley  were  bleached  at 
13  grain  centers  in  3  north-central  states.  No  feeding  trials  have  been 
reported  in  which  bleached  oats  have  been  fed,  but  complaints  from  horse- 
men of  injurious  effects  on  the  health  of  the  animals  fed  such  oats  are 
not  uncommon.  Several  states  have  laws  regulating  the  sale  of  bleached 
grains. 

224.  Oat  by-products. — In  the  manufacture  of  oatmeal  and  other  break- 
fast foods,  after  the  light-weight  grains  are  screened  out  to  be  sold  as 
feed  the  hulls  are  removed  from  the  remainder,  a  vast  quantity  result- 
ing. So  completely  are  the  kernels  separated  that  the  chaff-like  hulls 
have  but  low  feeding  value.  Oat  hulls  contain  about  30  per  ct.  fiber,  as 
Appendix  Table  I  shows,  and  their  feeding  value  is  only  little,  if  any, 
above  that  of  oat  straw.  If  fragments  of  the  kernels  adhere,  their  value 
is  of  course  thereby  improved.  The  oat  hulls  are  sold  in  mixture  with 
other  feeds  under  various  names.  (285)  The  statement  of  feed  manu- 
facturers that  the  addition  of  a  limited  amount  of  hulls  to  a  heavy  con- 
centrate mixture  is  beneficial  seems  reasonable  in  view  of  the  excellent 
results  secured  vdth  the  natural  unhulled  oats.  However,  the  appear- 
ance of  such  feeds  is  no  guide  to  their  value  or  the  quantity  of  hulls 
present,  and  they  hence  should  be  purchased  only  on  guarantee  and  on 
the  basis  of  their  actual  composition  compared  with  standard  feeds. 

'^U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  Plant  Indus.,  Cir.  74. 


LEADING  CEREALS  AND  THEIR  BY-PRODUCTS         161 

After  the  oats  are  hulled,  they  are  freed  from  the  minute  hairs  which 
adhere  to  the  outer  end  of  the  kernel.  Small  as  these  hairs  are,  they  form 
with  fragments  of  the  kernels  a  product  of  great  volume,  known  as  oat 
dust,  which  contains  considerable  protein  and  fat,  with  about  18  per  ct. 
fiber.  This  feed  is  usually  sold  in  mixture  with  other  concentrates,  as 
its  light,  fluffy  nature  makes  it  unsuitable  to  feed  alone.  In  feeding 
value  this  product  ranks  between  oat  hulls  and  oat  middlings.  Oat  shorts 
or  middlings,  consisting  of  the  outside  skins  of  the  kernels,  closely  re- 
semble wheat  bran  in  composition,  but  carry  more  fat.  Oat  feeds  are  mix- 
tures, widely  varying  in  composition,  of  ground  oat  hulls,  oat  middlings, 
and  other  by-products.  Since  the  feeding  value  will  depend  on  the 
amount  of  hulls  present,  these  feeds  should  be  purchased  only  on  guar- 
antee of  composition  and  from  reputable  dealers.  The  fiber  content  of 
any  lot  indicates  the  relative  amount  of  hulls  contained.  Clipped  oat 
hy-product,  or  oat  clippings,  is  the  by-product  obtained  in  the  manu- 
facture of  clipped  oats.  This  material,  which  consists  of  chaffy  material 
broken  from  the  ends  of  the  hulls,  empty  hulls,  light  immature  oats,  and 
dust,  is  used  in  various  proprietary  feeds. 

225.  Ground  corn  and  oats. — This  feed,  variously  called  ground  corn 
and  oats,  ground  feed,  and  provender,  is  extensively  employed  in  the 
eastern  and  southern  states  for  feeding  dairy  cows  and  especially  horses. 
In  composition  it  ranges  from  a  straight  mixture  of  good-grade  corn 
and  oats  to  one  containing  a  large  proportion  of  low-grade  materials  such 
as  oat  hulls,  ground  corn  cobs,  and  other  refuse.  The  best  guide  to  the 
purity  of  this  feed  is  the  fiber  content.  As  com  contains  only  2.0  per  ct. 
fiber  and  oats  10.9  per  ct. ,  when  ground  corn  and  oat  feed  contains  over 
about  7  per  ct.  fiber,  it  has  either  been  adulterated  or  was  made  from 
poor  quality  oats.  Where  more  than  9  per  ct.  fiber  is  present  adulter- 
ation is  certain.^''  This  feed  should  be  purchased  only  on  guarantee  and 
from  reliable  dealers. 


IV.  Barley  and  its  By-products  in  Brewing 

Barley,  Hordeuni  sativum,  is  the  most  widely  cultivated  of  the  cereals, 
growing  as  far  north  as  65°  north  latitude  in  Alaska  and  flourishing 
beside  orange  groves  in  California.  Once  the  chief  bread  plant  of  many 
ancient  nations,  it  is  now  used  almost  wholly  for  brewing,  pearling,  and 
stock  feeding.  Richardson-**  found  that  Dakota  barley  contained  the 
highest  percentage  of  crude  protein,  and  Oregon  barley  the  lowest.  The 
adherent  hull  of  the  grain  of  ordinary  brewing  barley  or  of  Scotch 
barley  constitutes  about  15  per  ct.  of  its  total  weight. 

California  feed  barley,  grown  extensively  in  some  sections  of  the  West, 
has  more  hull  and  weighs  45  lbs.  or  less  per  bushel;  while  the  usual 
weight  of  common  barley  is  48  lbs.  Bald,  or  hulless,  barley  also  grown 
in  the  western  states  has  hard  kernels,  contains  less  fiber  owing  to  the 

"Won  and  Strowd,  Wis.  Cir.  47.  ^''U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Div.  of  Chern.,  Bui.  9. 


162  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

absence  of  the  hull,  and  is  as  heavy  as  wheat.  (848)  Barley  has  less 
digestible  crude  protein  than  oats,  and  more  than  corn.  The  carbo- 
hydrates exceed  those  of  oats  and  fall  below  those  in  corn,  while  the  oil 
content  is  lower  than  in  either  of  these  grains. 

226.  Barley  as  a  feed. — On  the  Pacific  slope,  where  corn  or  oats  do 
not  flourish  in  equal  degree,  barley  is  extensively  used  as  a  feed  for  ani- 
mals. The  horses  of  California  are  quite  generally  fed  on  rolled  barley, 
with  wheat,  oat,  or  barley  hay  for  roughage.  (494)  Barley  is  the  common 
feed  for  dairy  cows  in  northern  Europe.  The  Danes  sow  barley  and  oats 
together  in  the  proportion  of  1  part  of  barley  to  2  of  oats,  the  ground 
mixed  grain  from  this  crop  being  regarded  as  the  best  available  feed  for 
dairy  cows  and  other  stock.  (580)  Fed  with  legume  hay  to  fattening 
steers  and  lambs,  barley  has  given  nearly  as  good  returns  as  corn.  (738, 
848)  For  horses  barley  is  somewhat  less  valuable  than  oats.  (478)  At  the 
Virginia  Station-^  calves  made  excellent  gains  on  barley  and  skim  milk, 
but  corn  proved  cheaper.  (681)  In  Great  Britain  and  northern  Europe 
barley  takes  the  place  of  corn  for  pig  feeding,  leading  all  grains  in  pro- 
ducing pork  of  fine  quality,  both  as  to  hardness  and  flavor.  In  American 
trials  somewhat  more  barley  than  corn  has  been  required  for  100  lbs. 
gain  with  fattening  pigs.  (944)  Owing  to  its  more  chaffy  nature  Cali- 
fornia feed  barley  is  somewhat  lower  in  value  than  common  barley.  (848) 
Tho  barley  is  somewhat  higher  than  corn  in  crude  protein,  it  is  still 
decidedly  carbonaceous  in  character,  and  should  be  fed  with  legume  hay 
or  with  a  nitrogenous  concentrate  for  the  best  results. 

227.  Malt. — In  making  malt  the  barley  grains  are  first  steeped  in  warm 
water  until  soft.  The  grain  is  then  held  at  a  warm  temperature  until 
it  begins  to  sprout,  in  which  process  the  amount  of  diastase,  the  en- 
zyme which  converts  starch  into  malt  sugar,  increases  greatly,  and  some 
of  the  starch  in  the  grain  is  acted  on  by  the  diastase.  When  sufficient 
diastase  has  been  formed  in  the  sprouting  grain,  it  is  quickly  dried.  The 
tiny,  dry,  shriveled  sprouts  are  then  separated  from  the  grains,  and  put 
on  the  market  as  malt  sprouts.  The  dried  grains  remaining  form  malt.  In 
the  manufacture  of  beer  the  malt,  after  being  crushed  by  rolling,  is  moist- 
ened and  usually  mixed  with  cracked  corn  which  has  been  previously 
cooked.  The  diastase  in  the  malt  now  converts  the  starch  in  the  corn 
and  the  malt  itself  into  malt  sugar.  This,  together  with  some  of  the 
nitrogenous  and  mineral  matter  is  then  extracted  from  the  mass  and 
fermented  by  yeast.  The  freshly  extracted  residue  constitutes  wet 
Ir ewers'  grains,  which  on  drying  in  a  vacuum  are  called  dried  brewers' 
grains  or  brewers'  dried  grains. 

It  was  formerly  claimed  that  malting  barley  increased  its  value  for 
stock  feeding.  Investigations  by  Lawes  and  Gilbert  of  the  Rothamsted 
Station,^-  England,  show  that  a  given  weight  of  barley  is  of  greater  value 
for  dairy  cows  and  fattening  animals  than  the  amount  of  malt  and  malt 
sprouts  that  would  be  produced  from  it.     This  is  due  to  the  oxidizing 

"Va.  Bui.  172.  ''Rothamsted  Memoirs,  Vol.  IV. 


LEADING  CEREALS  AND  THEIR  BY-PRODUCTS         163 

or  burning  up  of  some  of  the  stored  nutrients  in  the  grain  during  the 
sprouting  process.  Malt  is,  however,  very  palatable  to  stock,  and  useful 
as  a  conditioner  and  in  fitting  animals  for  exhibition  or  sale.-^ 

228.  Dried  brewers'  grains. — Dried  brewers'  grains,  which  are  no  more 
perishable  than  wheat  bran,  contain  over  70  per  ct.  more  digestible 
crude  protein  and  twice  as  much  fat  as  wheat  bran,  but  are  lower  in 
carbohydrates,  which  are  largely  pentosans.^*  (9) 

Higher  in  fiber  than  wheat  bran,  they  are  a  bulky  feed,  and  there- 
fore not  well  suited  to  pigs.  They  are  widely  fed  to  dairy  cows  and 
serve  well  as  part  of  the  concentrate  allowance  for  horses,  especially  for 
those  at  hard  work,  and  needing  an  ample  supply  of  protein.  (488,  593, 
759,  856) 

229.  Wet  brewers'  grains. — Owing  to  their  volume,  watery  nature,  and 
perishable  character,  wet  brewers'  grains  are  usually  fed  near  the  brew- 
ery. Containing  about  75  per  ct.  water,  they  have  slightly  over  one- 
fourth  the  feeding  value  of  an  equal  weight  of  dried  grains.  In  the 
hands  of  ignorant  or  greedy  persons  cows  have  often  been  crowded  into 
dark,  illy- ventilated  sheds  and  fed  almost  exclusively  upon  wet  brewers' 
grains.  Sometimes  the  grains  are  partially  rotted  when  fed,  and  the 
drippings  getting  under  feed  boxes  and  floors  produce  sickening  odors. 
It  is  not  surprising  that  boards  of  health  have  prohibited  the  sale  of 
milk  from  such  dairies.  There  is  nothing  in  fresh  brewers'  grains  which 
is  necessarily  deleterious  to  milk.  Supplied  in  reasonable  quantity,  20 
to  30  lbs.  per  head  daily,  and  fed  while  fresh  in  clean,  water-tight  boxes 
and  along  with  nutritious  hay  and  other  roughage,  there  is  no  better 
food  for  dairy  cows  than  wet  brewers'  grains.  So  great  is  the  temp- 
tation to  abuse,  however,  that  wet  grains  should  never  be  fed  to  dairy 
cows  unless  under  the  supervision  of  competent  officials.  If  this  cannot 
be  done,  their  use  should  be  prohibited.  In  Europe  the  wet  grains  are 
considered  excellent  for  fattening  cattle  and  swine  when  used  with  dry 
feed  and  furnishing  not  over  half  the  nutrients  in  the  ration.  On  ac- 
count of  their  "washy"  nature,  they  are  not  so  useful  for  horses  and 
sheep,  tho  horses  may  be  fed  20  lbs.  per  head  daily  and  fattening  sheep 
1  lb.  daily  per  100  lbs.  live  weight.-^ 

230.  Malt  sprouts. — The  tiny,  shriveled  sprouts  which  have  been  sep- 
arated from  the  dried  malt  grains  form  a  bulky  feed  which  is  rather  low 
in  carbohydrates  and  fat,  but  carries  about  20  per  ct.  digestible  crude 
protein,  one-third  of  which  is  amids.-"  At  ruling  prices  they  are  an  eco- 
nomical source  of  protein,  but  not  being  relished  by  stock  should  be  given 
in  limited  quantity  mixed  with  other  concentrates.  Malt  sprouts  are 
especially  valuable  for  dairy  cows,  tho  they  will  not  usually  eat  over  2  or 
3  lbs.  daily.  (594)     In  Europe  horses  have  been  fed  as  high  as  5  to  6  lbs. 

=^Pott,  Handb.  Ernahr.  u.  Putter.,  Ill,  1909,  p.  257. 
"Mass.  (Hatch)  Bui.  94. 

=^Pott,  Handb.  Ernahr.  u.  Fuller.,  Ill,  1909,  p.  233. 
*Pott,  Handb.  Emabr.  u.  Fuller.,  Ill,  1909,  p.  223. 


164  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

per  head  daily  with  good  results,  and  sheep  0.5  lb.  daily  per  100  lbs.  live 
weight.  Since  malt  sprouts  swell  greatly  when  they  absorb  water,  they 
may  cause  digestive  disturbances  if  fed  dry  to  stock  in  large  amounts 
and  should  therefore  be  soaked  for  several  hours  before  feeding.  When 
not  over  1  lb.  per  head  is  fed  to  cattle  wdth  other  feed,  soaking  is  un- 
necessary, but  moistening  to  lay  the  dust  is  advisable.-^ 

231.  Barley  feed. — This  by-product  from  the  manufacture  of  pearl 
barley  or  flour  has  about  the  same  feeding  value  as  wheat  bran,  being 
somewhat  lower  in  protein  and  higher  in  nitrogen-free  extract. 


V.  Rye  and  its  By-products 

Rye,  Secale  cereale,  the  principal  cereal  of  north  Europe,  is  not  ex- 
tensively grown  in  America.  Tho  it  repays  good  treatment,  this  ' '  grain 
of  poverty"  thrives  in  cool  regions  on  land  that  would  not  give  profit- 
able returns  with  the  other  cereals.  It  furnishes  about  one-third  of  the 
people  of  Europe  with  bread,  and  when  low  in  price  or  off-grade  is  com- 
monly fed  to  stock.  (396) 

232.  Eye  and  its  by-products. — Tho  farm  animals  show  no  fondness  for 
rye,  they  take  it  willingly  when  mixed  with  other  feeds,  as  should  always 
be  done.  Fed  alone  or  in  large  amounts  it  is  more  apt  to  cause  digestive 
disturbances  than  the  other  cereals.  In  northern  Europe  it  is  a  common 
feed  for  horses  and  swine.  (480,  948)  Fed  in  large  allowance  to  cows 
rye  produces  a  hard,  dry  butter,  but  a  limited  amount  mixed  with  other 
feeds  has  given  good  results.  (581) 

The  by-products  in  the  manufacture  of  rye  flour  are  rye  Iran  and  rye 
middlings,  which  are  usually  combined  and  sold  as  rye  feed.  All  have 
about  the  same  feeding  value  as  the  corresponding  wheat  feeds,  each  con- 
taining less  fiber  and  being  somewhat  lower  in  protein  and  higher  in 
nitrogen-free  extract  than  the  corresponding  wheat  feed. 

VI.  Emmer 

Emmer,  Triticum  sat.,  var.  dicoccum,  often  incorrectly  called  "spelt" 
or  "speltz,"  was  introduced  into  America  from  Germany  and  Russia. 
It  is  a  member  of  the  wheat  family,  altho  in  appearance  the  grain  re- 
sembles barley.  Being  drought  resisting,  emmer  is  especially  valuable 
in  the  semi-arid  regions  of  America.  In  1909,  12,700,000  bushels  were 
grown,  mostly  in  the  northern  plains  states,  the  average  yield  per  acre 
being  22  bushels  of  40  lbs.  each.  The  adherent  hulls  of  emmer  repre- 
sent about  21  per  ct.  and  the  kernels  79  per  ct.  of  the  grain. 

The  following  table  shows  the  average  yields  of  various  spring  grains 
grown  without  irrigation  for  8  years  at  the  North  Dakota  Station  at 
Fargo-^  and  for  5  years  at  the  North  Platte,  Nebraska,  Station  :^^ 

*'Pott,  Handb.  Ernahr.  u.  Futter.,  Ill,  1909,  p.  226. 

^N.  D.  Bui.  75.      ='Nebr.  Bui.  135. 


LEADING  CEREALS  AND  THEIR  BY-PRODUCTS        165 
Yield  of  emmer  compared  with  other  spring  grains 

North  Dakota        Nebraska 
Grain  Yield  per  acre    Yield  per  acre 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

Emmer 1,945  1,142 

Barley 1,877  1,423 

Oats 1,969  1,032 

Wheat 1,711  

Durum  wheat 1,835*  1,151 

*  Av.  of  7  years. 

Winter  emmer,  introduced  more  recently  into  the  United  States,  is  of 
considerable  promise  in  states  where  it  is  hardy.^° 

233.  Emmer  as  a  feed. — In  composition  emmer  closely  resembles  oats. 
Like  that  grain  it  is  somewhat  bulky  to  use  as  the  sole  concentrate  for 
fattening  animals,  and  gives  better  results  when  mixed  with  corn  or 
barley.  (852)  Tho  its  value  is  usually  somewhat  lower  than  that  of 
corn,  with  corn  silage  and  linseed  meal,  ground  emmer  proved  equal  to 
corn,  pound  for  pound,  with  fattening  steers  in  a  trial  at  the  South  Da- 
kota Station.  (743)  "With  dairy  cows  and  fattening  pigs  its  value  is 
somewhat  less  than  that  of  corn.  (582,  947)  Thru  the  introduction  of 
emmer,  kafir,  milo,  and  certain  millets,  all  relatively  new  plants  with 
us,  the  possibilities  of  the  great  plains  region  of  America  for  the  main- 
tenance of  farm  animals  and  the  production  of  meat  have  been  enor- 
mously increased. 

^'U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Farmers'  Bui.  466. 


CHAPTER  X 

MINOR  CEREALS,  OIL-BEARING  AND  LEGUMINOUS  SEEDS, 
AND  THEIR  BY-PRODUCTS 

I.  Rice  and  its  By-products 

The  production  of  rice,  Oryza  sativa,  is  steadily  increasing  in  Louisi- 
ana, Texas,  and  Arkansas,  where  it  already  forms  an  important  industry. 
In  1914  about  22,589,000  bushels  of  rice,  over  95  per  ct.  of  the  entire  crop 
of  the  United  States,  was  produced  in  these  states.^  Like  wheat,  this 
cereal  is  used  almost  entirely  for  human  food,  only  the  by-products 
from  the  manufacture  of  table,  or  polished,  rice  being  fed  to  farm 
animals. 

234.  Kice  and  its  by-products. — In  preparing  rough  rice,  often  called 
paddy,  for  human  food,  first  the  hulls  and  next  the  bran,  or  outer  skin 
of  the  kernel,  are  removed.  The  kernels  are  then  "polished,"  both  to 
separate  the  creamy  outside  layer  of  cells,  rich  in  crude  protein  and  fat, 
and  to  produce  an  attractive,  pearly  luster.  The  resulting  floury  par- 
ticles constitute  rice  polish.  According  to  Fraps-  of  the  Texas  Station, 
a  sack  of  rough  rice,  weighing  162  lbs.,  will  yield  about  100  lbs.  of  pol- 
ished rice,  6.3  lbs.  of  rice  polish,  20.2  lbs.  of  rice  bran,  and  32.1  lbs.  of 
hulls,  with  a  wastage  of  3.4  lbs. 

Rice  hulls  are  tasteless,  tough,  and  woody.  They  are  heavily  charged 
with  silica,  or  sand,  and  have  sharp,  roughened,  flinty  edges  and  needle- 
like points  which,  not  softening  in  the  digestive  tract,  prove  irritating 
and  dangerous  to  the  walls  of  the  stomach  and  intestines.  Because  of 
authentic  reports  of  vomiting  and  death  with  cattle  fed  rice  hulls,  they 
should  never  be  fed  to  farm  animals.^  Yet  rice  hulls  have  been  extensively 
employed  by  unscrupulous  dealers  for  adulterating  commercial  feeding 
stuffs,  and  are  sometimes  ground  and  sold  as  "husk  meal"  or  "Star 
bran." 

Rice  bran,  when  pure,  is  composed  of  the  outer  layer  of  the  rice  ker- 
nel proper,  together  with  the  germs,  and  a  small  amount  of  hulls  not 
separated  in  the  milling  process.  This  feed,  when  adulterated  with  hulls, 
is  called  "commercial  bran."  Unadulterated  bran,  which  does  not  con- 
tain over  12  per  ct.  fiber,  is  a  highly  nutritious  feed,  as  not  enough  hulls 
are  present  to  be  injurious.  It  contains  about  11  per  ct.  fat,  and  approx- 
imately as  much  protein  as  barley  or  wheat,  but  less  nitrogen-free  extract. 
As  rice  oil,  or  fat,  soon  becomes  rancid,  the  bran  is  frequently  distasteful 
to  animals.  The  Louisiana  Station  employed  rice  bran  successfully  as 
half  the  concentrates  for  horses  and  mules,  and  it  was  found  satisfactory 

^U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Yearbook,  1914.  *Tex.  Bui.  73.  *La.  Bui.  77. 

166 


MINOR  CEREALS  167 

for  fattening  steers  at  the  Texas  Station.  (745)  Fed  to  dairy  cows  and 
swine  in  large  amounts,  even  when  not  rancid,  it  injures  the  quality  of 
milk  and  produces  soft  pork.  (980) 

Rice  polish,  which  has  a  feeding  value  equal  to  corn,  carries  slightly 
more  crude  protein  and  considerably  more  fat,  but  correspondingly  less 
nitrogen-free  extract.  Its  use  in  the  arts  removes  it  largely  from  the  list 
of  farm  feeding  stuffs.  (745,  980) 

Only  low-grade  rough  rice  and  hulled  rice  are  commonly  fed  to  stock. 
Dodson  of  the  Louisiana  Station^  values  rough  rice  at  7  and  hulled  rice 
at  16  per  ct.  more  than  corn.  Hulled  rice  is  the  richest  of  all  cereals  in 
carbohydrates,  but  relatively  low  in  crude  protein  and  fat.  Since  no  ill 
effects  from  the  hulls  have  been  known  to  follow  the  feeding  of  rough 
rice,  it  may  replace  corn  in  the  rations  of  farm  animals.  On  account  of 
the  hardness  of  the  kernels  it  gives  better  results  when  ground.  The 
Texas  Station^  found  that  ground  damaged  rice  had  about  half  the  value 
of  cottonseed  meal  for  fattening  steers.  Red  rice,  a  pest  in  rice  fields, 
equals  the  cultivated  grain  in  feeding  value.  (745) 


II.  Sorghums  and  Millets 

Numberless  millions  of  people  in  India,  China,  and  Africa  rely  on  the 
sorghums  and  millets  for  their  bread.  Church"  tells  us  that  33,000,000 
acres  of  land  in  India  are  annually  devoted  to  growing  the  millets  and 
the  sorghums  including  the  kafirs,  milos,  etc. — a  greater  area,  he  re- 
ports, than  is  devoted  to  wheat,  rice,  and  Indian  corn  combined.  BalF 
writes  that  thruout  Africa — on  the  dry  plains,  in  the  oases  of  the  Sahara, 
on  high  plateaus,  in  mountain  valleys,  and  in  tropical  jungles — the  sor- 
ghums are  the  one  ever-present  crop.  Their  forms  are  as  diverse  as  the 
conditions  under  which  they  grow,  the  plants  ranging  in  height  from  3 
to  20  feet,  with  heads  of  different  shapes  varying  from  5  to  25  inches  in 
length. 

The  sorghums,  Andropogon  sorghum  or  Sorghum  vulgare,  vars.,  may 
be  divided  into  two  classes — the  saccharine  sorghums,  having  stems  filled 
with  sweet  juices,  and  the  non-saccharine  varieties,  with  more  pithy  stems 
and  juice  sour  or  only  slightly  sweet.  The  Indian  corn  plant  never  gives 
satisfactory  returns  if  once  its  growth  is  checked.  The  sorghums  may 
cease  growing  and  their  leaves  shrivel  during  periods  of  excessive  heat 
and  drought ;  yet  when  these  conditions  pass  and  the  soil  becomes  moist 
again,  they  quickly  resume  growth.  This  quality  gives  to  this  group  of 
plants  great  worth  and  vast  importance  as  grain  crops  for  the  southern 
portion  of  the  semi-arid  plains  region.  Their  value  in  this  section  is 
well  shown  by  the  fact  that  between  1899  and  1909  the  acreage  in  the 
United  States  of  kafir  and  milo  grown  for  grain  increased  from  266,000 
to  1,635,000  acres. 

"La.  Planter,  44,  6,  p.  92.  'Food  Grains  in  India,  1901. 

"Tex.  Bui.  86.  ^Yearbook,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  1913. 


168  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

235.  Grain  sorghums. — The  non-saccharine,  or  grain,  sorghums  include 
Ixafir,  durra,  milo,  feterita,  kaoliang,  and  the  less  important  shallu.  The 
kafirs  are  stout-stemmed,  broad-leaved  plants,  having  slightly  sweet  juice 
and  long,  erect,  cylindrical  heads  carrying  small,  egg-shaped  seeds.  The 
true  durras  were  the  first  grain  sorghums  introduced  into  the  United 
States.  They  were  never  grown  to  any  great  extent  as  they  have  coarse 
stems,  relatively  few  leaves,  lodge  readily,  and  sucker  badly.  The  grain 
shatters  easily  and  the  pendent,  or  "goose-necked,"  heads  render  har- 
vesting difficult. 

The  milos,  sometimes  classed  under  the  durras,  have  few  leaves  com- 
pared with  the  kafirs,  and  hence  are  not  as  valuable  for  forage.  They 
usually  have  short,  thick  heads  with  large,  flat  seeds.  The  heads  are 
mostly  goose-necked,  but  some  strains  have  recently  been  developed  in 
which  nearly  all  the  heads  are  erect.  Feterita,  or  Sudan  durra,  has 
slender  stems  carrying  more  leaves  than  milo,  but  less  than  kafir,  and 
erect  heads  bearing  flattened  seeds. 

The  kaoliangs,  early  maturing  sorghums  from  northern  China,  are 
slender,  dry-stemmed  plants,  with  loose,  open,  erect  heads.  Shallu,  or 
"Egyptian  wheat,"  is  slender-stemmed,  with  low,  spreading  heads  which 
shatter  badly.  Reports  from  various  experiment  stations  show  that 
shallu  is  of  little  value  compared  with  the  other  sorghums. 

Most  of  the  grain  sorghum  produced  in  the  United  States  is  grown  in 
the  southern  part  of  the  Great  Plains  region,  east  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, extending  from  southwestern  Nebraska  to  northwestern  Texas.  A 
limited  amount  is  also  grown  in  sections  of  Arizona,  Utah,  and  Cali- 
fornia. By  selection  and  crossing,  varieties  of  sorghum  are  being  de- 
veloped which  are  suited  to  the  various  districts,  especially  dwarf  strains 
which  have  erect  heads  that  are  easily  harvested  with  the  grain  header, 
and  which  are  early  maturing,  thereby  escaping  late  summer  droughts. 
Thru  the  development  of  early  types  the  sorghums  are  being  carried  fur- 
ther north.  Over  much  of  the  drier  western  portion  of  the  grain-sor- 
ghum belt  these  crops  are  more  sure,  and,  even  on  good  soil,  return  larger 
yields  than  corn. 

On  poor,  thin  uplands  in  central  and  eastern  Kansas  and  Okla- 
homa the  sorghums  are  also  superior  to  corn.  Churchill  and  Wright*  of 
the  Oklahoma  Station  report  that  during  the  5  years,  from  1909  to  1913, 
on  soil  underlaid  by  hardpan  where  the  average  yield  of  corn  was  only 
1  bushel  per  acre,  kafir  averaged  34.9  bushels.  Even  on  better  land  in 
such  districts  it  is  advisable  to  replace  some  of  the  corn  acreage  with 
grain  sorghum  as  an  insurance  against  severe  drought.  Piper"  states 
that  the  grain  sorghums  commonly  yield  25  bushels  per  acre  with 
maximums  of  75  bushels  for  kafir,  46  for  milo,  and  80  for  feterita. 

The  customary  basis  for  selling  the  seed  of  the  grain  sorghums  is  by 
the  56-lb.  bushel,  but,  according  to  Churchill  and  Wright^"  of  the  Okla- 
homa Station,  the  usual  weight  is  about  54  lbs.  Kafir  heads  contain 
about  77  per  ct.  of  grain  and  those  of  milo  about  84  per  ct. ;  accordingly 

^Okla.  Bui.  102.  "Forage  Plants,  p.  273.  "Okla.  Bui.  102. 


MINOR  CEREALS  169 

73  lbs.  of  head  kafir  and  G6  lbs.  of  head  milo  are  required  for  a  bushel 
(56  lbs.)  of  grain.  BalP^  states  that  altho  the  percentage  of  grain  in 
the  entire  crop  varies  widely  with  the  season  and  thickness  of  stand, 
under  ordinary  conditions  from  35  to  40  per  ct.  of  the  air-dry  weight 
of  a  crop  of  milo  and  kaoliang  and  25  per  ct.  of  kafir  will  be  grain. 

When  cut  for  grain  the  crop  should  not  be  harvested  until  the  seeds 
are  well  matured.  Because  the  hard-coated  seeds  when  apparently  dry 
may  contain  much  water,  the  grain  sorghums  are  especially  apt  to  heat 
in  the  bin  unless  precautions  are  taken. 

236.  Grain  sorghuins  as  feeds. — The  different  sorghums  are  similar  in 
composition,  carrying  about  as  luuch  crude  protein  and  nitrogen-free  ex- 
tract as  corn,  but  about  1.5  per  ct.  less  fat.  Properly  supplemented 
with  protein-rich  feeds,  they  are  excellent  for  all  classes  of  animals.  Tho 
less  palatable  than  corn,  their  nutritive  value  ranges  from  fully  equal 
to  this  grain  to  15  per  ct.  less.  (741-2,  853,  949-51)  For  horses,  fatten- 
ing cattle,  dairy  cows,  and  pigs  the  grain  is  usually  ground,  being  then 
called  "chop."  Grinding  for  sheep  is  not  essential.  Often  the  unthreshed 
heads  are  fed,  or  the  forage  carrying  the  heads  is  supplied,  especially 
to  idle  horses,  colts,  and  young  stock.  (481)  On  grinding  the  entire  heads 
the  product  is  called  "head  chop,"  which  resembles  corn-and-cob  meal 
in  composition. 

237.  Kafir. — The  kafirs  lead  in  both  grain  and  forage  production  in 
eastern  Kansas  and  Oklahoma.  This  type  does  not  sucker  or  produce  un- 
desirable side  branches,  has  erect,  compact  heads,  and  neither  lodges  nor 
shatters  its  grain.  The  most  common  type  in  the  more  humid  districts 
is  the  Blackhull  while  farther  west  the  Dwarf  Blackhull  and  the  White 
are  recommended  as  their  earliness  enables  them  the  better  to  evade 
drought.^-  Grown  in  regions  of  deficient  rainfall,  the  average  yield  of 
kafir  is  not  large.  In  good  seasons  and  on  fertile  soil  yields  of  50  bushels 
per  acre,  and  occasionally  75  bushels,  are  secured.  Kafir  grain,  being  as- 
tringent and  constipating,  is  suited  for  feeding  with  alfalfa,  clover,  and 
other  somewhat  laxative  roughages.  (481,  583,  681,  741,  853,  949) 

238.  Milo. — Next  to  kafir,  milo  is  the  most  important  of  this  class  of 
plants.  Grown  but  little  in  the  extreme  east  of  the  grain  belt,  it  outyields 
kafir  in  the  more  arid  districts  as  it  is  earlier.  According  to  Ball,^^  milo 
is  somewhat  superior  to  the  kafirs  as  a  feeding  grain,  and  unlike  the  ka- 
firs, has  a  beneficial  laxative  effect  on  the  bowels.  (481,  742,  853,  950) 

239.  Feterita. — This  type  of  durra  ripens  with  milo,  but  when  both  are 
planted  late  matures  sooner.  It  yields  as  much  grain  as  kafir,  tho  less 
forage,  and  is  a  most  promising  sorghum  for  the  eastern  portion  of  the 
grain  sorghum  belt.  Unfortunately  it  stools  badly  and  lodges  easilv  after 
maturity.i^  (870,  951) 

240.  Kaoliang^. — These  early-maturing  sorghums  are  of  much  promise 
for  the  northern  plains  section  where  the  other  types  will  not  mature. 
The  kaoliangs  compare  favorably  in  yield  of  grain  with  the  milos,  and 

"U.  S.  Farmers'  Bui.  448.  «U.  S.  Farmers'  Bui.  322. 

"Kan.  Bui.  198.  "Okla.  Bui.  102. 


170  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

are  even  better  in  severe  drought.  Hume  and  Champlin  report  that  in 
1911  at  the  Highmore,  South  Dakota,  Branch  Station^^  when  all  the  small 
grain  crops  were  a  failure  because  of  drought,  kaoliang  yielded  from  6 
to  11  bushels  per  acre,  small  tho  promising  yields.  The  forage  of  the 
kaoliangs  is  scanty  and  of  poor  quality,  the  stalks  being  pithy  and  the 
leaves  few.  In  sections  where  they  mature,  kafir,  milo,  or  feterita  are  to 
be  preferred.  (951) 

241.  Sweet  sorghums. — The  sweet  sorghums,  or  sorghos,  are  forage 
rather  than  grain  producers,  and  are  therefore  discussed  more  fully  in 
Chapter  XII.  (308-9)  Early  varieties  will  mature  wherever  corn 
ripens.  At  the  Wisconsin  Station"  the  senior  author  secured  32  bushels 
weighing  53  lbs.  each  of  amber  cane  seed  per  acre.  Cook  of  the  New 
Jersey  Station^'  found  amber  cane  seed  about  10  per  ct.  less  valuable 
than  Indian  corn  for  dairy  cows.  (584)  For  grain  production  sweet  sor- 
ghum is  surpassed  by  corn  in  the  humid  regions  and  by  the  grain  sor- 
ghums in  the  plains  districts. 

242.  Broom  corn. — In  harvesting  broom  corn  the  heads  are  cut  before 
the  seed  has  fully  matured,  and  the  seed  is  removed  from  the  brush  be- 
fore it  is  thoroly  dry.  This  seed  has  feeding  value  and  may  be  saved  by 
drying  or  ensiling  or,  as  Miles^®  showed,  by  preserving  in  an  earth- 
covered  heap. 

243.  Millets. — The  millets  chiefly  grown  in  this  country  are:  (1)  the 
foxtail  millets,  Setaria  Italica  spp.,  all  resembling  common  foxtail  or 
pigeon  grass  in  appearance;  and,  (2)  the  broom  corn,  proso,  or  hog  mil- 
lets, Panicum  miliaceum  spp.,  which  have  spreading  or  panicled  heads, 
wide  hairy  leaves,  and  large  seed.  Other  types  used  only  for  forage  are 
mentioned  in  Chapter  XIII.  In  humid  regions  millets  are  chiefly  sown 
in  early  summer  as  catch  crops,  owing  to  the  short  period  required  for 
growth.  In  the  northern  plains  district,  where  the  growing  season  is  too 
short  for  the  sorghums,  they  are  of  increasing  importance  for  grain  pro- 
duction. Zavitz  of  the  Ontario  Agricultural  College,^''  from  10-year  plot 
tests  with  various  types  of  foxtail  millets,  reports  average  yields  per  acre 
ranging  from  33.8  to  49.3  bushels  weighing  51  to  54.5  lbs.  each.  Hume 
and  Champlin  obtained  an  average  of  16.4  bushels  per  acre  with  vari- 
ous types  of  proso  millets  in  trials  covering  6-7  years  at  the  Highmore, 
South  Dakota,  Station,-"  and  of  20.7  bushels  for  foxtail  millets  in  trials 
during  6  years.  Wilson  and  Skinner  of  the  South  Dakota  Station-^  pro- 
duced 30  bushels  of  hog,  or  Black  Veronesh  millet,  Panicum  miliaceum, 
per  acre.  The  ground  grain  proved  satisfactory  for  fattening  swine,  tho 
for  a  given  gain  one-fifth  more  millet  was  required  than  of  wheat  or  bar- 
ley. The  carcasses  of  the  millet-fed  pigs  were  clothed  with  a  pure  white 
fat  of  superior  quality.    At  the  same  Station^^  in  the  production  of  baby 

i^S.  D.  Bui.  135.  "Ont.  Agr.  Col.  Rpt.  1913. 

"Wis.  Sta.,  Rpt.  on  Amber  Cane,  1881.  -°S.  D.  Bui.  135. 

"N.  J.  Rpt.  1885.  ='S.  D.  Bui.  83. 

"Country  Gentleman,  March  23,  1876.  ==8.  D.  Bui.  97. 


OIL-BEARING  SEEDS  AND  THEIR  BY-PRODUCTS  171 

beef  somewhat  more  millet  than  corn  was  required  for  a  given  gain,  (744, 
854,  952) 

III.  Buckwheat  and  its  By-products 
Tho  rarely  used  for  feeding  stock,  buckwheat  has  a  fair  value  for  such 
purpose,  its  nutrients  running  somewhat  lower  than  those  in  the  lead- 
ing cereals.  (953) 

244.  Buckwheat  by-products. — The  black,  woody  hulls  of  the  buck- 
wheat grain,  Fagopyrum  esculenium,  have  little  feeding  value  and  should 
be  used  to  give  bulk  or  volume  to  the  ration  only  when  it  cannot  be  other- 
wise secured.  On  the  other  hand,  buckwheat  middlings,  that  part  of  the 
kernel  immediately  under  the  hull,  which  is  separated  from  the  flour  on 
milling,  contain  28  per  ct.  crude  protein  and  7  per  ct.  fat,  with  little  fiber, 
and  hence  have  a  high  feeding  value.  The  miller,  desiring  to  dispose  of 
as  much  of  the  hulls  as  possible,  mixes  them  with  the  middlings  to  form 
bnckwheat  hran  or  feed.  WolP^  concludes  that  buckwheat  feed,  not  over 
half  of  which  is  hulls,  is  worth  about  20  per  ct.  less  than  wheat  bran. 
Such  feed  carries  about  15.7  per  ct.  protein  and  24  per  ct.  fiber.  The 
intelligent  purchaser  avoids  the  worthless  hulls  so  far  as  he  can,  choos- 
ing instead  the  rich,  floury  middlings.  Buckwheat  by-products  are  nearly 
always  used  for  feeding  cows,  rightly  having  the  reputation  of  produc- 
ing a  large  flow  of  milk,  but  may  be  successfully  fed  in  limited  quantities 
to  other  farm  animals.  (595)  The  charge  that  buckwheat  by-products 
make  a  white,  tallowy  butter  and  pork  of  low  quality  fails  if  they  are 
not  given  in  excess.  When  stored  in  bulk,  buckwheat  by-products  are 
liable  to  heat  unless  first  mixed  with  some  light  feed,  like  wheat  bran. 
(953) 

IV.  Oil-bearing  Seeds  and  their  By-products 

The  annual  crop  of  cotton,  Gossypium  hirsutum,  in  the  United  States 
now  amounts  to  over  14,000,000  bales  of  500  lbs.  each  wdth  not  less  than 
7,000,000  tons  of  cotton  seed  as  a  by-product,  since  for  each  pound  of 
fiber,  or  lint,  there  are  2  lbs.  of  seed.  Previous  to  1860  the  seed  of 
the  cotton  plant  was  largely  wasted  by  the  planters,  who  often  allowed 
it  to  rot  near  the  gin  house,  ignorant  or  careless  of  its  worth,  while  meat 
and  other  animal  products  which  might  have  been  produced  from  it  were 
purchased  at  high  cost  from  northern  farmers.  The  utilization  of  the 
cotton  seed  and  its  products  as  food  for  man  and  beast  furnishes  a  strik- 
ing example  of  what  science  is  accomplishing  for  agriculture. 

According  to  Burkett  and  Poe,-*  1  ton  of  cotton  seed  yields  approxi- 
mately : 

Linters,  or  short  fiber 27  pounds 

Hulls 841  pounds 

Cake,  or  meal 7-32  po'onds 

Crude  oil 280  pounds 

Loss,  etc 120  pounds 

Total 2000  pounds 

'^Wis.  Cir.  42.  -'Cotton,  its  Cultivation,  etc. 


172  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

245.  Cotton  seed. — The  cotton  seed  carries  about  19  per  ct.  fat,  or  oil, 
and  nearly  20  per  ct.  crude  protein.  Formerly  much  seed  was  fed  in  the 
South,  especially  to  steers  and  dairy  cattle.  Now  little  is  fed  before  the 
oil  is  extracted,  both  on  account  of  the  value  of  the  oil  and  because  cotton- 
seed meal  usually  gives  better  results.  Burns  of  the  Texas  Station-^  found 
that  205  lbs.  of  cotton  seed  fed  with  cottonseed  hulls  and  kafir  grain  was 
not  equal  to  100  lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal  for  fattening  steers,  while  Ben- 
nett^*^  at  the  Arkansas  Station  found  44  lbs.  of  meal  and  59  lbs.  of  hulls 
fed  with  cowpea  hay  fully  equal  to  100  lbs.  of  seed  for  steers.  Owing 
to  the  high  oil  content,  cotton  seed  sometimes  has  an  unduly  laxative 
effect.  (752)  Connell  and  Carson  of  the  Texas  Station-'  report  that 
boiled  or  roasted  seed  produced  larger  gains  and  was  more  palatable 
and  less  laxative,  but  owing  to  the  cost  of  preparation  the  gains  were 
more  expensive.  Wet,  moldy  cotton  seed,  or  that  which  has  heated, 
should  never  be  fed.  (598) 

246.  Cottonseed  cake  and  meal, — At  the  oil  mills  the  leathery  hulls  of 
the  cotton  seed,  which  are  covered  with  short  lint,  are  cut  by  machinery, 
and  the  oily  kernels  set  free.  These  kernels  are  crushed,  heated,  placed 
between  cloths,  and  subjected  to  hydraulic  pressure  to  remove  the  oil. 
The  residue  is  a  hard,  yellowish,  board-like  cake  about  1  inch  thick,  1  ft. 
-wide,  and  2  ft.  long.  For  the  trade  in  the  eastern  and  central  states  the 
cake  is  generally  ground  to  a  fine  meal,  for  the  western  trade  it  is  often 
broken  into  pieces  of  pea  or  nut  size  for  cattle  and  coarsely  ground  for 
sheep,  while  the  export  cake  is  commonly  left  whole.  For  feeding  out  of 
doors  the  broken  cake  is  preferable  to  meal  as  it  is  not  scattered  by  the 
wand.  Unadulterated  cottonseed  meal  of  good  quality  should  have  a 
light  yellow  color  and  a  sharp,  nutty  odor.  A  dark  or  dull  color  may  be 
due  to  age,  to  adulteration  with  hulls,  to  overheating  during  the  cook- 
ing process,  or  to  fermentation — all  of  which  impair  its  feeding  value.^^ 

Cottonseed  meal  is  one  of  the  richest  of  all  feeds  in  protein  and  carries 
over  8  per  ct.  of  fat.  The  protein  and  fiber  content  vary  considerably, 
depending  chiefly  on  how  thoroly  the  hulls  are  removed  from  the  meal. 
The  value  of  fresh  and  wholesome  meal  depends  on  the  percentage  of 
protein  it  contains ;  manufacturers  and  feed  control  officials  have  there- 
fore agreed  on  the  following  classification  of  products : 

Choice  cottonseed  meal  must  be  perfectly  sound  and  sweet  in  odor,  yellow,  not  brown 
or  reddish,  free  from  excess  of  lint,  and  must  contain  at  least  41  per  ct.  of  crude  protein. 

Prime  cottonseed  meal  must  be  of  sweet  odor,  reasonably  bright  in  color,  and  must 
contain  at  least  38 .6  per  ct.  of  crude  protein. 

Good  cottonseed  meal  must  be  of  sweet  odor,  reasonably  bright  in  color,  and  must 
contain  at  least  36  per  ct.  of  crude  protein. 

Cottonseed  feed  is  a  mixture  of  cottonseed  meal  and  cottonseed  hulls,  containing  less 
than  36  per  ct.  crude  protein. 

Owing  to  its  wide  variation  in  composition,  cottonseed  meal  should  be 
purchased  on  guarantee  whenever  possible. 

"'Tex.  Bui.  110.  ='Ark.  Bui.  52.        ='Tex.  Bui.  27.        =^ Hills,  Vt.  Rpt.  1909. 


OIL-BEARING  SEEDS  AND  THEIR  BY-PRODUCTS  173 

247.  Cottonseed  feed. — On  northern  markets  cottonseed  feed,  which 
may  consist  largely  of  hulls,  is  often  sold  for  but  a  few  dollars  per  ton 
less  than  choice  cottonseed  meal.  By  appearance  alone  it  is  impossible 
to  distinguish  good  cottonseed  meal  from  finely  ground  cottonseed  feed. 
Cottonseed  feed  may  be  an  entirely  legitimate  product,  for  it  is  impos- 
sible to  separate  thoroly  the  hulls  of  certain  kinds  of  cotton  seed  from 
the  kernels.  However,  such  feed  should  be  bought  at  a  price  correspond- 
ing to  its  crude-protein  content. 

In  case  of  doubt  as  to  purity,  the  following  simple  test  will  show  the 
approximate  amount  of  hulls  present  in  cottonseed  meal.-" 

Place  a  teaspoonful  of  the  meal  (do  not  use  more)  in  a  tumbler  and  pour  over  it 
from  1 .5  to  2  ounces  of  hot  water.  Stir  the  mass  till  it  is  thoroly  wet  and  all  the  particles 
are  floating.  Allow  it  to  settle  for  5  to  10  seconds  and  pour  off  the  Uquid.  If  there  has 
settled  out  in  this  time  a  large  amount  of  fine,  brown  sediment  which  is  noticeably 
darker  than  the  fine  yellow  meal  and  which  keeps  settHng  out  on  repeated  treatments 
with  hot  water,  the  product  is  low  grade.  AU  meals  contain  small  quantities  of  hulls 
and  will  show  dark  specks  when  thus  tested,  but  the  results  are  striking  when  pure  meal 
is  compared  with  cottonseed  feed. 

248.  Cold-pressed  cottonseed  cake. — Cold-pressed  cottonseed  cake,  or 
''caddo"  cake,  is  produced  by  subjecting  the  entire  uncrushed,  unheated 
seed  to  great  pressure.  In  the  residual  cake  there  is  a  larger  proportion 
of  hull  to  meal  than  in  normal  cake,  with  correspondingly  lower  feeding 
value.  This  product  is  usually  sold  in  nut  or  pea  size  but  is  sometimes 
ground  to  a  meal.  The  crude-protein  content  of  cold-pressed  cake  is  a 
reliable  guide  to  its  feeding  value.  (598,  751) 

249.  The  poison  of  cotton  seed. — Practical  experience  and  trials  at  the 
experiment  stations  unite  in  showing  that  cotton  seed  or  cottonseed  cake 
or  meal  is  not  always  a  safe  feed.  After  a  period  of  about  100  days 
steers  closely  confined  and  heavily  fed  on  meal  often  show  a  staggering 
gait,  some  become  blind,  and  death  frequently  ends  their  distress.  The 
Iowa  Station^^  reports  the  death  of  3  steers,  and  blindness  in  others  when 
2.5  lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal  was  fed  with  a  heavy  allowance  of  corn-and- 
cob  meal.  Hunt  of  the  Pennsylvania  Station^^  cites  the  death  of  2  calves 
out  of  3,  fed  a  ration  of  1  lb.  of  cottonseed  meal  with  16  lbs.  of  skim  milk. 
Emery  of  the  North  Carolina  Station^-  states  that  2  calves  died  follow- 
ing the  use  of  0.25  to  0.5  lb.  of  cottonseed  meal  daily  with  skim  milk. 
Gips^^  reports  the  death  of  3  out  of  8  cattle  from  eating  moldy  cotton- 
seed cake. 

Cottonseed  meal  is  often  fatal  to  swine.  Pigs  getting  as  much  as  one- 
third  of  their  concentrates  in  the  form  of  cottonseed  meal  thrive  at  first, 
but  after  5  or  6  weeks,  sometimes  earlier,  they  frequently  show  derange- 
ment and  may  die.  Restricting  the  allowance  of  meal,  keeping  the  ani- 
mals on  pasture,  supplying  succulent  feeds,  or  souring  the  feed  may  help, 
but  no  uniformly  successful  method  of  feeding  cottonseed  meal  to  swine 
has  yet  been  found. 

''Vt.  Bui.  101.  '"^lowa  Bui.  66.  ^^Penn.  Bui.  17.  '^N.  C.  Bui.  109. 

''Arch.  Wis.  u.  Prakt.  Thierheilk.,  14,  1886,  p.  74. 


174  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Numerous  efforts  have  been  made  during  the  past  20  years  to  deter- 
mine the  cause  of  the  poisonous  effect  of  cottonseed  meal.  The  harm  has 
been  variously  ascribed  to  the  lint,  the  oil,  the  high  protein  content,  to 
a  poisonous  albumin  or  alkaloid,  to  cholin  and  betaine,  to  resin  present 
in  the  meal,  to  decomposition  products,  and  to  salts  of  pyrophosphoric 
acid.  Further  work  shows  that  the  poisonous  effects  are  not  due  to  any 
of  these  causes.  Withers  of  the^  North  Carolina  Station^*  has  recently 
attributed  the  poisonous  quality  to  some  substance  which  withdraws  iron 
from  the  hemoglobin  of  the  blood,  thereby  diminishing  its  power  of 
carrying  oxygen,  which  results  in  death.  (88)  He  has  therefore  tried 
the  effect  of  adding  to  the  food  a  soluble  iron  salt  (iron  sulfate,  or  cop- 
peras) as  an  antidote.  In  some  trials  in  this  country  feeding  copperas 
has  seemed  to  prevent  poisoning,  but  in  other  instances  pigs  have  died 
even  when  fed  copperas  with  the  cottonseed  meal. 

250.  Rational  use  of  cottonseed  meal  and  cake. — Cottonseed  meal  is 
one  of  the  most  valuable  of  feeds  when  rationally  fed,  often  being  the 
cheapest  available  source  of  protein,  and  thru  it,  of  nitrogen  for  main- 
taining soil  fertility.  (435)  The  amounts  which  may  be  safely  fed  to 
each  kind  of  stock  are  fully  discussed  in  the  respective  chapters  of  Part 
III.  The  most  extensive  use  of  cottonseed  meal  is  by  dairymen,  for  com- 
paratively heavy  allowances  may  be  fed  to  milch  cows  without  harm. 
(596)  Fed  in  large  amount,  cotton  seed  or  cottonseed  meal  produces 
hard,  tallowy  butter,  light  in  color  and  poor  in  flavor.  A  limited  quan- 
tity has  little  effect  on  the  butter  and  is  even  helpful  with  cows  whose 
milk  produces  a  soft  butter. 

For  fattening  steers  and  sheep  cottonseed  meal,  in  limited  amount, 
is  one  of  the  most  satisfactory  of  nitrogenous  supplements.  (750,  855) 
Great  numbers  of  steers  are  fattened  at  the  oil-mill  factories,  often  on 
a  ration  of  6  to  8  lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal  with  cottonseed  hulls  or  corn 
silage  for  roughage.  Harrington  and  Adriance  at  the  Texas  Station^^ 
found  that  cotton  seed  produced  harder  fat  than  corn,  the  kidney,  caul, 
and  body  fat  of  steers  fed  cotton  seed  having  melting  points  4.1°,  3.2°, 
and  8.7°  C.  higher,  respectively,  than  the  corresponding  fats  of  corn- 
fed  steers.  The  effect  was  even  more  marked  in  the  case  of  sheep.  In 
restricted  amounts,  mixed  preferably  with  bulky  feed,  cottonseed  meal 
has  been  fed  to  horses  and  mules  with  entire  success.  (490)  Altho  cotton- 
seed meal  is  especially  poisonous  to  swine,  some  feeders,  guided  by  ex- 
perience, use  it  in  small  amounts  and  for  short  periods  with  little  loss. 
(974)     Calves  are  easily  affected  by  its  poisonous  properties.  (681) 

Cottonseed  meal  having  a  dull  color  due  to  improper  storage,  and  that 
from  musty  and  fermented  seed  should  never  be  used  for  feeding  stock. 
Cottonseed  meal  does  not  have  the  beneficial  laxative  effect  of  linseed 
meal,  but  instead  is  somewhat  constipating.  Much  more  care  must  be 
used  in  feeding  it  than  in  using  linseed  meal,  but  when  carefully  fed  in 
proper  combination  with  other  feeds  as  good  results  may  be  secured  with 

^*N.  C.  Cir.  5;  Jour.  Biol.  Chem.  14,  1913,  pp.  53-58.  ^Tex.  Bui.  29. 


OIL-BEARING  SEEDS  AND  THEIR  BY-PRODUCTS  175 

horses,  dairy  cows,  and  fattening  cattle  and  sheep  as  when  linseed  meal 
is  employed.  This  most  nutritious  feed,  the  richest  in  fertilizing  con- 
stituents of  all  our  common  feeding  stuffs  of  plant  origin,  is  often  spread 
directly  on  the  land  as  a  fertilizer.  Obviously,  its  full  value  can  be  real- 
ized only  when  the  meal  is  first  fed  to  animals  and  the  resulting  manure 
applied  to  the  soil.  (436)  "With  increasing  knowledge  of  the  usefulness 
of  this  feed,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  instead  of  annually  exporting  one- 
fourth  the  cottonseed  cake  and  meal  produced  to  other  countries,  as  is 
now  done,  all  will  be  fed  on  American  farms. 

251.  Cottonseed  hulls. — Cottonseed  hulls,  which  contain  somewhat  less 
digestible  nutrients  than  oat  straw,  are  extensively  employed  in  the  South 
as  roughage  for  cattle  feeding.  The  hulls  are  low  in  crude  protein,  of 
which  but  a  small  part  is  digestible.  With  only  0.3  lb.  of  digestible  crude 
protein  in  100  lbs.  the  hulls  have  the  extraordinarily  wide  nutritive  ratio 
of  1 :  122,  the  widest  of  any  common  feeding  stuff.  Obviously  they  should 
be  used  with  feeds  which  are  rich  in  protein.  Fed  with  cottonseed  meal 
to  steers  by  Willson  at  the  Tennessee  Station,^''  cottonseed  hulls  pro- 
duced somewhat  lower  gains  than  corn  silage,  100  lbs.  of  hulls  replacing 
170  lbs.  of  corn  silage.  -(773)  Because  of  their  low  palatability  and  di- 
gestibility cottonseed  hulls  are  not  well  suited  to  dairy  cows,  corn  stover 
having  a  higher  feeding  value.  (628) 

Cottonseed  hulls  are  usually  fuzzy,  due  to  short  lint  which  remains  on 
the  seed.  Sometimes  this  lint  is  removed  from  the  seed  at  the  oil-mills 
for  paper  making  and  other  purposes  and  the  hulls  from  such  seed 
ground,  being  then  called  cottonseed  hull  hran.  Tho  finely  ground, 
the  value  of  the  product  is  not  appreciably  greater  than  that  of  ordinary 
hulls. 

252.  Flax  seed. — The  average  production  in  the  United  States  of  seed 
from  the  flax  plant,  Liniim  usitatissimmn,  from  1909  to  1914  was  about 
18,847,000  bushels  of  56  lbs.,  over  95  per  ct.  of  which  was  grown  in  Min- 
nesota, the  Dakotas,  and  Montana.^^  The  reserve  building  material  is 
stored  in  the  flax  seed  largely  as  oil  and  pentosans,  instead  of  as  starch, 
which  most  seeds  carry,  no  starch  grains  being  found  in  well-matured 
flax  seeds.  On  account  of  the  high  commercial  value  of  the  oil  it  con- 
tains, flax  seed  is  rarely  used  for  feeding  stock  other  than  calves.  (681, 
683) 

The  oil  of  the  flax  seed  is  either  extracted  by  the  "old  process,"  thru 
crushing  and  pressure  as  in  the  production  of  cottonseed  oil,  or  it  is 
dissolved  out  of  the  crushed  seed  with  naphtha,  the  residue  in  either  case 
being  variously  termed  linseed  oil  meal,  linseed  meal,  or  simply  oil  meal. 
Pure  linseed  meal  should  contain  no  screenings.  In  the  United  States 
nearly  all  the  linseed  oil  meal  is  made  by  the  old  process. 

According  to  Woll,^^  in  the  manufacture  of  new-process  oil  meal  the 
crushed  and  heated  seed  is  placed  in  large  cylinders  or  percolators,  and 
naphtha  poured  over  the  mass.    On  draining  out  at  the  bottom  the  naph- 

«^Tenn.  Bui.  104.         "U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  Yearbook,  1914.         =«Wis.  Rpt.  1895. 


176  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

tha  carries  with  it  the  dissolved  oil.  After  repeated  extractions  steam  is 
let  into  the  percolator,  and  the  naphtha  remaining  is  completely  driven 
off  as  vapor,  leaving  no  odor  of  naphtha  on  the  residue,  which  is  known 
as  "new-process"  linseed  oil  meal.  Woll  gives  the  following  method  of 
ascertaining  whether  oil  meal  is  new-  or  old-process :  ' '  Pulverize  a  small 
quantity  of  the  meal  and  put  a  level  tablespoonful  of  it  into  a  tumbler; 
then  add  10  tablespoonfuls  of  boiling  hot  water  to  the  meal,  stir  thoroly; 
and  leave  to  settle.  If  the  meal  is  new-process,  it  will  settle  in  the  course 
of  an  hour  and  will  leave  half  of  the  water  clear  on  top. ' '  Old-process 
meal  will  remain  jelly-like.  Recent  investigations  have  sho'wn  that  in 
some  instances  flax  seed  may  contain  a  compound  which,  when  acted  up- 
on by  an  enzyme  in  the  seeds  yields  the  poison,  prussic  acid.  This  enzyme 
is  destroyed  by  the  heat  to  which  the  ground  flax  seed  is  ordinarily  sub- 
jected in  both  the  old  and  the  new  process  of  oil  extraction.  In  view  of 
this  and  bearing  in  mind  that  linseed  meal  and  cake  have  been  fed  on 
vast  numbers  of  farms  in  this  country  and  abroad  with  the  best  of  re- 
sults, we  may  still  consider  these  feeds  among  the  safest  and  most  bene- 
ficial of  concentrates.  In  making  gruel  or  mash  from  untreated  flax  seed, 
it  is  advisable  to  use  boiling  water  and  keep  the  mass  hot  an  hour  or 
two,  to  destroy  any  prussic-acid-forming  enzyme  in  the  seed. 

253.  Old-  and  new-process  oil  meal. — Since  the  oil  is  extracted  much 
more  thoroly  from  the  flax  seed  by  the  new  process,  new-process  meal 
carries  an  average  of  3.0  per  ct.  more  crude  protein  than  old-process 
meal,  but  only  about  2.9  per  ct.  of  oil  or  fat.  By  artificial  digestion  trials 
with  old-  and  new-process  oil  meal  WolP^  found  that  94  per  ct.  of  the 
crude  protein  in  the  old-process  and  84  per  ct.  of  that  in  the  new-process 
oil  meal  was  digestible.  The  lower  digestibility  of  the  new-process  meal 
is  doubtless  due  to  the  use  of  steam  for  driving  off  the  naphtha,  since 
cooking  lowers  the  digestibility  of  many  crude  protein-rich  foods.  (83) 
Owing  to  its  higher  total  crude-protein  content  the  new-process  meal, 
however,  contains  somewhat  more  digestible  crude  protein, 

254.  Linseed  meal  as  a  feed. — There  is  no  more  healthful  feed  for 
limited  use  with  all  farm  animals  than  linseed  oil  cake  or  oil  meal,  with 
its  rich  store  of  crude  protein,  slightly  laxative  oil,  and  its  mucilaginous, 
soothing  properties.  Its  judicious  use  is  soon  apparent  in  the  pliable 
skin,  the  sleek,  oily  coat,  and  the  good  handling  quality  of  the  flesh  of 
animals  receiving  it.  It  is  therefore  most  useful  as  a  conditioner  for 
run-down  animals.  A  small  amount  of  linseed  meal  is  helpful  in  the 
rations  for  horses  and  dairy  cows.  (489)  Opposite  in  effect  to  cottonseed 
meal,  linseed  meal  tends  to  produce  soft  butter.  (599)  Fed  to  fattening 
cattle,  sheep,  or  swine,  the  meal  regulates  the  system  and  helps  to  ward  off 
ill  effects  from  the  continued  heavy  use  of  concentrates.  Rich  in  protein 
and  all  the  necessary  mineral  elements,  linseed  meal  is  well  suited  to 
growing  animals,  ground  flax  seed  or  linseed  meal  being  quite  generally 
used  for  calves  by  progressive  dairymen.  Owing  to  its  popularity  lin- 
seed meal  is  often  expensive  compared  with  other  protein-rich  feeds  and 

««Wis.  Rpt.  1895. 


OIL-BEARING  SEEDS  AND  THEIR  BY-PRODUCTS  177 

it  is  then  not  economical  to  employ  it  as  the  chief  source  of  protein  in 
the  ration,  but  to  restrict  its  use  to  amounts  sufficient  to  produce  the  de- 
sired tonic  and  regulative  effects.  (753,  855,  973) 

Unfortunately  the  American  farmer  usually  insists  that  oil  cake  be 
ground  to  a  meal.  Except  where  it  is  desirable  to  mix  the  meal  thoroly 
with  other  concentrates,  or  feed  it  as  a  slop  to  pigs,  he  should  adopt  the 
wiser  practice  of  European  farmers,  who  buy  oil  cake  in  slab  form  and 
reduce  it  in  cake  mills  to  the  size  of  hickory  nuts  or  smaller  just  before 
feeding,  or  he  should  purchase  the  cake  which  has  been  ground  to  nut  or 
pea  size.  In  such  form  this  feed  is  more  palatable,  and  there  is  no  chance 
for  adulteration. 

255.  Other  flax  by-products. — Flax  feed  consists  of  flax  screenings  and 
is  sometimes  sold  as  such,  but  more  often  is  used  as  a  component  of  mixed 
feeds.  Its  composition  and  character  are  uncertain,  depending  on  the 
relative  amounts  of  inferior  flax  seed,  weed  seeds,  and  other  refuse,  as 
stalks,  pods,  and  leaves  present.  The  material  should  be  avoided  unless 
so  finely  ground  as  to  crush  all  foul  seeds.  Since  it  contains  only  half 
as  much  crude  protein  as  linseed  meal  and  often  has  a  decidedly  bitter 
taste,  due  to  the  weed  seeds  present,  flax  feed  is  rarely  economical  at 
the  prices  asked.*"  It  is  sometimes  sold  as  flax  flakes,  or  under  the  mis- 
leading name  "linomeal." 

Flax  plant  hy-product,  sometimes  incorrectly  called  "flax  bran,"  is 
that  portion  of  the  flax  plant  remaining  after  the  seed  has  been  sep- 
arated, together  with  much  of  the  fiber  of  the  stem.  It  consists  of  flax 
pods,  broken  and  immature  flax  seeds,  and  the  bark  and  other  portions 
of  the  stems.  It  is  seldom  sold  as  such,  but  is  used  in  certain  proprietary 
feeds.  Smith  of  the  Massachusetts  Station*^  concludes  that  such  material 
is  not  worth  to  the  Massachusetts  farmer  the  cost  of  the  freight  from  the 
states  where  it  is  produced. 

Unscreened  flax  oil-feed,  or  "laxo"  cake  meal,  is  the  by-product  ob- 
tained in  extracting  the  oil  from  unscreened  flax  seed.  The  value  is  lower 
than  that  of  linseed  meal,  depending  on  the  proportion  of  screenings 
present. 

256.  Soybean. — The  soybean,  Glycine  hispida,  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant agricultural  plants  of  northern  China  and  Japan.  So  great  is 
the  production  of  tliis  seed,  or  grain,  in  Manchuria  that  in  1908  over 
1,500,000  tons  of  soybeans  were  shipped  from  3  ports,  chiefly  to  Europe. 
The  bean-like  seeds  of  the  soybean,  which  carry  from  16  to  21  per  ct. 
of  oil,  are  used  for  human  food  and  for  feeding  animals.  The  oil  is  used 
for  human  food  and  in  the  arts,  and  the  resulting  soybean  meal  is  em- 
ployed as  a  feed  for  animals  and  also  for  fertilizing  the  land,  the  same  as 
cottonseed  meal.  This  plant  produces  the  largest  yield  of  seed  of  any 
legume  suited  to  temperate  climates,  but  at  the  present  time  is  grown  in 
this  country  chiefly  for  forage.  Soybeans  are  adapted  to  the  same  range 
of  climate  as  corn,  early  varieties  having  been  developed  that  ripen  seed 
wherever  corn  will  mature.    On  account  of  their  resistance  to  drought 

«Mass.  Buls.  128,  132;  Vt.  Buls.  104,  133,  144.  "Mass.  Bui.  136. 


178  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

they  are  especially  well  suited  to  light,  sandy  soils.  When  grown  for  seed 
the  yield  commonly  varies  from  12  to  40  bushels  per  acre,  equaling  corn 
on  poor  soil  in  the  Gulf  states. 

The  seeds  of  the  soybean  are  the  richest  in  crude  protein  of  all  the 
various  seeds  used  for  feed,  besides  being  rich  in  oil.  Being  highly  di- 
gestible, they  contain  fully  as  much  digestible  crude  protein  and  con- 
siderably more  digestible  fat  than  linseed  meal.  Because  of  the  demands 
for  seed,  soybeans  have  not  yet  been  extensively  employed  in  this  coun- 
try for  feeding  live  stock.  For  dairy  cows  soybeans  are  slightly  superior 
to  cottonseed  meal,  but  as  they  cause  soft  butter  they  should  be  fed  spar- 
ingly. (600)  For  fattening  cattle  soybeans  are  only  slightly  inferior  to 
cottonseed  meal.  (754-5)  Rich  in  protein  and  mineral  matter,  they  are 
well  suited  to  growing  animals,  equal  par  is  of  soybeans  and  shelled  corn 
proving  superior  for  lambs  to  equal  parts  of  oats  and  corn  in  a  trial  by 
Humphrey  and  Kleinheinz  at  the  Wisconsin  Station.*-  (856)  Owing  to 
their  richness  in  protein,  soybeans  should  always  be  used  in  combination 
with  carbonaceous  concentrates.  The  seed  should  be  ground  for  horses 
and  cattle,  but  this  is  unnecessary  for  sheep  and  pigs.  In  the  South  pigs 
are  often  grazed  on  soybeans  when  nearly  mature,  thus  saving  the  har- 
vesting cost.  (989)  The  merits  of  this  plant  for  forage  are  discussed  in 
Chapter  XIV.  (358)  No  other  plant  so  little  grown  in  the  United  States 
at  this  time  promises  so  much  to  agriculture  as  the  soybean,  which  not 
only  yields  protein-rich  seed  and  forage  but  builds  up  the  nitrogen  con- 
tent of  the  soil. 

257.  Soybean  cake  or  meal. — The  residue  after  the  oil  has  been  extracted 
from  soybeans  carries  as  much  digestible  protein  as  choice  cottonseed 
meal,  11  per  ct.  more  carbohydrates  and  somewhat  less  fat.  During  re- 
cent years  a  considerable  amount  has  been  imported  to  the  Pacific  Coast 
states  from  the  Orient,  for  feeding  poultry  and  dairy  cattle.  In  Europe 
the  unground  cake  is  used  and  in  this  country  the  meal.  Tho  high  in 
price,  soybean  meal  is  greatly  esteemed  by  western  dairymen  and  is  often 
fed  in  large  amounts  to  cows  on  official  tests.  (601) 

258.  The  peanut  and  its  by-products. — The  peanut,  or  earth  nut,  Arachis 
hypogaea,  called  "pindar"  or  "goober"  in  the  South,  is  of  growing  im- 
portance for  stock  feeding  in  the  southern  states.  The  underground  seeds, 
or  nuts,  are  commonly  harvested  by  turning  swine  into  the  fields  when 
the  seeds  are  ripe,  and  allowing  them  to  feed  at  mil.  While  a  heavy 
allowance  of  peanuts  produces  soft  fat  and  inferior  pork,  entirely  satis- 
factory ham  and  bacon  are  produced  when  pigs  are  fed  partially  on  pea- 
nuts. (979)  On  exposure  to  the  air,  shelled  peanuts  soon  become  rancid. 
The  vines  with  the  nuts  attached  may  be  gathered  and  cured  into  a  nu- 
tritious, palatable  hay  useful  with  all  kinds  of  farm  stock.  The  use  of 
this  plant  for  stock  feeding  should  be  vastly  extended  thruout  the  South. 
(362) 

Peanui  meal  or  cake,  the  by-product  resulting  from  the  manufacture 
of  oil  from  the  peanut,  is  a  common  feed  in  Europe  where  it  has  given 
*^Wis.  Rpt.  1905. 


OIL-FREE  LEGUMINOUS  SEEDS  179 

good  results  with  all  classes  of  stock.*^  Meal  from  hulled  peanuts  con- 
tains over  47  per  ct.  crude  protein,  and  is  thus  more  valuable  than  choice 
cottonseed  meal.  But  little  peanut  meal  is  sold  in  the  United  States  and 
that  which  is  sold  is  chiefly  from  unhulled  nuts,  containing  about  28  per 
ct.  crude  protein  and  23  per  ct.  fiber. 

Peanut  hulls,  which  accumulate  in  great  quantities  at  the  factories,  are 
sometimes  ground  and  used  for  adulterating  feeding  stuffs.  This  ma- 
terial, sometimes  wrongly  called  ''peanut  bran,"  is  over  half  fiber  and 
less  valuable  than  common  straw. 

25&.  Sunflower  seed  and  oil  cake,  Eelianthus  annuus. — The  sunflower 
is  groAvn  in  Russia  on  a  commercial  scale,  one  variety  with  small  seeds  pro- 
ducing an  oil  which  serves  as  a  substitute  for  other  vegetable  oils.  The 
large  seeds  of  another  variety  are  consumed  as  a  dainty  by  the  people. 
Tests  of  sunflowers  in  5  sections  of  North  Carolina**  showed  an  average 
yield  of  65  bushels  of  seed  per  acre,  carrying  about  21  per  ct.  oil.  In 
plot  tests  covering  15  years  at  the  Ontario  Agricultural  College,  Zavitz*^ 
obtained  an  average  yield  per  acre  of  72.8  bu.shels  of  sunflower  seed, 
weighing  20  lbs.  per  bushel.  Despite  these  large  yields,  corn  produced 
about  as  much  digestible  crude  protein  and  over  twice  as  much  total  di- 
gestible nutrients  per  acre  in  grain  alone,  without  considering  the  value 
of  the  stover.  Sunflowers  proved  hardy  and  produced  good  returns  when 
many  other  crops  failed. 

Oil  cake  from  sunflower  seed  has  proved  a  satisfactory  feed  for  all 
kinds  of  stock  in  Europe.  Cake  from  well-hulled  seed  contains  about 
as  much  crude  protein  as  linseed  meal,  but  has  somewhat  more  fiber 
(603) 

260.  Cocoanut  meal. — The  residue  in  the  manufacture  of  oil  from  the 
cocoanut,  Cocos  nucifera,  known  as  cocoanut  meal,  is  lower  in  crude  pro- 
tein than  the  oil  meals  previously  discussed  but  it  contains  somewhat 
more  crude  protein  than  wheat  bran  and  much  more  fat  and  has  a  higher 
feeding  value.  It  is  used  to  some  extent  by  dairymen  in  the  Pacific  Coast 
states  and  produces  butter  of  good  quality  and  firmness,  therefore  being 
";ell  adapted  for  summer  feeding.  (602)  European  experience  shows 
that  cocoanut  meal  may  be  fed  "with  success  to  horses,  sheep,  and  swine. 
(491)  On  account  of  its  tendency  to  turn  rancid  it  can  be  kept  but  a 
few  weeks  in  warm  weather. 


V.  Oil-free  Leguminous  Seeds 

261.  The  Canada  field  pea,  Pisiim  sativum. — The  common  field  or  Can- 
ada pea  succeeds  best  where  the  spring  and  summer  heat  is  moderate,  as 
in  Canada,  the  northern  states,  and  in  several  of  the  larger  Rocky  Moun- 
tain valleys.  No  other  widely  known  grain  plant  of  equal  possibilities 
has  been  so  generally  neglected  by  the  farmers  of  the  northern  United 
States.    Zavitz*"  of  the  Ontario  Agricultural  College  reports  an  average 

"Pott,  Ernahr.  u.  Putter.,  Ill,  1909,  pp.  82-96.  «Ont.  Agr.  Col.  Rpt.  1913. 

"N.  C.  Bui.  90b.  «Ont.  Agr.  Col.  Rpt.  1913. 


180  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

yield  of  30  bushels  per  acre  for  8  varieties  of  field  peas  in  plot  tests  cov- 
ering 14  years. 

The  field  pea  grain  contains  twice  as  much  crude  protein  as  the  ce- 
reals and  is  high  in  phosphorus  and  potash.  Combined  with  corn,  peas 
may  form  as  much  as  one-half  the  concentrates  for  dairy  cows.  They  are 
relished  by  horses,  and  are  eminently  suitable  for  sheep  and  lamb  feed- 
ing, their  culture  forming  the  basis  for  an  important  sheep-feeding 
industry  in  Colorado.  (856)  Peas,  wheat  bran,  and  corn  form  an  excel- 
lent ration  for  brood  sows  and  growing  swine,  proving  especially  useful 
in  building  the  body  framework  and  preparing  the  animals  for  fatten- 
ing. (975,  1013) 

262.  Cowpea,  Vigna  catjang. — The  cowpea,  a  bean-like  plant  from 
India  and  China,  now  holds  an  important  place  in  southern  agricul- 
ture because  of  its  large  yield  of  forage.  The  early  varieties  grow  well 
as  far  north  as  New  Jersey  and  Illinois.  The  seed  pods  of  the  cowpea 
ripen  unevenly,  necessitating  hand  gathering.  For  this  reason  the  crop 
is  mostly  used  for  hay,  silage,  and  grazing.  (357)  In  composition  the 
cowpea  seed  is  similar  to  the  field  pea,  with  only  about  4  per  ct.  fiber.  Suc- 
cessful trials  are  reported  in  which  cowpeas  formed  a  part  of  the  ration 
for  horses,  fattening  steers,  and  pigs.  (755,  978)  In  the  South  cowpea 
vines  carrying  ripe  seed  furnish  one  of  the  best  grazing  crops  for  pigs. 

263.  The  common  field  bean,  Phaseolus  vulgaris. — Many  varieties  of  the 
common  field  bean  are  grown  in  this  country  for  human  food.  Beans 
damaged  by  wet  are  used  for  animal  feeding.  Shaw  and  Anderson  of  the 
Michigan  Station*^  estimate  the  cull  beans  of  Michigan  at  about  100,000 
bushels  annually.  Cull  beans  are  fed  whole  in  large  quantities  to 
sheep,  producing  a  solid  flesh  of  good  quality.  For  swine,  beans  should 
be  cooked  in  salted  water  and  fed  in  combination  with  corn,  barley,  etc. ; 
fed  alone  they  produce  soft  pork  and  lard  with  a  low  melting  point. 
(976) 

264.  Horse  bean,  Vicia  faha. — The  horse  bean  is  used  in  England  for 
feeding  stock,  especially  horses.  This  legume  grows  fairly  well  in  some 
parts  of  Canada,  but  has  never  proved  a  success  in  the  United  States. 
(485) 

"Mich.  Bui.  243. 


CHAPTER  XI 

MISCELLANEOUS   CONCENTRATES— FEEDING  STUFFS  CON 
TROL— CONDIMENTAL  FOODS 

I.  Cow 'S  IVIiLK  AND  ITS  By-PRODUCTS 

As  we  have  seen  (116),  milk  contains  an  adequate  supply  of  all  the 
nutrients  necessary  to  sustain  the  life  of  young  animals.  Milk  and  dairy 
by-products  are  almost  wholly  digestible  and  thus  have  high  feeding 
value,  considering  the  amount  of  dry  matter  they  contain.  Furthermore, 
the  proteins  of  milk,  which  are  well  balanced  in  composition,  have  a 
greater  efficiency  for  growth  than  those  of  any  of  the  grains.  (118) 

265.  Whole  milk. — On  account  of  the  value  of  whole  cow's  milk,  it  i? 
rarely  fed  to  stock,  except  to  calves  for  the  first  4  to  6  weeks  after  birth. 
(679)  One  should  not  hesitate  to  employ  whole  milk  when  needed  in 
rearing  an  orphan  foal  or  lamb  (521,  891),  and  young  stock  being  pre- 
pared for  exhibition  can  be  forced  ahead  rapidly  by  its  judicious  use. 

Whole  milk  usually  contains  from  2  to  3  per  ct.  of  casein,  0.4  to  0.9 
per  ct.  albumin  and  traces  of  other  proteins.  It  carries  from  4  to  5 
per  ct.  of  milk  sugar,  which  is  only  slightly  sweet,  is  much  less  soluble 
than  cane  sugar,  and  has  about  the  same  feeding  value  as  starch.  When 
milk  sours,  some  of  the  sugar  is  changed  to  lactic  acid,  which  curdles  the 
casein.  This  fermentation  ceases  when  about  0.8  per  ct.  of  acid  has  de- 
veloped, so  that  in  sour  milk  usually  most  of  the  sugar  is  still  unchanged. 
As  is  shown  later  (551-5),  the  percentage  of  fat  varies  wddely  depending 
on  individuality,  breed,  and  the  portion  of  the  milk  drawn,  the  strippings 
often  containing  10  times  as  much  fat  as  the  first-drawn  milk. 

266.  Skim  milk. — Because  of  the  protein  and  ash  it  carries,  skim  milk 
is  of  high  value  for  building  the  muscles  and  bony  framework  of  young 
animals.  Skim  milk  from  centrifugal  separators  contains  about  3.8  per 
ct.  crude  protein,  5.2  per  ct.  nitrogen-free  extract,  which  in  sweet  milk 
is  practically  all  milk  sugar,  and  0.1  to  0.2  per  ct.  fat.  It  is  thus  a  highly 
nitrogenous  feed,  having  a  nutritive  ratio  of  1 : 1.5,  and  should  hence  be 
supplemented  by  carbonaceous  concentrates.  Skim  milk  is  of  the  great- 
est use  for  feeding  young  animals  when  it  comes  sweet  and  yet  wa'  n 
from  the  farm  separator. 

The  experiments  of  Beach,  already  described  (117),  show  tha*  with 
calves,  lambs,  and  pigs,  skim  milk  is  more  valuable  per  pound  1  dry 
matter  than  is  whole  milk  rich  in  fat.  Dairymen  have  found  tiiat  with 
care  and  judgment  they  can  raise  just  as  thrifty  calves  when  whole  milk 
is  gradually  replaced  by  skim  milk  during  the  first  4  to  5  weeks,  only 
skim  milk  being  given  thereafter,  as  when  the  supply  of  expensive  whole 

181 


182  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

milk  is  continued  longer.  (678-94)  For  swine  of  all  ages,  and  especially 
for  young  pigs,  skim  milk  is  unsurpassed  as  a  supplement  to  the  car- 
bonaceous grains.  (957-60)  For  these  animals,  from  500  to  600  lbs.  of 
skim  milk,  properly  combined  with  concentrates,  has  a  value  equal  to 
100  lbs.  of  grain.  This  dairy  by-product  is  also  excellent  for  foals  which 
do  not  secure  enough  milk  from  their  mothers,  and  for  poultry.  (521) 
When  other  animals  are  not  available  to  consume  all  the  milk  it  may  be 
profitably  fed  to  horses.  (607) 

267.  Buttermilk. — This  by-product  differs  little  from  skim  milk  in 
composition,  tho  usually  somewhat  richer  in  fat.  Trials  have  shown 
that  it  has  substantially  the  same  value  as  skim  milk  for  pigs.  (962) 
Some  feeders  use  buttermilk  successfully  in  rearing  calves,  especially 
after  they  are  well  started  in  growi;h.  The  effort  will  probably  end  in 
failure,  however,  unless  the  calves  are  gradually  accustomed  to  it,  and 
extreme  cleanliness  is  practiced.  (695)  In  eastern  Prussia  and  in  Hol- 
stein-Friesia  suckling  foals  are  fed  buttermilk.^  Creameries  often  dilute 
buttermilk  with  water,  thereby  reducing  its  value.  If  allowed  to  fer- 
ment in  dirty  tanks  it  is  a  dangerous  feed. 

268.  Whey. — In  the  manufacture  of  cheese  practically  all  the  casein 
and  most  of  the  fat  go  into  the  cheese,  leaving  in  the  whey  the  milk 
sugar,  the  albumin,  and  a  large  part  of  the  ash.  Whey  is  more  watery 
in  composition  than  skim  milk,  containing  only  about  6.6  per  ct.  dry 
matter.  It  contains  about  4.8  per  ct.  milk  sugar  and  0.3  per  ct.  fat, 
with  only  0.8  per  ct.  protein,  the  nutritive  ratio  being  1 :  6.8,  much  wider 
than  that  of  skim  milk.  Unlike  skim  milk  and  buttermilk,  whey  should 
therefore  be  fed  mth  protein-rich  feeds.  Skimmed  whey  -udll  have  its 
value  correspondingly  reduced.  Whey  is  usually  fed  to  pigs,  for  which 
it  has  about  half  the  value  of  skim  milk.  (963)  At  the  Ontario  Agri- 
cultural College,-  Day  secured  as  good  results  with  whey,  somewhat 
soured,  as  with  sweet  whey.  The  feeder  should  not  conclude  from  this 
that  decomposing  whey  held  in  filthy  vessels  is  a  suitable  feed  for  stock. 
Whey  at  best  is  a  poor  feed  for  calves  and  can  be  successfully  used  only 
with  the  utmost  care  and  when  fed  as  fresh  as  possible.  (587) 

269.  Spreading  disease  thru  dairy  by-products. — Since  milk  from  differ- 
ent farms  is  mixed  at  the  creamery  and  cheese  factory,  the  germs  of 
bovine  tuberculosis  and  other  diseases  may  be  widely  spread  from  a  dis- 
eased herd  in  the  skim  milk,  buttermilk,  or  whey.  The  readiness  with 
which  such  infection  may  occur  is  shown  by  a  trial  of  Kennedy,  Robbins, 
and  Bouska  at  the  Iowa  Station.^  Forty  pigs,  believed  to  be  free  from 
tuberculosis,  were  divided  into  4  lots.  Two  lots  were  kept  on  separate 
pastures  and  2  in  dry  yards.  Corn  and  creamery  skim  milk  which  had 
been  pasteurized  to  destroy  all  disease  germs  were  fed  to  all  alike.  The 
milk  of  one  lot  on  pasture  and  one  lot  in  the  yard  was,  before  feeding, 
infected  with  the  germs  of  tuberculosis.  When  the  pigs  were  slaughtered 
at  the  end  of  196  days  it  was  found  that  all  that  had  been  fed  on  infected 

^Pott,  Ernalir.  u.  Futter.,  Ill,  1909,  p.  475.  'Iowa  Bui.  92. 

^'Ont.  Agr.  Col.  Rpt.  1896. 


MISCELLANEOUS  CONCENTRATES         183 

milk,  20  in  number,  were  tuberculous.    Of  those  not  given  infected  milk, 
2  proved  tuberculous  and  18  were  free  from  the  disease. 

Since  the  germs  of  tuberculosis  are  killed  by  pasteurizing  the  milk  at 
a  temperature  of  180°  F.,  this  simple  precaution  mil  remove  danger 
from  this  source.  The  pasteurized  product  also  keeps  better  and  is  less 
likely  to  produce  scours.  This  practice  is  likewise  advantageous  to  the 
factories,  for  the  milk  cans  may  be  more  readily  kept  in  good  condition 
and  the  quality  of  the  milk  delivered  at  the  factory  will  thereby  be  im- 
proved. Careful  farmers  should  insist  that  skim  milk,  buttermilk,  and 
whey  be  thoroly  pasteurized  at  the  factory,  a  practice  required  by  law  in 
Denmark  and  followed  by  many  creameries  in  this  country.  (957) 


_n,^.P«CKiNG  House  By-products 

The  packing  houses  now  furnish  to  the  feeder  great  quantities  of  by- 
products, including  tankage,  meat  meal,  or  meat  scrap,  dried  blood,  and 
meat-and-bone  meal.  These  are  usually  extremely  rich  in  protein  which 
is  well  balanced  in  composition  and  highly  digestible.  Most  of  them  are 
also  rich  in  lime  and  phosphoric  acid,  since  they  contain  more  or  less 
bone.  When  fed  in  proper  combination  with  other  feeds,  animals  rarely 
object  to  these  by-products.  Owing  to  the  high  prices  which  these  con- 
centrated feeds  command,  the  feeder  should  understand  their  nature  and 
how  they  must  be  fed  to  secure  the  best  returns. 

270.  Tankage,  meat  meal,  or  meat  scrap. — At  the  packing  plants  the 
fresh  meat  scraps,  fat  trimmings,  and  scrap  bones  are  thoroly  cooked  in 
steel  tanks  by  steam  under  pressure,  which  separates  the  fat.  After  the 
steam  has  been  turned  off  and  the  mass  has  settled,  the  fat,  which  is  yet 
liquid,  is  drawn  off.  The  residue  is  then  dried,  being  agitated  mean- 
while, and  after  cooling  is  ground  to  a  fine  meal.  The  resultant  product, 
sold  as  tankage,  meat  meal,  or  meat  scrap,  contains  from  40  to  60  per 
ct.  or  more  of  crude  protein  and  from  1  to  10  per  ct.  of  fat.  The  vari- 
ation in  content  of  crude  protein  is  due  principally  to  differences  in  the 
amount  of  bone  present.  OT\dng  to  the  wide  range  in  crude  protein,  and 
fat  content,  these  feeds  should  always  be  purchased  on  guarantee  of  com- 
position. Commonly  the  value  will  depend  on  the  percentage  of  pro- 
tein, for  in  case  an  additional  supply  of  lime  and  phosphoric  acid  is 
needed,  it  may  be  furnished  cheaply  in  ground  rock  phosphate.  (100) 

Since  tankage  and  meat  meal  are  in  part  produced  from  the  carcasses  of 
diseased  animals,  the  question  arises  whether  they  may  not  carry  disease 
to  animals  fed  on  them.  Mohler  and  Washburn,*  who  have  studied  the 
matter,  write:  "As  tankage  is  thoroly  steam-cooked  under  pressure  it 
comes  out  a  sterilized  product,  and  owing  to  its  dryness  there  is  little  dan- 
ger of  infection. ' '  None  of  the  many  stations  that  have  fed  tankage  have 
reported  any  trouble  of  such  nature.  These  by-products  are  generally  fed 
to  s^^^ne  and  poultry,  ranking  next  to  skim  milk  and  buttermilk  as  nitrog- 
enous supplements  for  these  animals.  (964-7)     Mixed  with  other  feeds, 

*U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  Anim.  Indus.,  Cir.  144. 


184  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

they  may  be  fed  to  horses,  cattle,  or  sheep.  (491,  608,  856)  When  tank- 
age, or  meat  meal,  contains  a  large  amount  of  bone  it  should  be  termed 
meat-and-hone  meal.    This  product  is  used  chiefly  for  feeding  poultry. 

271.  Blood  meal. — Blood  meal,  also  called  blood  flour  or  dried  blood, 
is  the  richest  in  protein  of  all  the  packing  house  by-products,  usually 
carrying  over  80  per  ct.  crude  protein.  As  it  contains  no  bone  it  is  low 
in  ash  compared  mth  tankage.  Dried  blood  is  particularly  useful  with 
young  pigs  and  calves,  as  a  skim  milk  substitute  or  for  sickly  animals. 
(968,  684)  Its  usual  high  price  stands  in  the  way  of  its  common  use 
for  other  animals.  Lindsey'  of  the  Massachusetts  Station  found  that  1 
to  2  lbs.  of  dried  blood  per  head  daily  mixed  with  other  concentrates 
was  satisfactory  for  dairy  cows.  (608)  It  has  also  been  fed  with  success 
to  horses  and  sheep.  (491,  856) 

272.  Dried  fish ;  fish  meal. — Along  the  coasts  of  Europe  the  waste  parts 
of  fish,  as  well  as  entire  fishes  not  used  for  human  food,  are  fed  in  dried 
form  to  animals.  Speir  of  Scotland*^  reports  no  bad  influence  on  milk 
when  reasonable  quantities  of  dried  fish  are  fed  to  dairy  cows.  Nilson^ 
found  that  80  parts  of  herring  cake  could  replace  100  parts  of  linseed 
cake  for  cows.  The  better  grades  of  dried  fish  meal,  which  resemble 
meat  meal  in  composition,  should  be  used  for  feeding  farm  animals.  (608) 

273.  Bone  meal. — ^Where  rations  are  deficient  in  lime  and  phosphoric 
acid,  needed  in  especially  large  amounts  by  growing  animals  and  those 
producing  milk  (119,  150),  these  mineral  constituents  may  be  supplied 
in  the  form  of  bone  meal,  also  called  ground  bone.  Ground  rock  phos- 
phate is,  however,  usually  a  cheaper  and  probably  just  as  effective  a 
mineral  supplement. 


III.  Sugar  Factory  By-products 

In  the  manufacture  of  beet  sugar,  which  constitutes  over  70  per  ct.  of 
the  sugar  now  manufactured  in  this  country,  the  sugar  beets  are  first 
washed  and  then  cut  into  long  V-shaped  strips.  The  juice  is  extracted 
from  these  strips  by  means  of  warm  water,  leaving  the  by-product 
knowTi  as  wet  heet  pulp.  The  juice  is  next  purified  by  means  of  lime 
and  in  some  cases  also  by  sulfur  dioxid,  and  evaporated  under  reduced 
pressure  until  the  sugar  crystallizes.  The  grains  of  sugar  are  then  sep- 
arated from  the  residual  molasses  by  centrifugal  force. 

274.  Wet  beet  pulp. — The  watery  pulp  after  being  pressed  until  it  con- 
tains about  10  per  ct.  of  solids,  is  fed  fresh  or  is  ensiled.  Care  must  be 
taken  in  feeding  fresh  pulp,  as  it  spoils  rapidly  on  exposure  to  the  air. 
Most  of  the  pulp  is  therefore  fed  as  soured  or  ensiled  pulp.  When  fed 
near  the  factories  the  pulp  is  dumped  into  large,  shallow,  well-drainerl 
pits  or  trenches,  or  into  huge  tank-like  silos  built  chiefly  above  ground. 

■^Mass.  Rpt.  1909,  Part  II,  p.  157. 

"Trans.  Highl.  and  Agr.  See,  1888,  pp.  112-128. 

'Kgl.  Landtbr.-Akad.  Handl.,  1889,  p.  257. 


MISCELLANEOUS  CONCENTRATES  185 

A  more  wasteful  method  is  to  pile  the  pulp  in  large  heaps,  when  the  out- 
side layer  on  rotting  will  protect  the  interior  from  the  air.  On  farms  the 
pulp  may  be  stored  in  ordinary  silos  or  placed  in  pits,  either  with  or 
mthout  alternate  layers  of  beet  leaves,  the  mass,  which  may  extend  sev- 
eral feet  above  ground,  being  covered  with  straw  and  earth  to  keep  out 
frost.  Maercker®  found  that  rather  more  than  one-fourth  of  the  to- 
tal nutrients  of  the  pulp  were  lost  in  the  fermentations  which  take  place 
when  it  is  ensiled.  Such  heavj'  losses  teach  that,  where  possible,  the  pulp 
should  be  dried. 

Tho  carrying  only  1  to  2  per  ct.  of  sugar,  wet  beet  pulp  contains  con- 
siderable of  other  easily  digested  carbohydrates,  and  per  pound  of  dry 
matter  is  equal  to  roots  in  feeding  value.  Like  roots,  this  watery  ma- 
terial should  be  fed  with  dry  feeds.  Most  of  the  mineral  matter  is 
extracted  from  the  beets  along  with  the  sugar,  and  hence  the  pulp  is 
low  in  these  constituents.  When  heavy  allowances  of  pulp  are  fed  it 
is  therefore  well  to  see  that  the  animals  are  supplied  with  sufficient  lime 
and  phosphoric  acid.  Pulp  is  also  low  in  crude  protein,  but  fortunately 
it  is  commonly  fed  with  legume  hay,  which  is  high  in  both  protein  and 
mineral  matter. 

Steers  are  annually  fattened  by  thousands  and  sheep  by  ten-thousands 
on  wet,  soured,  beet  pulp  at  the  western  beet-sugar  factories.  Carlyle 
and  Griffith  of  the  Colorado  Station^  found  1  ton  of  wet  beet  pulp  equal 
to  220  lbs.  of  corn  or  620  lbs.  of  alfalfa  hay  for  fattening  steers.  (746) 
Griffin  of  the  same  station  reports  that  1  ton  of  pulp  has  about  the  same 
value  as  200  lbs.  of  corn  for  fattening  lambs.  (871)  The  wet  pulp  is 
relished  by  dairy  cows  and,  fed  in  not  too  large  amount,  produces  a  good 
flavored  milk.  (643)     It  may  also  be  fed  to  idle  horses.  (512) 

275.  Dried  beet  pulp. — Owing  to  the  high  prices  of  concentrates  and 
the  favor  wdth  which  dried  beet  pulp  has  been  received  by  stockmen, 
many  factories  have  been  equipped  with  facilities  for  thus  preserving 
the  pulp.  Shaw  of  the  Michigan  Station^''  found  that  dried  beet  pulp 
compared  favorably  with  corn  meal  for  fattening  sheep  and  steers.  It 
produced  larger  gains  with  growing  animals,  while  corn  meal  put  on 
more  rapid  gains  with  fattening  animals  nearing  the  finishing  period. 
(747,  854)  In  the  Scandinavian  feed-unit  system  the  value  of  dried 
beet  pulp  for  dairy  cows  is  rated  10  per  ct.  below  corn  or  barley.  (585) 

As  dried  beet  pulp  absorbs  a  great  deal  of  water,  when  a  heavy  allow- 
ance is  fed  it  is  advisable  to  moisten  it  with  2  to  3  times  its  weight  of 
water  before  feeding."  Tho  moistened  dried  beet  pulp  may  be  employed 
as  a  substitute  for  corn  silage,  at  the  usual  prices  the  latter  is  the  more 
economical  form  of  succulence  for  those  who  can  raise  most  of  their  own 
feed.  Breeders  of  pure-bred  dairy  stock  recommend  dried  beet  pulp  for 
cows  on  official  test  which  are  receiving  heavy  concentrate  allowances, 

^U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  Chem.,  Bui.  52. 
"Colo.  Bui.  102.      ^"Mich.  Buls.  220,  247. 
"Lindsey,  Mass.  Rpt.  1910,  Part  II,  p.  24. 


186  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

as  it  has  a  tendency  to  keep  the  bowels  open  and  is  not  apt  to  cause  di- 
gestive disturbances.^^ 

276.  Beet  molasses. — The  molasses  from  beet  sugar  factories  is  a  valu- 
able carbonaceous  feed  when  properly  fed,  as  it  contains  about  66  per 
ct.  of  nitrogen-free  extract,  which  is  nearly  all  sugar.  The  crude  pro- 
tein of  both  beet  and  cane  molasses  consists  largely  of  compounds  having 
little  nutritive  value. 

"When  fed  in  too  large  amounts  it  is  very  laxative  on  account  of  its 
high  content  of  alkaline  salts  and  of  other  purgative  substances.  In  the 
beet  sugar  districts  the  molasses  is  usually  a  cheap  source  of  carbohy- 
drates, its  value  per  ton  being  rated  at  three-fourths  that  of  corn.  Due 
to  its  sticky  nature,  the  molasses,  either  undiluted  or  thinned  with  water, 
is  usually  distributed  over  hay  or  straw,  while  large  feeders  use  machines 
for  mixing  the  molasses  with  cut  roughage.  Animals  should  gradually 
become  accustomed  to  the  molasses  and  care  must  be  taken  not  to  feed 
too  large  an  allowance. 

The  maximum  amounts  of  molasses  advised  by  various  authorities  for 
animals  accustomed  to  the  feed  are  as  follows,  per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight : 
Driving  horses,  2.5  lbs.,  and  up  to  4  lbs.  or  even  more  for  draft  horses ; 
dairy  cows,  2.5  to  3  lbs. ;  fattening  cattle,  4  to  8  lbs. ;  fattening  sheep,  3 
to  5  lbs. ;  and  fattening  swine,  5  to  10  lbs.  (483,  748,  854)  Breeding  ani- 
mals should  be  given  smaller  allowances  than  those  being  fattened,  and 
the  amount  should  be  materially  reduced  6  weeks  before  delivery.  Beet 
molasses  is  extensively  used  in  various  mixed  feeds,  described  later.  (280) 

277.  Molasses-beet  pulp. — Beet  molasses  is  sometimes  combined  with 
beet  pulp  and  dried,  forming  dried  molasses-beet  pulp.  This  feed  is 
somewhat  more  palatable  and  digestible  than  the  ordinary  dried  pulp 
and  has  equal  or  slightly  higher  feeding  value.  (586,  854) 

278.  Beet  tops. — At  harvest  an  acre  of  sugar  beets  will  usually  yield 
about  4  tons  of  fresh  leaves  and  1  ton  of  the  severed  upper  portion  of 
the  roots.  The  leaves  have  about  half  the  feeding  value  of  the  roots. 
These  tops,  freed  from  soil  as  much  as  possible  by  shaking,  may  be  fed 
fresh  or  ensiled.  As  fresh  or  ensiled  leaves  tend  to  purge  the  animals, 
they  should  always  be  fed  in  a  limited  way  with  such  dried  roughages  as 
corn  stover,  straw,  or  hay.  "When  large  allowances  of  leaves  are  fed, 
Kellner  advises  giving  about  3  ounces  of  chalk  or  ground  limestone  to 
every  100  lbs.  of  leaves,  to  counteract  the  effect  of  the  oxalic  acid  which 
the  leaves  contain,  and  which  may  otherwise  be  injurious.^^  The  tops 
may  be  ensiled  in  pits  or  silos  in  alternate  layers  with  straw  or  may  be 
mixed  with  cut  dry  corn  fodder  or  stover.  (409)  German  farmers  add 
7  lbs.  of  salt  to  each  ton  of  leaves  as  they  are  ensiled.^^ 

279.  Cane  molasses. — Cane  molasses,  or  blackstrap,  the  by-product  of 
the  manufacture  of  cane  sugar,  is  palatable  and  much  relished  by  farm 
animals.     When  fed  in  large  amounts  it  does  not  have  the  purgative 

"Smith  and  Beals,  Mass.  Bui.  146. 

"Ernahr.  landw.  Nutztiere,  1907,  p.  307. 

"Ware,  Cattle  Feeding  with  Sugar  Beets,  Sugar,  and  Molasses,  etc. 


MISCELLANEOUS  CONCENTRATES  187 

effect  of  beet  molasses,  but  tends  to  be  costive  in  its  action.  It  contains 
about  the  same  amount  of  nitrogen-free  extract  as  beet  molasses.  Tho 
the  nitrogen-free  extract  of  both  cane  and  beet  molasses  is  really  all  di- 
gestible, when  molasses  is  fed  with  other  feeding  stuffs  a  depression  of 
the  digestibility  of  the  basal  ration  occurs,  as  has  been  explained  before 
(84),  due  to  the  large  amount  of  soluble  carbohydrates  (sugars)  it  con- 
tains. Taking  this  into  consideration,  the  digestibility  of  the  nitrogen- 
free  extract  of  cane  molasses  is  reckoned  at  90  per  ct. 

In  the  southern  states  cane  molasses  is  often  a  cheap  source  of  carbo- 
hydrates and  is  fed  extensively  on  the  sugar  plantations  to  horses,  mules, 
and  other  animals.  (482)  On  account  of  the  high  price  at  which  molasses 
is  usually  sold  in  the  North,  Lindsey  of  the  Massachusetts  Station  con- 
cludes, after  several  years  study,  that  no  advantage  is  to  be  gained  by 
northern  farmers  from  the  use  of  molasses  in  place  of  corn  meal  and 
similar  feeds.  For  facilitating  the  disposal  of  unpalatable  and  inferior 
roughage,  as  a  tonic  for  horses  and  cows  out  of  condition,  and  as  a  colic 
preventive  for  horses  (482),  from  2  to  3  lbs.  of  molasses  per  head  daily 
is  helpful.  He  states  that  a  daily  allowance  of  3  lbs.  of  molasses  per 
head  may  be  advantageously  fed  to  fattening  steers,  especially  during 
the  finishing  period,  when  the  appetite  is  fickle.  (748)  Like  beet  mo- 
lasses, blackstrap  is  commonlj^  mixed  with  other  feeds. 

280.  Molasses  feeds. — Cane  and  beet  molasses  are  now  extensively  used 
in  the  manufacture  of  the  many  molasses  feeds,  which  consist  of  mo- 
lasses combined  with  a  wide  range  of  products,  all  the  way  from  high- 
protein  concentrates,  such  as  cottonseed  meal,  to  milling  offal,  such  as 
screenings,  oat  hulls,  rice  hulls,  peanut  hulls,  etc.  Many  of  the  early 
molasses  feeds  contained  a  multitude  of  live  weed  seeds,  were  poor  in 
mechanical  condition,  and  did  not  keep  well  on  account  of  excessive 
moisture.  Often  entirely  unwarranted  statements  were  made  in  adver- 
tising these  feeds.  The  conditions  have  now  improved,  and  where  screen- 
ings are  present  they  usually  have  been  finely  ground  to  destroy  all 
weed  seeds.  Because  of  the  widely  differing  materials  used  in  these  feeds 
their  value  varies  greatly.  If  sold  at  prices  which  are  reasonable  com- 
pared with  the  cost  of  equal  amounts  of  nutriment  in  the  straight  con- 
centrates, nothing  can  be  said  against  the  use  of  the  reliable  feeds  of  this 
class,  for  they  are  well  liked  by  stock.  (483)  However,  deception  is  easy 
in  these  feeds,  because  the  molasses  masks  the  other  ingredients  so  that 
inspection  does  not  always  show  of  what  the  feed  consists.  Molasses  feeds 
should  hence  be  purchased  only  from  reliable  dealers  and  on  definite 
guarantees  of  composition  and  of  freedom  from  live  weed  seeds.  The 
state  feed-control  officials  should  be  consulted  in  case  of  doubt  as  to  the 
value  of  any  molasses  feed. 

Molassine  meal,  which  has  been  manufactured  for  several  years  in 
Europe  and  has  recently  come  upon  the  markets  in  the  United  States, 
consists  of  molasses  absorbed  by  sphagnum  moss  or  peat.  Kellner  and 
Pfeiffer  have  shown^^  that  peat  has  no  nutritive  value  for  farm  animals, 

^'Kellner,  Ernahr.  landw.  Nutztiere,  1907,  p.  369. 


188  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

and  the  unclecomposed  moss  can  likewise  have  but  small  worth,  tho  arc- 
tic life  subsists  on  it  to  some  extent.  Practically  the  only  nutriment 
in  this  feed  is  in  the  molasses  it  contains,  and  at  the  prices  usually  asked, 
molasses  can  be  purchased  much  cheaper  alone  than  in  molassine  meal. 
Hills^"  found  the  molasses  in  a  ton  of  this  meal  worth  only  $25,  while 
the  feed  sold  for  $39  per  ton.  Lindsey  and  Smith'^^  of  the  Massachusetts 
Station  found  molassine  meal  decidedly  inferior  to  corn  meal  for  cows. 

281.  Sugar. — Tho  the  nutritive  value  of  sugar  is  no  greater  than  that 
of  an  equal  weight  of  starch,  the  great  fondness  for  it  shown  by  farm 
animals  makes  it  helpful  in  some  cases  for  stimulating  the  appetite.  (484) 
A  small  allowance  is  often  used  in  fitting  animals  for  shows.  Owing  to 
heavy  internal  taxes  laid  upon  sugar  for  human  consumption  in  France 
and  Germany,  it  is  sometimes  denatured  by  mixing  with  it  vermouth 
powder,  lamp  black,  salt,  peat,  etc.,  after  which  it  is  used  for  feeding 
to  animals. 

282.  Dried  distillers'  grains. — In  the  manufacture  of  alcohol  and  dis- 
tilled liquors  from  cereals,  the  corn,  rye,  etc.,  after  being  ground,  are 
treated  with  a  solution  of  malt  to  convert  the  starch  into  sugar,  which 
is  next  converted  into  alcohol  by  the  action  of  yeast.  This  is  distilled 
off,  leaving  a  watery  residue,  known  as  distillers'  slops,  or  slump.  For- 
merly the  slump  M^as  fed  to  fattening  steers  at  the  distillery;  now  the 
solid  matter  is  usually  strained  out  and  dried  in  vacuum,  forming  dried 
distillers'  grains,  or  distillers'  dried  grains,  which  are  sold  as  such  or 
under  various  proprietary  names.  This  by-product  consists  of  the  por- 
tions of  the  grains  not  acted  upon  during  the  fermentation  process,  i.e., 
the  crude  protein,  fiber,  fat,  and  the  more  insoluble  part  of  the  nitrogen- 
free  extract.  Distillers'  grains  from  corn  contain  from  28  to  32  per  ct. 
crude  protein  and  are  about  equal  to  gluten  feed  in  feeding  value.  Dried 
grains  chiefly  from  rye  are  of  considerably  lower  value,  carrying  only 
about  23  per  ct.  protein.  Not  being  especially  palatable,  distillers'  grains 
should  be  mixed  with  other  concentrates.  This  rather  bulky  feed  is  one 
of  the  best  high-protein  concentrates  for  dairy  cows,  from  2  to  4  lbs. 
per  head  daily  being  usually  fed.  (605)  Distillers'  grains  may  also 
be  used  with  good  results  as  part  of  the  ration  for  fattening  steers  and 
sheep.  (758,  856)  A  large  allowance  of  the  grains  is  usually  not  rel- 
ished by  horses,  but  they  may  constitute  one-fourth  the  concentrate 
allowance  for  these  animals.  (491)  On  account  of  their  bulkiness  they 
should  not  be  fed  in  large  amounts  to  pigs.  (981) 

283.  Acorns. — In  some  portions  of  the  South  and  in  California,  acorns, 
the  fruit,  or  nut,  of  the  oak,  Quercus  spp.,  are  of  importance  in  swine 
feeding,  the  pigs  usually  being  allowed  to  forage  upon  the  scattered  nuts. 
Carver  of  the  Tuskegee,  Alabama,  Station^^  reports  the  successful  feed- 
ing of  acorns  and  kitchen  slop  to  400  pigs,  allowing  about  5  lbs.  of  acorns 
to  each  pig  daily.  Carver  states  that  acorns  produced  a  soft,  spongy 
flesh  and  an  oily  lard,  but  this  was  doubtless  due  fully  as  much  to  the 

"Vt.  Bui.  171.  "Mass.  Bui.  158.  "Ala.    (Tuskegee)  Bui.  1. 


MISCELLANEOUS  CONCENTRATES  189 

slop  fed,  as  German  investigators  report  that  acorns  produce  pork  of 
good  quality.  Acorns  may  be  used  in  limited  amounts  for  other  stock. 
Cases  of  poisoning  have  been  reported  where  animals  ate  damaged  acorns 
or  consumed  an  undue  amount. 

284.  Cocoa  shells. — This  by-product  of  the  manufacture  of  cocoa  and 
chocolate  consists  of  the  hard  outside  coating,  or  bran,  of  the  cocoa  bean. 
These  shells,  which  are  dark  brown  and  brittle,  are  used  in  a  few  pro- 
prietary feeds.  Only  4  to  18  per  ct.  of  the  crude  protein  in  this  material 
is  digestible.  According  to  Kellner^''  cocoa  shells  have  no  more  feeding 
value  than  straw.  Lindsey  and  Smith  found  a  lot  tested  at  the  Massa- 
chusetts Station^"  somewhat  more  digestible,  but  do  not  consider  the 
shells  worth  more  than  half  as  much  as  corn  meal. 

285.  Proprietary  and  mixed  feeds. — There  are  now  on  the  market  a 
host  of  mixed  feeds,  chiefly  sold  under  proprietary  names.  Widely 
different  ingredients  enter  into  the  composition  of  these  articles.  In 
some  only  such  high-grade  concentrates  as  cottonseed  meal,  wheat  bran, 
malt  sprouts,  gluten  feed,  dried  distillers'  grains,  etc.,  are  combined. 
Others  contain  varying  amounts  of  screenings,  or  light  grains  of  wheat, 
barley,  or  oats,  which  will  in  general  have  a  lower  value  than  good  qual- 
ity grain  from  the  same  cereals.  The  larger  number  contain  more  or 
less  of  such  low-grade  by-products  as  oat  hulls,  ground  corn  cobs,  flax 
plant  by-product,  etc.  Several  states  now  require  that  the  ingredients 
in  any  feed  be  stated  on  the  sack  or  package.  Tho  the  manufacturers 
of  most  of  these  feeds  maintain  the  amount  of  crude  protein,  fat,  and 
fiber  in  each  brand  at  about  the  same  figures  from  month  to  month,  but 
few  guarantee  the  amount  of  the  separate  ingredients,  such  as  malt 
sprouts,  or  screenings,  that  the  feed  contains.  Owing  to  this  inability 
to  know  that  a  sample  of  the  feed  secured  today  will  represent  the  feed 
put  on  the  market  next  year  under  the  same  name,  the  experiment  sta- 
tions have  conducted  practically  no  trials  to  determine  the  values  of 
these  mixtures.  For  this  reason  and  because  of  the  great  number  of 
these  feeds,  the  composition  of  proprietary  mixed  feeds  is  not  shown  in 
Appendix  Tables  I  and  III. 

Many  mixed  feeds  are  the  result  of  honest  and  intelligent  effort  to 
furnish  a  ready -mixed  "balanced"  concentrate  mixture  for  dairy  cows, 
horses,  or  cattle,  as  the  case  may  be,  and  have  won  good  reputations 
among  intelligent  feeders.  Others  are  merely  attempts  to  delude  the 
purchaser  into  paying  as  high  a  price  for  a  feed  bearing  a  "fancy" 
name  but  consisting  largely  of  low-grade  materials  as  he  would  pay  for 
high-class  concentrates.  Mixed  feeds  should  therefore  be  purchased  only 
when  they  are  the  product  of  reliable  manufacturers,  and  especial  atten- 
tion should  be  paid  to  the  guarantee  of  crude  protein,  fat,  and  fiber.  On 
comparing  the  fiber  guarantee  with  the  fiber  content  of  well-known  un- 
mixed concentrates,  as  given  in  Appendix  Table  I,  the  purchaser  will 
be  able  to  judge  to  what  extent  such  low-grade  by-products  as  oat  hulls 

"Ernahr.  landw.  Nutztiere,  1907,  p.  214.  »Mass.  Bui.  158. 


190  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

and  corn  cobs  have  been  added.  As  has  been  pointed  out  (203,  224), 
such  bulky  materials,  high  in  fiber,  furnish  but  little  nutriment,  tho  they 
may  be  helpful  in  adding  bulk  to  the  mixture.  Before  buying,  the  wise 
feeder  will  compare  the  amount  of  nutrients  he  can  secure  for  a  given 
sum  in  different  mixed  feeds  and  in  the  unmixed  standard  by-products. 


IV.  Commercial  Feeding  Stuffs  Control 

As  has  been  pointed  out  in  the  previous  chapters,  it  is  often  impossible 
for  the  feeder  to  tell  from  the  appearance  of  a  commercial  feeding  stuff 
whether  it  is  of  standard  quality  or  has  been  adulterated.  The  enact- 
ment of  laws  has  therefore  been  necessary  to  protect  honest  manufactur- 
ers and  dealers,  as  well  as  the  users  of  commercial  feeds. 

286.  State  and  national  regulation. — Laws  have  now  been  passed  by 
the  Federal  Government  and  by  many  of  the  states  which  in  general 
require  that  each  package  of  concentrated  feed  bear  a  label,  tag,  or  state- 
ment giving  the  percentages  of  crude  protein  and  fat  the  feed  contains. 
An  increasing  number  of  states  are  wisely  requiring  that  the  maximum 
percentage  of  fiber  be  also  guaranteed.  In  others,  each  ingredient  in  all 
mixed  feeds  must  be  stated.  From  time  to  time  the  officials  en- 
trusted with  feed  supervision  issue  bulletins  setting  forth  the  results 
of  examinations,  analyses,  etc.  Those  interested  should  consult  the  bulle- 
tins, and  aid  and  support  the  officers  in  the  administration  of  the  laws. 

Users  of  purchased  feeds  in  large  quantity  are  generally  experienced 
and  buy  only  the  better  grades  of  standard  feeding  stuffs  at  close  prices, 
or  secure  such  materials  as  screenings,  etc.,  at  low  prices,  fully  under- 
standing their  composition  and  relative  value.  The  small  buyer,  often 
feeling  the  pinch  of  poverty,  too  frequently  is  looking  for  something 
that  sells  for  less  than  is  demanded  for  standard  goods,  and  so  is  the 
more  easily  caught  by  the  low-grade,  trashy  articles  often  bearing 
catchy,  high-sounding  names.  Low-grade  feeding  stuffs,  no  matter  what 
their  names,  are  almost  sure  to  bring  hardship  to  the  animals  that  are 
fed  on  them,  and  to  the  owners  of  such  animals  as  well.  Such  feeds  are 
really  more  like  roughages  than  concentrates  and  roughage  can  be  pro- 
duced on  most  farms  far  more  economically  than  it  can  be  purchased 
in  bags  from  the  feed  dealer.  Whenever  one  is  in  doubt  as  to  what  to 
buy,  he  should  consult  the  feed  control  officials  of  his  state  or  purchase 
only  the  pure  unmixed  grains,  straight  milling  or  factory  by-products, 
or  proprietary  feeds  of  high  grade  that  have  won  a  good  reputation. 

287.  Examples  of  feed  adulteration. — Since  the  feed-control  work  has 
been  carried  on  the  instances  of  adulterated  and  misbranded  feeds  are 
becoming  less  frequent.  The  following  will  illustrate  the  fraud  some- 
times still  attempted  by  unscrupulous  manufacturers  and  dealers.  In 
Tennessee  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture-^  seized  a  ship- 
ment labeled  "Mixed  Wheat  Middlings,  from  Pure  Wheat  Bran  and 

^Notices  of  Judgment,  66,  67 — Food  and  Drugs  Act. 


MISCELLANEOUS  CONCENTRATES         191 

Ground  Corn,"  which  consisted  of  bran  and  ground  corn  cobs.  Woll 
and  Olson  of  the  Wisconsin  Station,--  examining  a  carload  of  so-called 
wheat  bran  shipped  into  Wisconsin,  found  that  each  pound  of  the  whole 
carload  contained  on  an  average  28,000  pigeon-grass  seeds,  16,000  wild 
buckwheat  seeds,  5,000  pigweed  seeds,  and  many  seeds  of  other  kinds. 
Beach  of  the  Vermont  Station,-^  examining  18  brands  of  molasses  and 
flax  feeds  offered  for  sale  in  his  state,  found  from  1,150  to  131,000  weed 
seeds  in  each  pound  of  such  feeds.  In  one  case  it  was  estimated  that 
there  were  129  million  weed  seeds,  weighing  400  lbs.,  in  a  ton  of  one  of 
these  feeds.  Beach  found  that  2  to  13  per  ct.  of  these  seeds  would  grow 
after  having  passed  thru  the  cow. 

288.  A  guide  in  purchasing  cominercial  feeds. — In  purchasing  com- 
mercial feeding  stuffs  the  guaranteed  composition  should  be  ascertained 
and  compared  with  the  average  composition  given  for  the  same  feed 
in  Appendix  Table  I.  If  the  feed  is  markedly  lower  in  crude  protein 
or  fat,  or  is  noticeably  higher  in  crude  fiber  than  there  shown,  it  should 
be  viewed  with  suspicion.  Care  should  also  be  taken  that  the  feed  is 
fresh,  free  from  mold  and  rancidity,  and  that  it  corresponds  in  appear- 
ance with  the  descriptions  given  in  the  preceding  chapters. 


V.  CONDIMENTAL  OR  StOCK  FoODS 

Proprietary  articles  styled  "stock  foods,"  "seed  meals,"  "condition 
powders,"  etc.,  costing  from  10  to  30  cents  or  more  per  pound,  are  ex- 
tensively advertised  and  sold  to  American  farmers.  Woll  of  the  Wis- 
consin Station,-*  after  ascertaining  the  amount  of  stock  foods  sold  in 
1906  in  three  counties  in  Wisconsin,  estimated  that  the  farmers  of  that 
state  paid  annually  about  $300,000  for  1,500  tons  of  such  material. 
Michel  and  Buckman  of  the  Iowa  Station-^  estimate  that  Iowa  farmers 
paid  $190,000  for  stock  foods  in  1904. 

289.  Composition  of  stock  foods. — The  better  class  of  stock  foods  have 
for  their  basis  such  substances  as  linseed  meal  or  wheat  middlings,  while 
the  cheaper  ones  contain  ground  screenings,  low-grade  milling  offal,  the 
ground  bark  of  trees,  etc.  To  this  "filling"  is  added  a  small  percentage 
of  such  materials  as  common  salt,  charcoal,  copperas,  fenugreek,  gentian, 
pepper,  epsom  salts,  etc.,  with  or  without  turmeric,  iron  oxid,  etc.,  for 
coloring.  The  stockman  is  told  that  a  tablespoonful  of  the  compound 
with  each  feed  will  cause  his  stock  to  grow  faster,  fatten  quicker,  give 
richer  milk,  etc.,  etc.  Yet  this  amount  will  supply  only  an  insignificant 
part  of  the  dose  of  these  drugs  which  is  prescribed  for  animals  by  com- 
petent veterinarians.  Tests  of  many  of  these  stock  foods  by  the  experi- 
ment stations  support  the  view  of  Sir  John  Lawes,  the  world's  greatest 
investigator  in  scientific  and  practical  agriculture,  who,  after  carefully 
testing  the  stock  foods  then  being  sold  in  England  wrote :^^  "In  eon- 

=^Wis.  Bui.  97.       ^Vt.  Buls.  131,  133,  138.       =^Wis.  Bui.  151.       «Iowa  Bui.  87. 

'^Rothamsted  Memoirs,  Vol.  II. 


192  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

elusion,  I  feel  bound  to  say  that  I  require  much  clearer  evidence  than 
any  that  has  hitherto  been  adduced,  to  satisfy  me  that  the  balance-sheet 
of  my  farm  would  present  a  more  satisfactory  result  at  the  end  of  the 
year,  were  I  to  give  each  horse,  ox,  sheep,  and  pig,  a  daily  allowance  of 
one  of  these  costly  foods."  (928) 

Farm  animals  managed  with  reasonable  care  have  appetites  which  do 
not  need  stimulating.  Sick  animals  or  those  out  of  condition  should 
receive  specific  treatment  rather  than  be  given  some  cure-all.  A  good 
manager  of  live  stock  has  no  use  for  high-priced  stock  foods  or  con- 
dition powders,  and  a  poor  manager  will  never  have  fine  stock  by  em- 
ploying them.  In  rare  cases  the  available  feeding  stuffs  may  be  of  such 
poor  quality  that  some  condiment  may  cause  the  animal  to  eat  more 
heartily,  and  where  animals  are  in  low  condition  and  without  appetite 
some  spice  may  prove  helpful.  To  cover  such  rare  cases  the  formulas 
for  three  ' '  stock  foods  "  or  "  spices ' '  are  presented. 

First  formula                 Lba.               Second  formula  Lbs.                  Third  formula              Lbs. 

Fenugreek 2         Powdered  gentian. .       8         Ground  gentian 4 

Allspice 2         Ginger 8         Powdered  saltpeter. .  .       1 

Gentian 4         Fenugreek 8         Ground  ginger 1 

Salt 5        Powdered  sulfur. .  .  8        Powdered  copperas. .  .       1 

Saltpeter 5         Potassium  nitrate. .  8 

Epsom  salts 10         Resin 8 

Linseed  meal 100         Cayenne  pepper.  . .  4 

Linseed  meal 44 

Powdered  charcoal .  20 

Common  salt 20 

Wheat  bran 100 

The  above  materials  are  easily  obtainable  and  there  is  no  difficulty 
in  compounding  them.  Oil  meal  or  middlings  is  not  necessary  if  one 
will  thoroly  mix  together  the  other  ingredients  and  give  the  proper 
amount  along  with  some  rich  concentrate,  like  oil  meal,  wheat  middlings, 
or  ground  oats.  At  ordinary  prices  for  the  materials,  either  the  first 
or  second  formula  can  be  made  up  for  about  5  cents  per  pound,  or  about 
one-fourth  what  is  usually  charged  for  something  no  better.  A  table- 
spoonful  in  each  feed  vnll  supply  more  drugs  of  possible  value  than  the 
same  measure  of  most  of  the  advertised  stock  foods.  The  third  formula, 
which  is  more  concentrated,  may  be  given  at  the  rate  of  1  tablespoonful 
daily  mixed  with  the  feed  for  10  days,  the  dose  omitted  for  3  days,  and 
then  the  tonic  given  for  10  days  more.  The  flattering  testimonials  which 
the  stock-food  companies  advertise  are  explained  without  granting  any 
special  virtue  to  their  ' '  food. ' '  The  stock  foods  are  usually  accompanied 
by  directions  which  advocate  liberal  feeding  and  good  care  for  the  ani- 
mals to  be  fed  in  order  to  "secure  the  benefits  from  the  tonic."  Under 
this  guidance  the  farmer  feeds  and  cares  for  his  stock  better  than  ever 
before  and  secures  better  results,  due  not  to  the  stock  food  but  to  follow- 
ing the  directions  which  accompanied  it.  Rather  than  purchase  advice 
with  costly  condimental  foods  the  wise  feeder  will  secure  it  in  standard 
agricultural  papers  and  books,  or  from  the  experiment  stations  and  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture. 


CHAPTER  XII 

INDIAN  CORN  AND  THE  SORGHUMS  FOR  FORAGE 

I.  Indian  Corn 

Indian  corn,  maize,  is  the  imperial  agricultural  plant  of  America. 
This  giant  annual  grass  reaches  a  height  of  from  7  to  15  feet  in  4  or 
5  months'  growth,  producing  under  favorable  conditions  from  10  to  25 
tons  of  green  forage  per  acre,  containing  from  4,000  to  10,000  lbs.  of 
dry  matter.  When  grown  in  a  dense  mass  but  little  seed  forms,  and  we 
have  a  rank  grass  which  cures  into  a  bright,  nutritious,  coarse  hay.  If 
the  plants  grow  some  distance  apart,  a  large  yield  of  grain  results,  with 
excellent  forage  as  a  secondary  product. 

Were  a  seedsman  to  advertise  Indian  corn  by  a  new  name,  recounting 
its  actual  merits  while  ingeniously  concealing  its  identity,  either  his 
claims  would  be  discredited  or  he  would  have  an  unlimited  demand  for 
the  seed  of  this  supposed  novelty.  The  possibilities  of  American  farms 
in  the  live  stock  they  may  carry  and  the  animal  products  they  may  turn 
off  are  restricted  only  by  the  quantity  of  corn  and  of  clover  or  other 
legumes  which  the  land  will  produce,  and  this,  under  good  management, 
seems  almost  unlimited. 

In  Chapter  I  the  studies  on  the  composition  of  the  growing  Indian 
corn  plant  are  given  at  length  to  illustrate  and  fix  in  mind  the  manner 
in  which  plants  grow  and  elaborate  food  for  animals.  The  student 
should  turn  to  that  most  helpful  presentation  and  carefully  review 
what  it  teaches.  This  done  he  is  in  position  to  proceed  with  the  further 
study  of  the  maize  plant  here  set  forth.  (The  importance  of  corn  as  a 
cereal  has  already  been  discussed  in  Chapter  IX. ) 

290.  Corn  as  a  forage  plant. — The  entire  fresh  green  corn  plant  may 
be  fed  as  a  soiling  crop,  it  may  be  ensiled,  the  crop  may  be  cut  and  cured 
as  fodder  corn,  or  the  grain  may  be  removed  and  the  remaining  stover 
used  for  feed.  As  later  shown  (300),  ensiling  is  by  far  the  most 
satisfactory  means  of  preserving  the  entire  crop  as  forage. 

The  term  fodder  corn  or  corn  fodder  is  applied  to  stalks  of  corn, 
green  or  dry,  which  have  been  grown  primarily  for  forage,  and  from 
which  the  ears  or  ' '  nubbins, ' '  if  they  carry  any,  have  not  been  removed. 
Shock  corn  and  bundle  corn  are  terms  applied  to  fodder  corn  which 
caiTies  much  grain,  but  which  is  fed  without  husking.  Stover  or  corn 
stover  denotes  the  dried  stalks  of  corn  from  which  the  ears  have  been 
removed.  Fodder  corn  or  corn  fodder,  then,  is  the  fresh  or  cured  corn 
plant  which  has  been  grown  for  forage,  with  all  the  ears,  if  any,  origi- 
nally produced.    Stover  is  cured  shock  corn  minus  the  ears.    Similarly, 

193 


194 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

kafir  stover,  etc.,  are  employed  in  speaking  of 


the  terms  kafir  fodder, 
sorghum  forage. 

291.  Thickness  of  planting. — In  a  study  of  thick  and  thin  seeding  for 
3  seasons  at  the  Illinois  Station,^  Morrow  and  Hunt  secured  the  results 
summarized  below.  In  these  trials  the  kernels  were  planted  from  3  to 
24  inches  apart  in  the  row,  all  rows  being  3  feet  8  inches  apart. 

Results  of  planting  corn  kernels  various  distances  apart  in  rows 


Thickness  of  planting 

Yield  per  acre 

Digestible  substance 
per  acre 

Stover 
per 

Stover 
for 

Distance  between 
kernels  in  row 

Kernels 
per  acre 

Good 
ears 

Poor 
ears 

Stover 

Grain 

Total 

each 
lb.  of 
corn 

3  inches 

6  inches 

9  inches 

12  inches 

15  inches 

47,520 
23,760 
15,840 
11,880 
9.504 
5.940 

Bu. 
13 

37 
55 
73 
63 
40 

Bu. 

46 
39 
22 
16 
11 
6 

Lbs. 
3,968 

3,058 
2,562 
2,480 
2,398 
2.066 

Lbs. 
2,250 

2,922 
2,977 
3,113 

2,782 
2,141 

Lbs. 

6,218 
5,980 
5,539 
5,593 
5,180 
4,207 

Tons 
4.8 

3.7 
3.1 
3.0 
2.9 

2.5 

Lbs. 

3.6 
1  9 
1.5 
1.3 
1.4 
1.5 

With  the  kernels  but  3  inches  apart  in  the  row  there  were  46  bushels 
of  "nubbins,"  or  poor  ears,  and  only  13  bushels  of  sound  ears  per  acre. 
However,  this  thick  planting  gave  the  largest  returns  in  digestible  nutri- 
ents— over  6,000  lbs.  per  acre.  With  this  close  planting  there  were  3.6 
lbs.  of  stover  for  each  pound  of  grain.  The  largest  yield  of  sound  ear 
corn  was  secured  by  planting  the  kernels  12  inches  apart  in  the  row, 
or  about  12,000  kernels  per  acre,  which  should  produce  10,000  good 
stalks  an  acre.  From  this  the  returns  were  73  bushels  of  sound  and 
16  bushels  of  poor  ears  per  acre,  with  only  600  lbs.  less  digestible  matter 
than  from  planting  the  kernels  4  times  as  thick.  These  trials,  confirmed 
by  the  work  of  other  stations,  teach  that  when  the  stockman  is  seeking 
the  greatest  amount  of  nutrients  possible  from  the  corn  crop  he  will 
plant  the  seed  so  thickly  as  to  choke  the  ears  to  about  half  their  natural 
size.  If  he  aims  to  produce  grain,  with  stover  secondary,  he  will  plant 
the  kernels  at  such  distance  apart  as  will  allow  each  individual  plant  to 
produce  full-sized  ears.  No  general  rule  can  be  given  as  to  the  amount 
of  seed  to  be  planted  per  acre.  This  varies  greatly  and  is  determined 
by  local  conditions.  One  must  know  accurately  the  capacity  of  his 
land  for  corn,  and  seed  accordingly,  bearing  in  mind  that  thick  seeding 
gives  the  most  total  nutrients,  largely  as  roughage,  while  thinner  seeding 
gives  the  most  sound  grain. 

292.  Nutrients  in  the  corn  crop. — Even  when  grown  for  the  grain, 
the  stover  contains  a  considerable  part  of  the  total  nutrients  of  the 
crop,  as  is  shown  by  the  following  table,  arranged  from  a  summary  by 
Armsbv-  of  trials  at  4  northern  stations. 


»I11,  Bui.  13. 


'Penn.  Rpt.  1887. 


INDIAN  CORN  AND  THE  SORGHUMS  FOR  FORAGE       195 

Distribution  of  nutrients  in  the  corn  crop  grown  for  grain 

Average  Distribution  of  digestible  nutrients  Distribution 

yield  per                     Crude           Total  digestible  of  net 

acre                        protein                 nutrients  nutrients 

Lbs.                        Per  ct.                  Per  ct.  Per  ct. 

Ears 4,415                    75                    63  76 

Stover 3,838                   25                    37  24 

The  table  shows  that  in  the  northern  states  somewhat  more  than  half 
the  total  weight  of  the  corn  crop  grown  for  grain  is  found  in  the  ears. 
About  75  per  ct.  of  the  digestible  crude  protein  is  in  the  ears  and  25 
per  ct.  in  the  stover.  The  ears  furnish  about  63  and  the  stover  37  per 
ct.  of  the  total  digestible  nutrients.  For  animals  at  light  work,  those 
fattening  slowly  or  giving  only  a  small  quantity  of  milk,  and  for  main- 
taining animals  in  winter  when  much  heat  for  warming  the  body  is 
required,  the  value  of  the  stover  will  be  approximately  measured  by 
the  total  digestible  nutrients  it  contains,  or  37  per  ct.  of  the  crop.  For 
fattening  animals  and  those  giving  much  milk  or  at  hard  work  the 
stover  will  have  a  lower  value,  on  account  of  the  large  amount  of  fiber 
it  contains.  For  such  animals  a  more  accurate  measure  of  the  relative 
value  of  the  ears  and  stover  is  furnished  by  the  last  column,  which  shows 
that  the  ears  supply  76  and  the  stover  24  per  ct.  of  the  net  nutrients. 
(78-80)  The  ratio  of  grain  to  stalk,  and  hence  the  distribution  of  the 
nutrients,  will  vary  with  the  variety  and  with  the  section  of  the  country. 
The  rank  growing  southern  com  wall  have  less  of  the  total  nutrients  in 
the  ear  and  more  in  the  stalks.  These  data  show  clearly  the  great  loss 
of  animal  food  which  occurs  each  year  when  unnumbered  acres  of  stover 
are  allowed  to  decay  in  the  fields. 

Like  the  com  grain,  corn  forage  is  low  in  crude  protein  compared 
with  its  carbohydrate  and  fat  content.  As  shown  in  Appendix  Table  III 
the  nutritive  ratio  of  corn  silage  is  1 :  15.1,  and  that  of  fodder  corn 
1 :  15.7  to  1 :  17.1,  while  corn  stover  has  the  extremely  wide  nutritive  ratio 
of  1 :  21.0  or  over.  Hence  these  roughages  should  be  supplemented  by 
feeds  rich  in  crude  protein.  Corn  forage  is  fair  in  phosphorus  and  high 
in  lime,  compared  with  corn  and  the  other  cereal  grains. 

293.  Preserving  corn  fodder  or  stover. — Losses  of  nutrients  in  com 
fodder  after  it  has  been  gathered  into  shocks  (stooks)  are  known  to 
occur  thru  weathering  but  there  are  also  large  losses  which  are  unex- 
plained. During  4  years'  study  at  the  "Wisconsin  Station,  WolP  deter- 
mined the  dry  matter  and  crude  protein  in  a  crop  of  corn  at  the  time  of 
cutting  and  again  after  the  shocks  had  been  exposed  to  the  weather 
for  several  months.  It  was  found  that  under  "Wisconsin  conditions  well- 
made  shocks  of  corn  which  stand  in  the  field  for  a  few  months  lose 
about  24  per  ct.  of  their  dry  matter,  the  crude  protein  content  suffering 
to  the  same  extent.  Cooke  showed  that  in  the  dry  climate  of  Colorado* 
heavy  losses  likewise  occur  in  shock  corn.  In  the  South  the  corn  forage, 
'A  Book  on  Silage.  "Colo.  Bui.  30. 


196  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

maturing  early,  melts  away  to  almost  nothing  in  a  comparatively  short 
time.  The  substances  first  lost  thru  such  wasting  are  crude  protein, 
sugar,  starch,  etc. — the  most  valuable  portions  of  the  plant.  Nor  is  it 
possible  to  entirely  prevent  these  losses  by  placing  the  cured  fodder 
under  cover  or  in  stacks.  Losses  of  this  nature  are  probably  due  to 
fermentations  which  slowly  but  steadily  waste  the  substance  of  the  for- 
age. Sanborn'  writes:  "Many  trials  with  fodder.  .  .make  it  certain 
that  15  per  ct.  is  the  minimum  loss  to  be  expected  with  dry  storage, 
Avhile  the  loss  may  rise  to  20  per  ct.  or  even  more  in  ordinary 
practice." 

The  losses  due  to  weathering  can  be  lessened  by  making  large  shocks. 
Since  the  stalks  stand  almost  vertical  in  the  shocks,  as  the  leaves  wilt 
there  is  ample  room  for  the  upward  passage  of  air  currents,  which 
rapidly  dry  the  interior  and  check  molds  and  fermentations.  When 
shock  com  is  pronounced  dry  by  the  farmer,  it  often  still  carries  more 
water  and  consequently  less  dry  matter  than  hay,  a  fact  which  should  not 
be  overlooked  when  feeding  this  forage.  Care  must  be  taken  that  corn 
fodder  or  stover  is  well-cured  before  it  is  stacked,  and  especially  before 
it  is  stored  in  the  mow,  for  musty,  moldy  forage  is  not  only  unpalatable 
but  even  dangerous.  In  southern  states  where  it  is  exceedingly  difficult 
to  cure  corn  stalks  so  that  they  may  be  stacked,  the  silo  is  particularly 
useful. 

294.  Dry  fodder  corn. — Corn  grown  and  cured  as  forage  constitutes 
a  coarse  hay  of  high  feeding  value,  since  only  a  portion  of  the  nutrients 
has  gone  into  the  ear.  Dry  fodder  corn  is  more  palatable  and  nutritious 
than  stover,  which  has  transmitted  much  of  its  substance  to  the  grain. 
Thickly  seeded  corn  bears  small,  palatable  ears  which  are  easily  masti- 
cated. When  grown  for  coarse  hay  and  carrying  some  grain,  corn 
possesses  a  feeding  value  not  as  yet  appreciated  by  most  stockmen. 
Overlooking  its  splendid  qualities  as  a  hay  plant,  we  have  become 
accustomed  to  growing  this  grass  for  the  grain  it  yields,  and  using  the 
stover  as  a  sort  of  straw  to  be  eaten  or  wasted  as  accident  determines. 
(500,  620-1,  771,  862) 

295.  Shock  com. — Rather  than  husk  corn  and  feed  the  grain  and 
stover  separately,  it  is  often  more  profitable  to  feed  shock  corn  and 
allow  the  animals  to  do  their  own  husking.  This  is  especially  true  for 
animals  which  need  only  a  small  grain  allowance,  such  as  cattle  being 
carried  thru  the  winter  or  idle  horses.  Shock  corn  may  also  be  success- 
fully fed  to  fattening  cattle  and  sheep,  particularly  at  the  beginning 
of  the  fattening  period,  and  to  a  less  extent  it  may  be  employed  with 
the  dairy  cow.  It  is  true  that  when  fed  unhusked  some  corn  passes 
thru  the  animal  unbroken,  but  feeding  trials  show  that,  despite  such 
waste,  there  is  often  little  or  no  profit  in  husking  the  ear  and  reducing 
it  to  meal.  A  little  study  will  determine  the  amount  of  grain  the  shocks 
carry,  so  that  the  feeder  can  properly  adjust  the  ratio  of  grain  to  rough- 

"Cyc.  Am.  Agr.,  Vol.  II,  p.  569. 


INDIAN  CORN  AND  THE  SORGHUMS  FOR  FORAGE       197 

age  by  supplying  either  ear  corn  or  corn  stover  as  the  animals  may 
require.  (735,  771) 

296.  Corn  stover. — The  forage  which  remains  after  removing  the  ears 
from  shock  corn  has  a  higher  feeding  value  than  is  usually  conceded. 
Stover  produced  in  the  northern  portion  of  the  corn  belt  is  superior  in 
nutriment  and  palatability  to  that  grown  in  the  South.  As  soon  as 
fairly  well  cured  and  freed  from  external  moisture  stover  should  be 
placed  under  cover  or  stacked,  rather  than  left  to  deteriorate  in  the 
hold.  "Waters  of  the  Missouri  Station''  found  as  the  average  of  experi- 
ments covering  4  years  that  moderately  thin  yearling  steers  lost  only  33 
lbs.  each  when  wintered  on  corn  stover  alone.  This  shows  that  corn 
stover  fed  long  or  uncut  will  nearly  furnish  a  maintenance  ration  for 
such  animals.  (502,  622,  771,  862) 

297.  Shredded  or  cut  stover  and  fodder. — ^When  shock  corn  is  husked 
by  machinery  the  stover  is  usually  cut  or  shredded  at  the  same  oper- 
ation. Corn  fodder  is  also  often  passed  thru  a  feed  cutter  before 
feeding.  At  the  Wisconsin  Station"  the  senior  author  conducted  3  trials 
in  which  cows  were  fed  either  shredded  or  unshredded  corn  stover  or 
fodder  corn,  all  receiving  the  same  allowance  of  grain  and  hay.  "While 
on  the  average  18  per  ct.  of  the  long  forage  was  refused,  the  shredded 
fodder  was  all  consumed.  In  these  trials  100  lbs.  of  shredded  stover 
or  fodder  produced  slightly  more  milk  than  132  lbs.  of  long  forage. 
At  the  Kansas  Station®  Shelton,  in  experiments  covering  3  seasons,  fed 
stover  cut  into  lengths  varying  from  0.25  to  2  inches  to  cows,  and  found 
an  average  waste  of  31  per  ct.  of  the  cut  stover,  with  no  greater  milk 
returns  than  from  the  uncut  stover.  The  finer  the  stover  was  cut  the 
larger  was  the  waste,  and  the  conclusion  was  that  the  only  advantage 
from  cutting  stover  lay  in  the  greater  convenience  of  handling  it  in  the 
stable.  Likewise  at  the  Missouri  Station'*  Waters  found  shredded  stover 
slightly  inferior  to  whole  stover  for  steer  feeding.  In  accounting  for 
these  differences  it  may  be  said  that  the  stalks  of  corn  grown  in  the 
middle  and  lower  portions  of  the  corn  belt  are  larger,  coarser,  more 
woody,  and  doubtless  less  nutritious  than  the  smaller,  softer  stalks  of  the 
northern  states.  It  is  also  possible  that  in  the  Kansas  trial  the  sharp 
edges  of  the  cut  stalks  made  the  mouths  of  the  cattle  sore.  This  can  be 
avoided  by  changing  the  length  of  the  cut  or  by  shredding.  Cutting  or 
shredding  corn  forage  makes  it  easier  to  handle,  and  the  waste  is  in 
better  shape  for  bedding  and  manure.  As  this  finer  material  is  not  more 
digestible  than  long  stover,  the  only  other  possible  advantage  comes  in 
getting  the  animals  to  eat  more,  or  to  eat  those  parts  which  would  other- 
wise be  wasted. 

298.  Pulling  fodder. — In  the  South  the  tops  of  the  ripening  corn  stalks 
are  quite  commonly  cut  off  just  above  the  ears,  leaving  the  tall  butts, 
each  with  an  unhusked  ear  at  its  top.  Next,  the  leaves  are  stripped  from 
the  butts,  and  these  together  with  the  severed  tops  are  cured  into  a 

•Mo.  Bui.  75.  ^Wis.  Rpt.  1886.  ^Kan.  Rpt.  1889.  'Mo.  Bui.  75. 


198  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

nutritious,  palatable  fodder,  which  is  extensively  employed  for  feeding 
horses  and  other  stock.  The  previous  study  of  the  development  of  the 
nutrients  in  the  corn  plant  shows  the  folly  of  this  practice.  During 
the  last  stages  of  its  life  the  corn  plant  is  busiest  in  gathering  crude 
materials  from  air  and  soil  and  elaborating  them  into  nutritious  food. 
Removing  the  top  and  leaves,  at  once  stops  all  this  work  of  food  making. 
Stubbs  of  the  Louisiana  Station^"  found  that  pulling  fodder  caused  a 
shrinkage  of  from  15  to  20  per  ct.  in  the  yield  of  grain.  (23) 

299.  The  new  corn  product. — The  pith  of  the  cured  corn  stalk  is  used 
as  a  packing  between  the  walls  of  vessels  to  prevent  the  entrance  of 
water  should  the  hull  be  pierced,  as  well  as  being  employed  in  various 
industries.  It  has  been  found  that  for  each  pound  of  pith  there  are  15 
lbs.  of  blades,  husks,  and  parts  of  stalks  which  remain  as  a  by-product. 
This  waste,  ground  to  a  powder,  has  been  named  "the  new  corn 
product."  At  the  Maryland  Station"  Patterson  found  the  new  corn 
product  somewhat  more  digestible  than  whole  stover  in  feeding  trials 
with  steers  and  equal  to  hay  for  horses. 

As  this  material  is  used  as  a  filler  in  some  mixed  feeds,  it  is  well  to  bear 
in  mind  that  grinding  the  by-product  does  not  increase  its  content  of 
nutrients. 

300.  Indian  corn  for  silage. — Indian  corn  is  pre-eminently  a  silage 
plant.  The  solid,  succulent  stems  and  broad  leaves,  when  cut  into  short 
lengths,  pack  closely  and  form  a  solid  mass  which  not  only  keeps  well 
but  furnishes  a  product  that  is  greatly  relished  by  stock,  and  consumed 
with  little  waste.  Altho  with  enlarging  experience  the  use  of  other 
crops  for  silage  is  increasing  rapidly,  by  far  the  greater  portion  of  all 
the  forage  stored  in  silos  in  this  country  is  corn.  The  importance  of 
silage  on  American  farms  is  discussed  further  in  Chapter  XVI  and  in 
the  respective  chapters  of  Part  III. 

301.  Losses  by  ensiling  and  field-curing. — After  studying  the  losses  of 
forage  preserved  in  wooden  silos  during  4  seasons  at  the  Wisconsin  Sta- 
tion,^- King  concludes  that,  omitting  the  top  and  bottom  waste,  which  is 
the  same  for  deep  or  shallow  silos,  the  losses  of  dry  matter  in  corn 
silage  need  not  exceed  10  per  ct.  Considerable  of  the  protein  in  ensiled 
fodder  is  changed  to  amids  (11),  and  some  of  the  starch  and  sugar  is 
destroyed,  while  the  fiber  is  not  diminished;  thus  the  losses  fall  on 
the  best  portions  of  the  ensiled  material.  Numerous  trials  at  the  stations 
show  practically  no  difference  between  the  digestibility  of  com  silage 
and  dry  corn  fodder,  but  both  are  somewhat  less  digestible  than  the 
green  forage.  This  is  shown  in  the  average  digestion  coefficients  given 
in  Appendix  Table  II. 

The  following  table  summarizes  the  comparative  losses  in  preserving 
corn  forage  by  ensiling  and  field-curing  as  shown  by  10  trials  at  4  sta- 
tions : 

^^La.  Bui.  22.    (Old  Series.)  "  Md.  Buls.  43,  51.  "Wis.  Bui.  59 


INDIAN  CORN  AND  THE  SORGHUMS  FOR  FORAGE       199 

Relative  losses  of  field-curing  and  ensiling  the  corn  crop 

Corn  silage  Corn  fodder  in  shocks 

Dry           Crude  Dry            Crude 

Station  and  reference                                           matter        protein  matter         protein 

Per  ct.         Per  ct.  Per  ct.         Per  ct. 

Vermont,  av.  4  yrs.,  Rpts.  1889-94 18 .2  12 .0*  17 .7  12 .7* 

New  Jersey,  Bui.  19 18 .0  17 .3  

Pennsylvania,  Rpt.  1889 10 .8  4.4  21 .0  11.6 

Wisconsin,  av.  4  yrs.,  Rpt.  1891 15  .6  16 .8  23 .8  24 .3 

Average  at  4  stations 15.7         11.1         20.0         16.2 

♦Average  of  3  years. 

The  table  shows  that  more  dry  matter  and  crude  protein  were  lost  by 
drying  corn  forage  in  shocks  than  by  ensiling. 

302.  Corn  silage  vs.  com  fodder. — We  have  seen  that  the  losses  of 
nutrients  by  ensiling  and  drying  corn  forage  are  not  materially  different, 
tho  somewhat  favoring  silage,  and  that  ensiling  a  crop  tends  to  decrease 
rather  than  increase  the  digestibility.  (83)  On  the  other  hand,  actual 
feeding  trials  with  dairy  cows  and  steers,  reported  in  Part  III,  show 
that  silage  gives  better  results  than  a  corresponding  amount  of  dry 
fodder.  (630,  781)  The  difference  in  favor  of  silage  is  doubtless  due  in 
part  to  the  fact  that  cattle  usually  reject  the  dry  butts  of  the  corn 
stalks  even  when  cut  fine,  while  in  silage  they  are  eaten.  Giving  to  the 
palatability  of  this  succulence  silage-fed  animals  consume  a  larger  ration 
and  more  nutriment  is  hence  available  for  milk  or  flesh  production  after 
supplying  the  wants  of  the  body.  Like  other  succulent  feeds  silage  has 
a  beneficial  laxative  effect  and  is  a  valuable  aid  in  keeping  farm  animals 
in  thrifty  condition. 

303.  The  corn  for  silage. — In  the  earlier  years  com  was  usually  ensiled 
before  the  kernels  were  in  the  glazing  stage.  Experience  has  shown  that 
much  sweeter  silage  is  produced  when  corn  is  not  ensiled  until  the  ker- 
nels have  hardened  and  glazed  (with  the  dent  varieties  when  they  are 
well  dented).  The  crop  should,  however,  be  cut  for  silage  while  most 
of  the  leaves  are  yet  green  and  succulent.  The  rapid  storage  of  high- 
quality  nutrients  which  takes  place  in  the  later  stages  of  the  development 
of  the  corn  plant  is  a  most  important  reason  for  waiting  until  the  crop 
is  practically  mature.  (23)  Several  stations  have  determined  the  yields 
per  acre  of  green  forage  and  digestible  nutrients  from  southern  varieties 
of  corn,  which  usually  do  not  reach  maturity  in  the  North,  and  from  the 
smaller  northern  varieties,  with  the  results  shown  below: 

Yield  of  corn  forage  at  the  North  from  northern  and  southern  seed 

Green  weight  per  acre  Digestible  nutrients  per  acre 

Southern           Northern  Southern            Northern 

corn                    corn  corn                    corn 

Lbs.                   Lbs.  Lbs.                    Lbs. 

Maine,  5  years  (Rpt.  1893)  34,761  22,269  3,251  3,076 

Penn.,  3  years  (Rpt.  1892) .  32,321  18,606  5,042  4.149 

N.  Y.  (CorneU),  (Bui.  16)..  34,060  16,980  4,758  2.953 

Wis.  (Rpt.  1888) 47,040  24,890  5,414  5,229 

Minn.  (Bui.  40) 43,000  19,500  3,887  2,911 


200  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

In  each  instance  the  southern  corn  gave  larger  yields  of  green  corn 
per  acre.  Tho  southern  corn,  which  carries  a  small  proportion  of  grain, 
is  about  8  per  ct.  less  digestible  than  northern  corn,  it  nevertheless  pro- 
duced more  digestible  nutrients  per  acre.^^  However,  southern  corn 
should  not  generally  be  used  for  either  silage  or  dry  forage  except  where 
the  climatic  conditions  permit  the  ears  to  develop  kernels  which  reach  the 
glazing  stage  at  time  of  harvest.  When  there  is  an  urgent  demand  for 
the  largest  amount  of  palatable  roughage  from  a  given  area,  the  southern 
varieties  have  a  place  in  the  northern  states,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
these  types,  which  will  not  reach  maturity,  produce  sourer  silage.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  northern  stockman  who  has  hay,  straw,  or  stover  at 
command  will  aim  to  fill  his  silo  with  a  richer  feed  than  southern  corn 
yields,  and  therefore  will  use  northern  dent  or  flint  varieties,  which 
mature.  He  will  plant  the  crop  somewhat  more  thickly  than  when  grown 
for  grain,  but  yet  so  as  to  secure  a  relatively  large  proportion  of  grain  to 
roughage,  and  will  thus  secure  a  rich  silage  that  materially  reduces  the 
amount  of  concentrates  required  for  his  stock. 

304.  Silage  from  frozen  or  drought-stricken  corn. — ^When  com  is  killed 
by  frost  or  stricken  by  drought  the  silo  is  the  best  instrument  for  pre- 
serving all  possible  nutriment  in  the  crop.  When  the  plants  have 
dried  out  unduly,  water  should  be  added  as  the  silo  is  being  filled  to 
insure  the  necessary  fermentations  that  preserve  the  silage. 

Hills  of  the  Vermont  Station"  found  that  silage  from  frozen  corn  is 
not  necessarily  poorer  because  of  having  been  frosted,  is  not  dangerous 
to  cows,  and  does  not  injuriously  affect  the  milk.  He  concludes  that  it 
is  often  advisable  to  allow  a  crop  of  immature,  watery  corn  to  stand 
one  or  two  weeks  longer  than  usual,  thereby  gaining  from  6  to  15  per  ct. 
in  dry  matter  should  no  frost  come.  Frosted  corn  should  be  quickly 
ensiled,  for  the  storm  which  usually  follows  the  first  fall  frosts  will  wash 
out  much  nutriment  from  the  frosted  forage,  and  the  winds  soon  whip 
off  the  dried,  brittle  leaves. 

305.  Corn  fodder  or  stover  silage. — It  has  been  found  that  cured  corn 
forage,  when  cut  into  the  silo,  thoroly  moistened,  and  well-packed  will 
undergo  fermentation  similar  to  that  which  occurs  with  green  material 
and  may  be  preserved  in  a  satisfactory  manner.^^  Tho  usually  less 
palatable  than  silage  from  green  corn  this  product  has  an  aromatic 
silage  odor  and  is  readily  consumed  by  stock,  with  less  waste  than  is  dry 
fodder  or  stover.  This  method  is  now  followed  by  many  farmers, 
especially  in  the  plains  region,  some  even  filling  their  silos  3  times  a 
year — in  the  fall  with  green  corn  or  sorghum,  and  later  with  the  cured 
forage.  The  essential  points  in  the  process  are  to  add  enough  water  so 
that  the  material  will  pack  well  and  then  to  tramp  it  down  wath  especial 
thoroness ;  otherwise  the  mass  will  spoil.  Tho  the  water  may  be  applied 
to  the  cut  material  in  the  silo,  more  even  moisture  distribution  is  possible 
and  hence  better  silage  is  produced  when  a  stream  of  water  is  run  into 

"Jordan,  Me.  Rpt.  1893.    "Vt.  Rpt.  1906.  "Del.  Rpt.  1903;  Vt.  Bui.  170. 


INDIAN  CORN  AND  THE  SORGHUMS  FOR  FORAGE       201 

the  blower,  thereby  wetting  the  cut  fodder  before  it  reaches  the  silo. 
Eckles  of  the  Missouri  Station^''  states  that  only  about  one-third  of  the 
total  amount  of  water  needed  will  be  taken  up  by  the  dry  fodder  as  it 
passes  thru  the  blower.  The  remainder  should  be  sprinkled  over  the 
fodder  in  the  silo  as  it  is  filled.  Due  to  the  widely  varying  water  content 
of  field-cured  corn  forage  it  is  impossible  to  state  definitely  the  amount 
of  water  to  be  added  in  such  cases.  Some  recommend  adding  about  an 
equal  weight  of  water  to  the  forage,  others  add  just  enough  so  that  water 
may  be  squeezed  out  of  the  cut  material. 

306.  Removing  the  ears  before  ensiling. — Years  ago  it  was  recom- 
mended that,  instead  of  ensiling  the  entire  corn  plant,  the  ears  be 
removed  and  cured  elsewhere,  and  only  the  stalks  and  leaves  converted 
into  silage.  This  grain-free  silage  would  then  be  fed  along  with  more  or 
less  of  the  grain  separately  saved.  This  matter  was  tested  by  Woll  at 
the  Wisconsin  Station^'  and  Hills  at  the  Vermont  Station^^  with  adverse 
results.  Hills  found  that  1  acre  of  green  corn  fodder,  including  ears, 
reduced  to  silage  was  equal  in  feeding  value  to  1.26  acres  of  silage  from 
stalks  stripped  of  their  ears  and  fed  with  the  meal  made  by  grinding 
the  dry  ear  corn  which  was  produced  by  the  crop. 

307.  Corn  for  soilage. — Corn  ranks  high  as  a  soiling  crop  on  account 
of  its  palatability,  the  high  yield  of  nutrients,  and  the  fact  that  it 
remains  in  good  condition  for  feeding  for  a  much  longer  period  than 
many  other  crops  grown  for  soilage.  On  farms  lacking  summer  silage, 
feeding  corn  forage  in  the  green  stage  as  soilage  should  become  general, 
for  during  the  late  summer  and  early  fall  pastures  are  often  too  scant 
to  enable  animals  to  do  their  best.  In  the  case  of  dairy  cows  such  a 
shortage  of  feed  will  cause  a  decrease  in  milk  flow,  which  often  can  not 
be  recovered  by  subsequent  liberal  feeding.  (642,  663)  An  acre  of 
ripening  corn  fed  in  early  fall  may  thus  return  twice  as  much  profit  as 
if  it  were  held  over  until  winter.  For  early  feeding  sweet  corn  may 
often  be  advantageously  used. 

II.  The  Sorghums 

In  the  dry-farming  districts,  from  Nebraska  to  Texas  and  Arizona, 
the  sorghums,  both  the  saccharine  sorghos  and  the  non-saccharine  grain 
sorghums  are  of  great  and  increasing  importance  as  forage  crops  because 
they  are  far  more  drought  resistant  than  corn  and  the  leaves  remain 
green  late  in  autumn.  (235-41)  In  1913  Kansas  alone  grew  1,633,000 
acres  of  grain  sorghum  for  grain  and  forage,  and  738,000  acres  of  sorgho, 
these  crops  having  a  total  value  of  over  $17,200,000.  The  sorghums, 
chiefly  the  sorghos,  are  valuable  crops  in  the  southern  states  for  hay, 
soilage,  or  silage,  and  are  also  grown  in  the  northern  states,  chiefly  for 
soilage. 

According  to  Piper^^  3  tons  of  air-dry  fodder  may  be  considered  a 
good  and  6  tons  a  large  return  from  the  sorghums,  while  maximum 

"Mo.  Cir.  71.     "Wis.  Rpts.  1891,  2.     ^«Vt.  Rpt.  1892.     "Forage  Plants,  p.  269. 


202  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

yields  may  reach  10  tons  of  dry  fodder  or  40  tons  of  green  material. 
Reed  of  the  Kansas  Station-^  states  that  under  Kansas  conditions  the 
sorghums  will  produce  one-third  to  one-half  more  forage  per  acre  than 
corn. 

308.  Sorghum  fodder  and  stover. — Thruout  regions  of  scanty  rainfall 
the  sorghums  are  most  commonly  grown  in  drilled  rows  of  sufficient 
width  to  allow  horse  cultivation,  by  which  the  moisture  is  conserved 
and  larger  yields  obtained.  When  grown  in  drills,  not  too  thickly, 
much  seed  is  produced  and  the  stalks  are  somewhat  coarse.  Sorghum 
forage  is  more  palatable  when  cut  before  fully  matured,  but  the  seed 
should  be  allowed  to  reach  the  early  dough  stage,  for  if  cut  earlier  the 
plants  are  watery  and  contain  little  nutriment.  The  crop  is  cured  in 
shocks,  the  same  as  Indian  corn,  but  in  the  case  of  the  juicy-stemmed 
sorghos,  which  cure  with  difficulty,  the  shocks  should  be  small.  If  left 
in  the  field  in  humid  regions  for  3  months  or  longer  sorgho  fodder  is 
apt  to  sour,  due  to  fermentation  of  the  sugar  in  the  stalks.^^  In  sections 
with  ample  rainfall  the  seed  is  often  broadcasted,  and  the  fine-stemmed 
plants  cut  with  a  mower  and  cured  in  cocks,  the  same  as  the  meadow 
grasses.  In  the  South  where  the  rainfall  is  ample  or  on  irrigated  lands 
2  to  3  cuttings  of  sorghum  may  be  secured  in  a  season  if  the  crop  is 
cut  before  it  matures;  in  the  dry- farming  districts  the  crop  is  usually 
cut  but  once. 

The  various  types  of  grain  sorghums  have  been  previously  described. 
(235-40)  Of  this  group  the  kafirs  give  the  largest  yields  of  the  most 
valuable  forage,  for  they  are  leafy  and  the  stems  are  more  succulent 
than  those  of  milo,  feterita,  or  kaoliang.  Kafir  fodder  and  stover  com- 
pare favorably  in  composition  and  feeding  value  with  that  from  corn. 
Feterita  ranks  next  to  kafir  for  forage,  while  milo,  kaoliang,  and  shallu 
have  less  foliage  and  more  pithy  stems.  (772,  861)  The  dwarf  types  of 
the  grain  sorghums  are  often  harvested  with  a  grain  header,  and  stock 
grazed  on  the  standing  stalks. 

The  sorghos  with  their  juicy  stalks  rich  in  sugar  are  grown  chiefly 
for  forage.  Early  varieties,  such  as  Amber  cane,  ripen  earlier  than 
kafir  or  milo  and  may  be  grown  wherever  corn  will  mature.  Zavitz  of 
the  Ontario  Agricultural  College-  reports  an  average  plot  yield  of  16.3 
tons  per  acre  from  3  varieties  of  sorgho  tested  for  15  years.  Snyder  of 
the  North  Platte,  Nebraska,  Sub-Station^^'  regards  sorgho  as  the  best 
forage  plant  for  the  more  arid  sections  of  the  plains  district,  where 
alfalfa  can  not  be  grown,  being  fully  equal  to  good  prairie  hay  in 
feeding  value.  Early  sorghos  have  proved  the  best  forage  crops  on  dry 
farms  in  northwestern  Texas  and  in  Arizona,  as  they  evade  drought 
better  than  late  maturing  types.-*  Where  rainfall  is  more  abundant  the 
later  varieties  give  a  larger  yield  of  forage.     The  palatable  leaves,  sweet 

=">  Kan.  Cir.  28.  "  Ont.  Agr.  College,  Rpt.  1913. 

"Piper,  Forage  Plants,  p.  275.  ^Nebr.  Bui.  135. 

"Conner,  Tex.  Bui.  103;  Clothier,  Ariz.  Rpt.  1912. 


INDIAN  CORN  AND  THE  SORGHmiS  FOR  FORAGE       203 

stalks  and  freedom  from  dust  make  sorgho  forage  a  desirable  roughage 
for  stock,  especially  horses.  (499,  861) 

309.  The  sorghums  for  grazing,  soilage,  and  silage. — Especially  in  the 
southern  states,  the  sorghums,  mainly  the  sorghos,  are  widely  used  as 
summer  pasture  for  horses,  cattle,  and  swine,  as  they  are  available  at  a 
time  when  other  crops  are  exhausted  or  immature.  Owing  to  the 
danger  from  prussic  acid  poisoning,  extreme  care  must  be  taken  in  pas- 
turing second  growth  or  stunted  sorghum.  (395)  By  feeding  the  green 
crop  as  soilage  it  is  the  more  completely  utilized.  Tho  sorghum  may  be 
cut  at  any  time  after  it  reaches  a  height  of  2  to  3  feet,  a  greater  yield  of 
nutrients  will  be  secured  when  it  is  allowed  to  head.  The  early  varieties 
of  sorghos  are  admirable  soiling  crops  for  the  northern  states.     (421) 

The  sorghums  formerly  had  the  reputation  of  producing  much  sourer 
silage  than  corn.  Numerous  experiments  have  now  shown,  however,  that 
when  sufficiently  matured,  both  the  sorghos  and  the  grain  sorghums 
make  excellent  silage.  Reed  of  the  Kansas  Station"  reports  from  2-year 
trials  that  silage  from  kafir  or  sorgho,  ensiled  when  the  seeds  were  hard, 
contained  less  acid  than  corn  silage  and  was  practically  equal  to  corn 
silage  in  feeding  value.  (632,  782,  870)  He  states  that  the  best  way  to 
determine  when  cane  or  kafir  is  ready  to  ensile  is  to  twist  the  stalk  with 
the  hands.  When  it  is  so  mature  that  just  a  very  little  juice  will  run 
out  the  proper  stage  has  been  reached.  As  with  com,  it  is  preferable  to 
let  the  crop  of  cane  or  kafir  stand  till  after  frost  rather  than  ensile  it 
too  green.  (303)  The  bagasse,  or  waste  of  the  sorghum  syrup  factories, 
should  not  be  wasted,  but  may  be  satisfactorily  ensiled,  as  well  as  the 
leaves  removed  before  running  the  stalks  thru  the  mill. 

"Kan.  Cir.  28;    and  information  to  the  authors. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  SMALLER  GRASSES— STRAW— HAY-MAKING 

I.  The  Smaller  Grasses 

The  great  grain-bearing  plants — Indian  corn,  wheat,  rye,  barley,  oats, 
rice,  and  the  sorghums — are  all  members  of  the  grass  family,  tho  they 
are  annuals  and  require  careful  cultivation.  The  smaller  grasses  are 
nearly  all  perennials,  thriving  without  cultivation  and  producing  rough- 
age of  high  grade.  In  the  humid  regions  Nature  everywhere  spreads  a 
carpet  of  soft,  green  grass  that  beautifies  the  landscape  and  furnishes 
an  abundance  of  palatable  food  for  animals.  Even  in  the  desert  the 
grasses  struggle  for  existence  and  yield  rich  nutriment,  tho  in  meager 
amount.  For  recuperating  the  soil  and  binding  it  together  and  for 
furnishing  food  to  the  domestic  animals,  the  smaller  grasses  are  of 
supreme  importance.  In  summertime  in  those  regions  where  grasses 
flourish,  the  animals  of  the  farm  largely  feed  themselves,  and  meat,  milk, 
and  wool  are  produced  at  the  minimum  cost  for  labor. 

The  smaller  grasses  may  be  divided  into  the  sod-formers  and  non-sod- 
formers.  The  sod-formers  spread  by  creeping  stem^  below  or  above 
ground.  This  group  includes  our  most  valuable  pasture  and  lawn 
grasses,  such  as  Kentucky  bluegrass  and  Bermuda  grass.  The  non-sod- 
formers  grow  in  tufts  or  bunches,  and  tho  they  may  increase  in  size  by 
stooling,  do  not  otherwise  spread  except  by  seed.  Orchard  grass  is  an 
example  of  this  class.  Certain  grasses  of  the  group,  as  timothy,  increase 
to  a  limited  extent  by  development  and  division  of  bulbs  at  the  base 
of  the  stems. 

310.  Nutrients  in  grasses  at  different  stages. — Hay  from  grasses  cut  at 
the  usual  stages  of  maturity  is  relatively  low  in  digestible  crude  protein 
compared  with  carbohydrates  and  fats,  and  hence  should  be  used  with 
feeds  rich  in  protein.  When  immature,  before  the  great  development  of 
carbohydrates  has  occurred,  the  grasses  contain  a  much  larger  proportion 
of  crude  protein.  At  the  Michigan  Station^  Crozier  cut  growing  timothy 
grass  8  times  from  one  plat,  while  on  another  it  was  cut  and  cured  into 
hay  after  making  full  growth.  The  hay  from  the  frequently-cut  grass 
was  nearly  3  times  as  rich  in  crude  protein  as  that  from  the  nearly 
mature  grass  cut  once.  Good  of  the  Kentucky  Station-  found  that 
Kentucky  bluegrass,  rye,  wheat,  and  oats,  cut  when  only  5  to  8  inches 
high,  contain  as  high  a  percentage  of  crude  protein  as  does  alfalfa  or 
the  clovers.  This  shows  that  immature  grasses,  such  as  are  gathered  by 
grazing   animals,    are   protein-rich   feeds,   and   explains   the   favorable 

^Mich.  Bui.  141.  =Ky.  Rpt.  1911-13,  p.  9. 

204 


THE  SMALLER  GRASSES— STRAW— HAY-MAKING       205 

results  attained  when  corn,  a  highly  carbonaceous  feed,  is  fed  alone  to 
fattening  animals  at  pasture.  Crozier  secured  nearly  4  times  as  much 
total  dry  matter  per  acre,  and  also  the  greatest  total  yield  of  crude  pro- 
tein, when  the  grass  was  nearly  mature.  Hence,  when  grass  is  cut  for 
hay  at  the  usual  stages,  the  aggregate  yield  of  nutrients  is  greater  than 
when  the  same  area  is  kept  grazed  by  animals. 

311.  Bluegrass,  Poa  pratcnsis. — Kentucky  bluegrass,  or  June  grass,  is 
the  common  carpet  grass  of  the  northeastern  United  States,  easily  rank- 
ing first  for  lawn  and  pasture.  By  its  persistence  it  often  drives  red 
clover,  timothy,  and  other  grasses  from  the  meadows  and  pastures, 
tenaciously  holding  its  own  against  all  claimants.  Appendix  Table  III 
shows  this  grass  to  be  one  of  the  richest  in  both  digestible  crude  protein 
and  fat,  which  helps  explain  the  fondness  for  it  shown  by  stock. 
Differing  from  most  grasses  of  the  humid  regions,  mature  dried  blue- 
grass  is  quite  readily  grazed  by  animals,  thus  resembling  some  of  the 
grasses  of  the  western  ranges.  With  the  coming  of  spring  bluegrass 
pushes  forward  so  vigorously  that  early  in  May  the  fields  display  a 
thick,  nutritious  carpet  of  green,  and  a  little  later  the  seed  heads  show. 
With  seed  bearing  late  in  May,  the  plant's  energies  become  exhausted, 
and  bluegrass  enters  a  period  of  rest  which  lasts  several  weeks.  During 
this  time  there  is  little  growth,  and  if  a  midsummer  drought  occurs  the 
plants  turn  brown  and  appear  to  be  dying.  They  quickly  revive  with 
the  coming  of  the  fall  rains,  and  again  the  pastures  are  green  and  grow- 
ing. They  have  had  their  rest,  and  each  plant  is  once  more  busy 
gathering  nourishment  for  the  coming  season's  seed  bearing.  The  ob- 
servant stockman  soon  learns  that  it  is  unwise  to  rely  on  bluegrass 
pasture  for  a  steady  and  uniform  feed  supply  for  his  cattle  thruout 
the  season.  Accordingly  he  understocks  the  pasture  in  spring  so  that 
the  excess  of  herbage  during  May  and  June  may  remain  to  be  drawn 
upon  during  the  midsummer  dormant  period,  or  he  fully  stocks  it  and 
makes  up  the  later  shortage  by  supplying  silage  or  soilage.  In  some 
districts  it  has  been  found  profitable  to  graze  bluegrass  pastures  lightly 
or  not  at  all  in  summer,  and  allow  the  self-cured  herbage  to  stand  for 
winter  grazing.  Because  of  its  low,  carpet-like  growth,  Kentucky  blue- 
grass  is  primarily  a  pasture  grass  and  should  be  so  regarded.  (419) 

312.  Timothy,  Phletim  pratense. — The  total  acreage  in  the  United 
States  of  timothy,  called  "herd's  grass"  in  New  England,  is  nearly  as 
great  as  that  of  all  other  cultivated  hay  plants  combined,  including 
clover  and  alfalfa.  Timothy  is  a  cool-weather  grass,  and  of  vast  impor- 
tance in  the  northeastern  states,  where  it  furnishes  probably  three- 
fourths  of  the  hay  marketed  in  the  cities.  The  following  points  make 
timothy  a  favorite  with  the  farmer:  Timothy  seeds,  large  and  easily 
recognized,  are  produced  in  abundance  and  long  retain  their  vitality.  A 
field  of  timothy  is  quickly  established  and  usually  holds  out  well.  The 
grass  seldom  lodges,  is  easily  cured  into  hay,  and  may  be  harvested  over  a 
longer  period  than  most  grasses.     Hay  from  nearly-ripened  grass  is 


206  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

usually  bright,  quite  free  from  dust,  and  satisfies  the  city  buyer,  as  it  is 
well  liked  by  driving  horses,  which  get  most  of  their  nourishment  from 
oats  or  other  grain.  (493) 

Timothy  hay  is  not  desirable  as  the  sole  forage  crop  on  well-managed 
farms,  because  the  yield  is  not  large,  there  is  little  aftermath,  the  hay  is 
low  in  protein,  and  there  are  other  and  better  plants  which  may  take  its 
place.  On  most  farms  where  timothy  is  now  extensively  grown,  greater 
use  should  be  made  of  the  legumes,  which  not  only  furnish  more  nutri- 
tious hay,  rich  in  protein,  but  at  the  same  time  increase  the  fertility  of 
the  soil.  For  cattle  and  sheep  legume  hay  is  far  preferable  to  timothy 
(623,  764,  861),  and  even  for  horses  the  legumes  may  entirely  or  largely 
replace  it.  Fodder  corn,  hay  from  the  cereals — oats,  wheat,  rye,  or 
barley — or  mixed  clover  and  timothy  hay  are  also  desirable  substitutes 
in  many  cases. 

Ked  or  alsike  clover  should  always  be  sown  with  timothy,  for  the 
combination  furnishes  more  and  superior  hay,  even  for  horses.  Grown 
together,  the  hay  of  the  first  season  will  consist  largely  of  clover.  With 
the  close  of  the  second  season  most  of  the  clover  disappears  and  the  de- 
caying clover  roots  will  nourish  the  timothy  which  .remains,  so  that  a 
much  larger  yield  of  that  grass  is  thereby  obtained.  Such  indirect 
fertilization  of  the  soil  should  also  increase  the  nutritive  value  of  the 
hay,  for  at  the  Minnesota  Station^  timothy  grown  on  manured  soil  con- 
tained one-fourth  more  crude  protein  than  that  from  the  same  soil  with- 
out manure. 

313.  When  to  cut  timothy. — The  most  extensive  data  on  the  time  to  cut 
timothy  for  hay  are  those  of  Waters  and  Schweitzer  at  the  Missouri  Sta- 
tion.* During  3  seasons  they  determined  the  yield  of  dry  matter  in  hay 
from  timothy  cut  at  different  stages,  and  also  the  yield  of  digestible 
nutrients,  as  found  by  digestion  trials  with  steers,  with  the  results  aver- 
aged in  the  table : 

Yield  of  timothy  cut  at  different  stages 

Digestible  nutrients  per  acre 

Dry  matter            Crude               Carbo-  Total  dig. 

per  acre             protein             hydrates                Fat  matter 

Lbs.                    Lbs.                    Lbs.                    Lbs.  Lbs. 

Coming  into  blossom..  3,411  135  1,676  43  1,908 

FuU  bloom 3,964  147  1,867  44  2,113 

Seed  formed 4,089  113  1,802  51  2,030 

Seed  in  dough 4,038  98  1,695  54  1,914 

Seed  ripe 3,747  92  1,576  38  1,754 

Cutting  the  crop  when  the  seed  had  just  formed  gave  the  largest  yield 
of  dry  matter  per  acre,  closely  followed  by  the  cutting  made  when  the 
seed  was  in  the  dough,  and  this  in  turn  by  the  cutting  made  when  the 
plants  were  in  full  bloom.  In  view  of  the  large  storage  of  nutrients 
which  continues  in  the  corn  plant  until  the  grain  is  mature  (23),  it  at 
first  seems  surprising  that  the  last  cutting  of  timothy,  made  when  the 

3  Minn.  Bui.  101.  ^  Proc.  Soc.  Prom.  Agr.  Sci.,  1910,  pp.  71-98. 


THE  SMALLER  GRASSES— STRAW— HAY-MAKING      207 

seeds  were  ripe  but  before  they  had  shattered,  yielded  342  lbs.  less  dry 
matter  than  the  third  cutting.  This  was  due  to  the  partial  loss  of  the 
lower  leaves  as  the  plant  matures,  to  leaching  by  rain,  and  to  the  stor- 
age of  nutrients  in  the  bulbs  at  the  base  of  the  stems.  More  important 
than  the  total  yield  of  dry  matter  is  the  content  of  digestible  nutrients. 
Owing  to  decreased  digestibility  of  the  later  cuttings,  at  full  bloom  the 
crop  contained  noticeably  the  most  digestible  crude  protein,  carbohy- 
drates, and  total  digestible  matter.  While  the  digestible  crude  protein 
had  decreased  23  per  ct.  by  the  time  the  seed  was  formed,  there  was 
little  or  no  decrease  in  the  other  nutrients  up  to  this  stage.  Later  the 
yield  of  both  digestible  crude  protein  and  carbohydrates  fell  off  marked- 
ly. The  decrease  in  total  digestible  nutrients  as  the  crop  matured — a 
condition  opposite  to  that  in  the  corn  crop — is  explained  both  by  the 
reasons  mentioned  above  and  by  the  fact  that  the  maturing  corn  plant  is 
continuously  storing  nutrients  in  the  highly  digestible  grain.  Hills  of 
the  Vermont  Station^  points  out  that  with  the  smaller  grasses  the  nutri- 
ents stored  in  the  seeds  are  largely  lost  to  the  animal,  for  the  seeds  are 
well  protected  against  mastication  and  digestion  by  their  small  size  and 
hard  seed  coats. 

During  2  years  Waters  determined  the  preference  of  stock  for  the 
several  cuttings,  steers,  dairy  cows,  and  sheep  being  allowed  free  access 
to  feed  racks  containing  each  cutting.  Yearling  steers  with  no  other 
feed  showed  a  decided  preference  for  the  first  cutting  over  the  second 
and  for  the  second  over  the  third,  discriminating  sharply  against  the 
fourth  and  especially  the  fifth.  They  ate  all  of  the  first  3  cuttings  be- 
fore they  really  began  on  the  fourth  or  fifth.  Those  fed  liberally  on 
grain  and  silage  did  not  show  such  marked  preferences  for  the  earlier 
cut  hay.  Dairy  cows  getting  grain  and  silage  did  not  discriminate  be- 
tween the  first  3  cuttings,  but  avoided  the  later  ones.  Wethers  fed  all 
the  corn  they  would  eat  showed  no  preference. 

Based  on  yield  of  digestible  nutrients  alone,  full  bloom  appears  the 
best  time  to  cut  timothy  for  hay,  but  other  factors  must  be  considered. 
In  the  corn  belt,  the  cutting  must  often  be  delayed  because  the  cultiva- 
tion of  com  is  then  imperative.  Immature  grass  is  difficult  to  cure,  the 
weather  early  in  the  season  is  usually  more  unsettled,  and  the  ground 
cooler.  When  the  crop  is  cut  before  the  large  storage  of  nutrients  in  the 
bulbs  has  occurred,  the  stand  of  grass  will  be  impaired,  according  to 
Waters.  The  question  is  thus  complex  and  must  be  determined  from 
local  conditions.  In  general  we  may  conclude  that  for  dairy  cows, 
young  stock,  and  sheep,  timothy  should  be  cut  early,  since  these  animals 
do  not  relish  hay  that  is  woody  and  lacks  aroma,  as  does  most  late-cut 
hay.  For  horses  and  fattening  cattle  late  cutting  is  favored.  These 
animals  subsist  mostly  on  concentrates,  and  the  hay  they  eat  serves  more 
for  "filling,"  as  horsemen  say.  In  any  case  the  harvest  should  not  be 
too  long  delayed  lest  the  grass  become  tough  and  stringy  and  the  seeds 

^Vt.  Bui.  152. 


208  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

shatter.  In  trials  with  early-and  late-cut  timothy  for  fattening  steers, 
Sanborn^  found  that  late-cut  hay  gave  better  returns.  The  senior  author, 
in  an  unpublished  duplicate  experiment  conducted  many  years  ago, 
reached  the  same  conclusion. 

314.  Red  top,  Agrostis  alha  or  vulgaris. — This  grass,  of  several  species, 
is  probably  suited  to  a  wider  range  of  climatic  and  soil  conditions  than 
any  other  cultivated  grass.  A  couple  of  years  are  required  to  establish 
strong  plants  from  seed,  but  it  then  forms  a  close,  well-knit,  smooth 
turf,  ranking  next  to  bluegrass  in  this  regard.  Red  top  is  often  indig- 
enous to  northern  meadows  and  should  be  more  generally  grown. 
Tracy  of  the  Mississippi  Station^  found  no  better  grass  than  red  top  for 
marshy  lands  and  seepy  hillsides.  It  is  especially  valuable  on  damp 
lands  from  Canada  to  the  Gulf  States  and  thrives  on  soil  too  acid  for 
most  other  cultivated  grasses.  At  the  same  time  it  will  withstand  con- 
siderable drought  and  endures  on  poor  uplands.  Tho  not  so  well  liked 
as  bluegrass,  red  top  furnishes  good  pasture,  and  yields  a  palatable  hay 
with  fine  stems  and  numerous  leaves. 

315.  Orchard  grass,  Dactylis  glomerata. — Tho  it  does  well  in  full  sun- 
light, this  grass  thrives  better  than  most  others  in  partial  shade.  It 
endures  hot  weather  better  than  timothy  and  is  well  suited  to  the  south- 
ern border  of  the  timothy  belt.  As  it  starts  early  in  the  spring  it  fur- 
nishes valuable  pasturage,  tho  stock  prefer  bluegrass.  It  grows  in  tufts, 
forming  an  uneven  sod,  and  hence  should  be  sown  with  other  grasses  or 
clovers,  both  for  hay  and  pasture.  Ripening  2  weeks  before  timothy,  it 
fits  in  well  with  red  clover.  While  late-cut  orchard  grass  makes  harsh, 
woody  hay,  lacking  in  aroma,  that  cut  in  early  bloom  is  equal  to  the  best 
of  the  hay  grasses,  carrying  considerably  more  crude  protein  than  tim- 
othy. This  grass  is  usually  persistent,  deep  rooted,  withstands  summer 
droughts  well,  and  continues  growth  late  in  the  autumn,  producing 
much  aftermath. 

316.  Brome  grass,  Bromus  inermis. — For  the  eastern  edge  of  the  north- 
ern plains  region,  stretching  from  South  Dakota  to  Saskatchewan,  brome 
is  the  most  important  cultivated  grass,  flourishing  there  as  do  timothy 
and  bluegrass  farther  east. 

This  grass  furnishes  good  crops  of  hay,  equal  to  timothy  in  feeding 
value,  for  3  or  4  years  after  seeding,  by  which  time  it  usually  becomes 
sod  bound  and  should  be  renovated  by  harrowing  or  shallow  ploM^ng. 
Brome  is  one  of  the  most  palatable  of  pasture  grasses  and  endures  heavy 
grazing.  Tho  this  grass  is  one  of  the  most  drought-resistant  of  the  culti- 
vated grasses,  Snyder^  found  brome  unsatisfactory  as  a  hay  crop  on  dry 
farms  in  western  Nebraska  and  less  productive  than  the  native  prairie 
grasses  for  pasture,  except  in  seasons  with  heavier  rainfall  than  usual 
in  that  section.  Ladd  and  Shepperd  of  the  North  Dakota  Station^  found 
brome  the  best  grass  for  permanent  pasture,  yielding  twice  as  much  pro- 

'Rpt.  N.  H.  Board  of  Agr.,  1880.  «Nebr.  Bui.  135. 

'  Miss.  Bui.  20.  "  N.  D.  Bui.  47. 


THE  SMALLER  GRASSES— STRAW— HAY-MAKING      209 

tein  and  no  more  fiber  than  timothy.  During  a  5-year  test,  brome  grass 
yielded  an  average  of  2  tons  of  hay  at  the  Manitoba  and  1.25  tons  at  the 
Saskatchewan  Station."  (496) 

317.  The  millets. — The  millets  are  rapid  growing  hot- weather  annuals 
of  many  races  and  varieties.  Of  these,  the  foxtail  millets,  previously 
described  (243),. are  the  type  most  grown  for  forage  in  the  United  States. 
In  this  group  are  common  millet,  the  earliest,  most  drought-resistant, 
and,  according  to  Piper,^^  the  most  widely  grown  variety ;  the  less 
drought-resistant  Hungarian  millet,  shorter  stemmed  and  with  seeds 
mostly  purplish;  and  German  millet,  late  maturing  and  with  nodding 
heads,  which  yields  more  hay,  but  not  of  quite  such  good  quality.  The 
foxtail  millets  are  especially  valuable  as  hay  crops  on  dry-farms  in  the 
northern  plains  region.  In  the  more  humid  regions  they  are  grown 
chiefly  as  catch  crops,  thriving  remarkably  in  hot  and  even  dry  weather 
and  reaching  the  harvest  period  late  in  August  or  September.  For 
millet  hay  of  fine  quality  heavy  seeding  should  be  practiced.  Millet 
grass  designed  for  hay  should  be  cut  as  soon  as  the  blossoms  appear,  to 
prevent  the  formation  of  the  hard,  indigestible  seeds.  Thickly-seeded, 
early-cured  millet  hay  is  useful  for  cattle  and  sheep  feeding.  (798,  861) 
Since  millet  hay  is  sometimes  injurious  to  horses,  it  should  be  fed  spar- 
ingly and  under  close  supervision.  (498) 

Japanese  harnyard  millet  {Echinochloa  frumentacea),  a  close  relative 
of  the  common  barnyard  grass,  has  often  been  advertised  as  "billion 
dollar  grass."  This  plant  is  much  coarser  than  the  foxtail  millets  and 
under  favorable  conditions  yields  large  crops  of  coarse  forage.  Lindsey 
of  the  Massachusetts  Station^  ^  found  this  millet  less  satisfactory  than 
com  for  soilage  because  it  is  more  woody  and  less  drought  resistant. 
For  hay  it  is  inferior  to  the  foxtail  millets.  The  broom-corn  millets, 
previously  described  (243),  are  grown  chiefly  for  seed  production,  as  the 
yield  of  forage  is  low  and  the  stems  woody.  Pearl  millet  (Pennisetum 
glaucum),  also  called  pencillaria  or  cat-tail  millet,  is  adapted  to  the  same 
conditions  as  the  sorghums,  which  have  largely  displaced  it  in  both  the 
semi-arid  regions  and  the  South.  As  a  soiling  crop  this  tall  growing 
grass  has  value  in  the  southern  states,  yielding  3  or  more  cuttings  in  a 
season.  It  should  be  cut  when  3  to  4  feet  high,  before  the  stems  become 
hard. 

Teosinte  (Euchlaena  Mexicana),  a  giant  millet  resembling  sorghum, 
requires  a  rich,  moist  soil  and  is  too  tropical  to  have  value  north  of  the 
southern  portion  of  the  Gulf  States.  The  culture  of  this  grass  is  de- 
creasing in  the  United  States,  because  on  moderately  fertile  soils  it 
yields  less  than  sorghum,  and  on  rich  land  less  than  Japanese  cane.^^ 

318.  The  small  grains  for  forage. — Oats,  barley,  wheat,  rye,  and  emmer 
may  all  be  successfully  used  for  the  production  of  hay,  soilage,  and 
pasturage.    In  1909  over  4,300,000  acres  of  small  grains  were  cut  for  hay 

*»  Canada  Expt.  Farms,  Rpts.  1902-6.         "  Mass.  Bui.  133. 

"  Forage  Plants,  p.  288.  "  Piper,  Forage  Plants,  p.  303. 


210  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

in  the  United  States,  nearly  as  large  an  acreage  as  was  devoted  to  alfalfa, 
and  about  4  times  that  of  the  millets."  Over  half  this  area  was  in  the 
Pacific  coast  states,  wheat  and  barley  being  grown  in  Washington  and 
chiefly  barley  in  California.  More  than  40  per  ct.  of  all  the  hay  grown 
in  the  southeastern  coast  states,  from  North  Carolina  to  Louisiana,  is 
from  the  small  grains.  When  intended  for  hay,  the  cereal  grasses  should 
be  cut  while  the  grains  are  in  the  early  milk  stage,  at  which  time  the 
stems  and  leaves  may  be  cured  into  a  bright,  dust-free  hay  of  good 
quality.  Bearded  wheat,  barley,  and  rye  should  be  cut  before  the  awns 
harden.  Cereal  crops  which  have  lodged  badly  because  of  overrich  soil 
or  excessive  rainfall  may  often  be  advantageously  converted  into  hay. 
(494) 

In  the  North,  fall-sown  rye  and  wheat  furnish  excellent  late  fall  and 
early  spring  pasture  and  soilage,  while  spring-sown  oats  and  barley  pro- 
vide green  forage  in  early  summer.  Barley  is  the  best  cereal  grass  for 
late  summer  seeding,  since  the  young  plants  do  not  rust  so  readily  as  do 
other  cereals.  In  the  southern  states  fall-sown  grains,  including  winter 
oats,  may  be  pastured  thru  the  winter,  and  if  not  cropped  too  closely  or 
too  late  will  still  yield  considerable  hay  or  grain.  At  the  Alabama 
(Canebrake)  Station^^  a  fall-seeded  barley  field  yielded  over  11  tons  of 
green  forage  per  acre  by  the  following  March.  In  southern  Kansas  it 
was  found  that  fall-sown  wheat  pastured  by  cows  during  mild  weather 
in  winter  gave  a  grass  flavor  to  winter  butter.  The  bad  flavor  which 
green  rye  imparts  to  milk  may  usually  be  avoided  by  grazing  the  cows 
thereon  for  but  2  or  3  hours  immediately  after  milking.  In  the  northern 
states  the  cereal  grain  plants  are  not  as  extensively  used  for  hay  and 
pasture  as  they  should  be. 

A  field  sown  to  rye,  wheat,  oats,  or  barley  for  temporary  pasture  may 
be  changed  to  a  permanent  one  by  sowing  clover  and  grass  seed  thereon 
early  in  spring  in  the  usual  manner.  The  grass  and  clover  plants  will 
then  begin  growth  under  shelter  of  the  young  grain  plants.  Stock  may 
be  turned  into  such  pastures  to  graze  on  the  cereal  plants  regardless  of 
the  young  grasses  and  clovers,  but  should  be  kept  off  the  field  immediate- 
ly after  rain  while  the  ground  is  soft.  The  cattle  will  tramp  out  some 
of  the  tiny  grass  plants,  but  will  do  no  permanent  harm.  The  young 
grass  and  clover  plants  will  grow  rapidly,  and  as  the  cereal  plants  die 
will  spread  until  they  form  a  dense,  permanent  sod.  Such  double 
seeding  gives  the  earliest  possible  summer  pasture  of  rye,  wheat,  barley, 
or  oats,  followed  by  the  more  permanent  one  of  mixed  grasses  and  clovers. 

If  ensiled  when  the  kernels  are  just  past  the  milk  stage  or  slightly 
earlier,  the  cereals  make  silage  of  fair  to  good  qualit^^  The  crop  should 
be  run  thru  a  silage  cutter  and  unusual  care  taken  in  tramping  down  the 
mass  to  force  as  much  air  as  possible  out  of  the  hollow  stems.  Hooper  of 
the  Kentucky  Station^^  found  rye  silage  relished  by  cows  and  not  in- 
jurious to  the  flavor  of  the  milk  if  fed  several  hours  before  milking.  (636) 

"  U.  S.  Census,  1910.  ^^  Ala.  Bui.  9.  "  Ky.  Exten.  Cir.  31. 


THE  SMALLER  GRASSES— STRAW— HAY-MAKING      211 

319.  Minor  northern  grasses. — Canada  bluegrass  {Poa  compressa)  will 
yield  fair  pasturage  or  small  crops  of  hay  on  poor  or  thin  soil  where 
Kentucky  bluegrass  fails.  It  withstands  close  grazing  and  is  considered 
excellent  for  fattening  cattle.  This  grass  is  important  in  Ontario  and 
New  York  and  is  also  abundant  in  Pennsylvania,  the  Virginias,  and 
Maryland. 

Fowl  meadoiv  grass  {Poa  flava),  a  close  relative  of  Kentucky  blue- 
grass,  thrives  in  the  northeastern  states  on  wet  land  subject  to  overflow 
where  even  red  top  and  alsike  clover  are  killed  out.  Hills  of  the  Ver- 
mont Station^'  reports  yields  on  such  wet  meadows  of  1.2  to  2.5  tons  per 
acre  of  hay  which  is  as  well  relished  as  upland  hay. 

Meadow  fescue  {Festuca  elatior),  a  tufted,  long-lived  perennial  grass, 
is  adapted  to  practically  the  same  area  as  timothy,  which  excels  it  for 
hay.  Tho  it  thrives  best  on  rich  moist  land,  the  largest  acreage  is  grown 
in  eastern  Kansas.^^  It  is  best  as  a  pasture  grass,  starting  growth  early 
in  the  season  and  continuing  till  late  in  the  fall.  As  the  seed  is  high- 
priced,  it  is  usually  sown  in  mixture  with  other  grasses  for  permanent 
pastures. 

Italian  rye  grass  (Lolium  mulUflorum)  and  English  rye  grass  {Lolium 
perenne)  are  short-lived,  rapid  growing  perennials.  Tho  of  great  im- 
portance in  Europe  they  are  little  grown  in  this  country,  except  in  the 
humid  region  of  western  Washington  and  Oregon,  where  they  are  among 
the  best  pasture  grasses. 

Slender  wheat  grass  {Agropyron  tenerum),  known  in  Canada  as  west- 
ern rye  grass,  the  only  native  North  American  grass  which  has  proved 
valuable  under  cultivation,  is  giving  satisfaction  in  the  northern  plains 
district.i'^ 

320.  Bermuda  grass,  Cynodon  Dactylon. — This  low  growing,  creeping 
grass  is  to  the  cotton  belt  what  Kentucky  bluegrass  and  timothy  combined 
are  to  the  northeastern  United  States.  Bermuda  grass  forms  a  dense, 
soil  binding  sod,  which  covers  the  southern  fields  with  a  carpet  of  green 
from  April  to  October  as  pleasing  to  the  eye  of  the  stockman  as  it  is  to 
the  animals  grazing  thereon.  It  serves  best  when  closely  grazed,  as 
otherwise  it  becomes  tough  and  wiry.  Because  of  its  aggressiveness,  it 
drives  most  other  grasses  out  in  summer,  but  lespedeza  or  white  clover 
will  flourish  in  spots  among  this  grass  and  improve  the  pasture.  For 
winter  pasture,  when  Bermuda  fails,  the  Bermuda  sod  may  be  seeded  to 
bur  clover,  hairy  vetch,  or  Italian  rye  grass.  (354,  359,  319)  Piper-'' 
states  that  good  Bermuda  pasture  will  carry  1  cow  to  the  acre  and  the 
best  mixed  Bermuda  and  lespedeza  pasture  will  graze  2  animals  per  acre 
during  the  summer.  The  Louisiana  Station-^  grazed  30  head  of  cattle 
of  all  ages  on  17  acres  of  Bermuda  grass  pasture,  mixed  vsdth  other 
grasses  and  some  lespedeza,  wdth  no  other  feed  from  March  to  November. 
KillebrcAv-^  states  that  on  the  best  alluvial  soils  1   acre  of  Bermuda 

"  Vt.  Bui.  137.  « Piper,  Forage  Plants,  p.  219.       "  La.  Bui.  72. 

« Ten  Eyck,  Kan.  Bui.  175.      ="  Forage  Plants,  p.  243.  "La.  Bui.  72. 


212  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

pasture  will  graze  10  sheep  for  8  months.  Bermuda  pastures  are  best 
utilized  by  subdividing  them  and  turning  the  stock  from  one  lot  to  the 
other.  Tho  primarily  a  pasture  grass,  on  rich  soil  Bermuda  gives  good 
yields  of  hay.  While  3  to  4  tons  of  hay  per  acre  have  been  secured  in 
2  to  3  cuttings,  according  to  Piper-^  the  average  yield  does  not  exceed 
a  ton  per  acre.  (497,  625)  The  stout  rootstocks  when  plowed  up  are 
readily  eaten  by  hogs,  and  in  the  tropics,  when  the  top  growth  is  scanty, 
are  often  pulled  up  and  fed  to  horses. 

321.  Johnson  grass,  Andropogon  halepensis. — In  the  South  this  rela- 
tive of  the  sorghums  is  the  worst  weed  of  the  cotton  planter  and  at  the 
same  time  the  best  meadow  grass  for  many  sections.-*  Spreading  by 
seed  and  vigorous  creeping  rootstocks,  it  can  be  eradicated  only  with 
great  difficulty,  and  hence  it  is  not  as  a  rule  sown  on  clean  fields.  On 
rich  soil  in  the  southern  states  3  cuttings  of  good  quality  hay  may  be 
secured,  if  cut  before  maturity.  Six  tons  of  Johnson-grass  hay  per 
acre  are  reported,  tho  the  annual  return  usually  ranges  from  2  to  3 
tons.  (497,  626)  As  the  grass  soon  becomes  sod  bound,  it  should  be 
plowed  every  2  or  3  years.  "While  this  coarse  grass  is  not  well  suited 
for  pasture,  it  may  be  cut  once  each  month  for  soilage  during  the  sum- 
mer season.  The  rootstocks  of  Johnson  grass  are  readily  eaten  by  stock, 
especially  hogs,  fields  sometimes  being  plowed  in  Texas  to  furnish 
winter  feed.^^ 

322.  Sudan  grass;  Tunis  grass. — Sudan  grass  {Andropogon  sorghum, 
var. ) ,  a  close  relative  of  the  sorghums,  is  a  tall  annual  grass  introduced 
into  this  country  by  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  in 
1909.  It  closely  resembles  Johnson  grass,  but  has  broader  and  more 
numerous  leaves  and  fortunately  has  no  creeping  rootstocks,  so  that  it 
cannot  become  a  pest.  Sudan  grass  grows  6  to  10  feet  high  in  cultivated 
rows,  and  4  to  5  feet  when  sown  broadcast.  For  so  rank  a  grass  the 
stems  are  fine,  being  seldom  larger  than  a  lead  pencil.  The  hay  is 
equal  or  even  superior  to  millet  and  can  be  fed  to  all  classes  of  stock 
without  injury,  and  the  plant  is  also  well  suited  for  soilage.^^  In  com- 
position it  closely  resembles  timothy  and  Johnson  grass.  Thruout  the 
northern  states  it  yields  only  one  cutting,  but  farther  south  it  may  be 
cut  twice  or  even  more.  Sudan  grass  is  adapted  to  the  same  conditions 
as  the  sorghums,  and  being  drought  resistant  will  doubtless  prove  one  of 
the  most  valuable  forage  crops  for  the  western  portion  of  the  plains 
region,  from  central  South  Dakota  to  Texas.  According  to  Vinall,^^  in 
1913,  with  unusually  severe  drought,  yields  ranging  from  1.25  to  5.0  tons 
were  secured  in  this  section  without  irrigation.  As  Sudan  grass  is  a 
warm- weather  grass  it  does  not  flourish  at  high  altitudes  or  in  the  ex- 

=^  Forage  Plants,  p.  242. 

2'  Wing,  Meadows  and  Pastures,  pp.  355,  401. 

^  Piper,  Forage  Plants,  p.  246. 

^  Piper,  Forage  Plants,  p.  281. 

'"  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Farmers'  Bui.  605. 


THE  SMALLER  GRASSES— STRAW— HAY-MAKING      213 

treme  northern  states.  In  the  corn  belt  and  in  the  east  central  states 
where  alfalfa,  clover,  and  timothy  flourish,  its  chief  value  will  be  as 
a  catch  crop  in  place  of  millet.  Under  irrigation  in  the  Southwest 
yields  of  7.8  to  9.8  tons  have  been  secured,  which  indicates  its  value  as  a 
forage  to  feed  with  alfalfa.-^  Along  the  humid  Gulf  Coast,  Sudan  grass 
does  not  thrive.  Since  this  grass  crosses  readily  with  the  sorghums  and 
bears  seed  closely  resembling  those  of  Johnson  grass,  unusual  care  is 
necessary  to  ensure  its  purity. 

Tunis  grass,  another  variety  of  Andropogon  sorghum  which  has  been 
recently  introduced  into  this  country,  is  less  leafy  and  vigorous  than 
Sudan  grass,  which  so  far  has  surpassed  it  in  value  for  all  sections.-** 

323.  Japanese  cane ;  sugar  cane. — Because  of  its  heavy  yields,  Japanese 
cane,  a  slender  stemmed  variety  of  the  common  sugar  cane,  Saccharum 
officinarum,  is  one  of  the  cheapest  forage  crops  that  can  be  grown  in  the 
Gulf  states,  and  possibly  in  southern  California.  Scott^^  reports  that  in 
Florida  it  furnishes  good  pasture  for  cattle  and  hogs  from  November  to 
March  but  is  killed  by  grazing  after  growth  starts  in  the  spring.  Stock 
first  eat  the  green  blades  and  then  the  stalks,  leaving  only  the  short 
stubble.  The  crop  may  be  cured  as  dry  fodder  and  makes  good  silage. 
Scott^^  states  that  yields  of  25  to  30  tons  of  green  forage  per  acre  are 
not  unusual. 

The  tops  and  leaves  of  common  sugar  cane,  removed  on  harvesting 
the  cane,  also  make  satisfactory  forage  for  live  stock.  Dodson  and  Staples 
of  the  Louisiana  Station^-  state  that  cattle  ate  silage  from  sugar-cane 
tops  well.  They  point  out  the  great  loss  which  occurs  when  this  by- 
product is  not  utilized  by  feeding  it  to  stock. 

324.  Other  southern  grasses. — Crah  grass  (Digitaria  sanguinalis),  an 
annual,  weedy,  volunteer  grass,  furnishes  more  forage  in  the  Gulf  states 
than  any  other  grass.  Springing  up  after  early  crops,  it  furnishes  fair 
hay  or  good  fall  pasture.^^  Carpet  grass  {Axonopus  compressus),  a 
perennial  with  creeping  rootstocks,  probably  ranks  next  to  Bermuda  as 
a  pasture  grass  for  the  southern  half  of  the  cotton-belt,  being  especially 
useful  on  damp  lowlands. 

Para  grass  {Panicum  barbinode)  is  a  coarse,  tropical  grass  with  stout 
runners  which  may  reach  15  to  40  feet,  taking  root  at  intervals.  It  pro- 
duces several  cuttings  annually,  yielding  as  much  as  4  tons  of  hay  per 
acre  at  a  single  cutting.^*  Guinea  grass  (Panicum  maximum),  a  peren- 
nial with  short  creeping  rootstocks,  furnishes  4  to  6  cuttings  in  the 
Gulf  region.  Tracy^^  states  that  1  acre  of  this  grass  will  carry  4  head  of 
cattle  thru  the  season  by  soilage,  or  3  head  by  grazing.  Rescue  grass 
(Bromns  unioloides) ,  a  short-lived  perennial,  is  probably  the  best  grass 
for  temporary  winter  pastures  on  rich  land  in  the  South.    On  such  soil 

^'^U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Farmers'  Bui.  605.  «=  La.  Bui.  143. 

""U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Farmers'  Bui.  605.  =^  Hunt, Forage  and  Fiber  Crops,  p.  117. 

^  Fla.  Bui.  105.  "  Piper,  Forage  Plants,  p.  254. 

"Wing,  Meadows  and  Pastures,  p.  360.  ^  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  Farmers'  Bui.  300. 


214  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

it  grows  large  enough  to  be  cut  for  hay.^^  Natal  grass  {Tricholaena 
rosea),  when  once  seeded  in  the  Gulf  section,  volunteers  from  year  to 
year,  coming  after  early  crops  and  producing  excellent  fall  and  winter 
grazing  and  good  hay.^^ 

325.  Wild  and  marsh  grasses. — Along  certain  sections  of  the  Atlantic 
coast  are  extensive  salt  marshes,  the  best  of  which  are  cut  for  hay  at  low 
tide,  yielding  0.5  to  1  ton  per  acre.  Lindsey^^  of  the  Massachusetts 
Station  found  such  hay  from  10  to  18  per  ct.  less  valuable  than  average 
mixed  hay  from  the  cultivated  grasses  for  dairy  cows.  (627)  In  all 
humid  regions  of  the  country  are  large  fresh  water  marshes,  some  of 
which  are  covered  with  the  more  nutritious  true  grasses,  while  in  others 
the  rushes  and  sedges  predominate.  Such  marsh  hay  as  blue  joint, 
Calamagrostis  Canadensis,  cut  before  maturity,  nearly  equals  timothy 
in  value. 

The  prairies  of  the  Great  Plains  and  the  grazing  ranges  of  the  West 
support  numerous  native  grasses  that  furnish  excellent  pasturage  and 
hay  equal  to  timothy  when  the  growth  is  rank  enough  to  be  cut.  (495, 
624,  761,  861)  The  sedges  and  rushes  of  the  mountain  states  are  richer 
in  nutrients  than  those  of  the  eastern  states.^^ 

326.  Mixed  grasses. — No  matter  how  valuable,  no  single  variety  of 
grass  should  be  grown  in  permanent  meadows  or  pastures,  but  always  a 
mixture  of  several  kinds  in  combination  with  the  clovers.  In  the  North 
a  combination  of  red  top,  timothy,  and  orchard  grass,  together  with  alsike 
and  medium  red  clover,  will  yield  a  larger  tonnage  of  aromatic,  pala- 
table hay  than  is  possible  from  any  single  variety.  The  variety  and 
proportion  of  grasses  and  clovers  to  be  included  in  such  a  mixture  will 
depend  on  climate  and  soil,  and  can  not  be  discussed  in  this  work.  In 
case  of  doubt  as  to  the  mixture  to  sow  the  stockman  should  consult  the 
experiment  station  of  his  state,  which  understands  the  local  conditions, 
and  should  also  observe  the  growth  of  the  different  varieties  on  his  own 
and  adjacent  farms.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  presence  or  absence 
of  sufficient  plant  food — nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  potash,  and  lime — 
determines  and  regulates  not  only  the  yield  of  forage,  but  also,  in  large 
degree,  the  particular  species  or  varieties  of  grasses  and  legumes  which 
do  or  may  grow  in  any  given  field. 

327.  The  abuse  of  pasturage. — Stockmen  rely  too  blindly  upon  pastures 
for  the  maintenance  of  their  cattle  during  half  the  year.  But  a  few 
centuries  ago  the  inhabitants  of  Great  Britain  trusted  to  the  growth  of 
natural  herbage  for  the  support  of  their  stock  not  only  in  summer  but 
thruout  the  entire  year.  If  their  animals,  foraging  for  themselves  as 
best  they  could,  survived  the  winter,  all  was  well;  if  they  died  from 
starvation,  it  was  an  "act  of  God."  We  have  abandoned  the  crude 
practices  of  our  ancestors,  and  now  carefully  store  in  barns  an  abundance 
of  feed  for  flocks  and  herds  during  winter's  rigor.    We  are  amazed  that 

='  Piper,  Forage  Plants,  p.  257.  "  Mass.  Bui.  50. 

»■  Wing,  Meadows  and  Pastures,  p.  366.  ^  Wyo.  Bui.  78. 


THE  SMALLER  GRASSES— STRAW— HAY-MAKING       215 

our  ancestors  were  so  improvident  as  to  gather  no  winter  feed  for  their 
cattle.  By  turning  cattle  to  pasture  in  spring  and  letting  them  forage 
as  best  they  may  until  winter  we  show  that  all  the  barbaric  blood  has 
not  yet  been  eliminated  from  our  veins.  If  the  summer  rains  are  timely 
and  abundant  the  cattle  are  well  nourished  on  these  pastures ;  if  drought 
prevails  they  suffer  for  food  as  surely,  and  often  as  severely,  as  did  the 
live  stock  of  England  in  winter,  ages  ago.  To  suffering  from  scant  feed 
there  is  added  the  heat  of  "dog  days"  and  the  ever-present  annoyance 
of  blood-sucking  flies.  Our  stockmen  will  never  be  worthy  of  their  call- 
ing, nor  their  flocks  and  herds  yield  their  best  returns,  until  ample  pro- 
vision is  made  against  drought- ruined  pastures  in  summer. 

The  decline  in  yield  of  permanent  pastures  is  often  attributed  to  over 
grazing.  This  is  undoubtedly  a  most  important  cause  of  the  depletion 
of  some  of  the  western  ranges,  but  heavy  grazing  is  not  necessarily  in- 
jurious to  pastures  in  humid  regions.  Carrier  and  Oakley  of  the  Virginia 
Station*"  found  in  a  5-year  test  that  bluegrass  pastures  heavily  grazed 
were  more  productive  than  those  lightly  grazed,  as  weeds  were  prevented 
from  encroaching.  Testing  the  effect  of  the  often-recommended  system 
of  alternate  grazing  of  pastures,  they  found  insufficient  increase  in  yield, 
measured  by  the  gains  made  by  the  steers,  to  justify  the  extra  expense. 
In  America  we  have  not  begun  to  utilize  our  pastures  as  is  done  in 
Europe,  where  stock  is  still  grazed  on  land  worth  several  hundred  dollars 
an  acre.  By  proper  fertilization,  reseeding  with  suitable  mixtures  of 
grasses  and  clovers,  and  keeping  doAvn  brush  and  weeds  the  productivity 
of  pastures  may  be  both  greatly  and  profitably  increased. 

Because  of  over-stocking  and  over-grazing  under  the  system  of  free 
and  unrestricted  grazing,  the  carrying  capacity  of  many  of  the  western 
ranges  has  been  seriously  reduced.  The  day  of  the  "all-year-round" 
open  range  is  now  almost  past,  and  in  its  place  has  come  a  system  under 
which,  by  the  use  of  supplemental  feed  for  periods  of  summer  drought  or 
winter  storm,  the  natural  forage  is  utilized  much  more  wisely  than  be- 
fore. With  ranges  thus  handled  the  enormous  losses  of  cattle  and  sheep 
from  starvation,  which  were  all  too  common  in  the  old  range  days,  are 
prevented.  The  improvement  under  a  rational  system  of  grazing  has 
been  demonstrated  on  the  grazing  areas  under  the  control  of  the  United 
States  Forest  Service*^  and  by  the  studies  of  Thornber  and  Griffith  at 
the  Arizonia  Station.*^  Fencing  or  otherwise  restricting  the  range,  the 
development  of  convenient  water  supplies,  the  conservation  of  the  range 
during  periods  of  seed  ripening  and  germination,  and  the  prevention  of 
soil  erosion  have  greatly  increased  the  carrying  capacity  of  such  areas. 
Thornber  cites  an  instance  where,  6  years  after  fencing,  a  range  of  over 
25  square  miles  carried  nearly  twice  as  many  cattle  as  before  fencing. 
The  animals  also  kept  in  excellent  condition  thruout  the  year,  while 
formerly  they  lost  weight  rapidly  during  the  winter  and  occasionally 
some  died  from  shortage  of  feed. 

"Va.  Bui.  204.  "Barnes,  Western  Grazing  Grounds.  •"Ariz.  Bui.  65. 


216  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

II.  Straw  and  Chaff 

As  the  cereals  and  other  plants  mature,  the  nutrients  which  have  been 
built  up  in  the  green  portions  of  the  plants  are  in  large  part  stored  in 
the  ripening  seed,  thus  exhausting  the  stems  and  leaves  of  easily  digested 
nutrients  and  leaving  in  them  the  resistant  woody  fiber,  or  cellulose.  All 
stra'U'^  are  therefore  much  lower  in  nutritive  value  than  the  same  plants 
cut  for  hay  before  maturity.  The  feeding  value  of  each  class  of  straw 
may  differ  widely,  depending  on  the  stage  at  which  the  crop  was  cut, 
the  care  with  Avhich  it  was  cured,  and  the  amount  of  the  more  nutritious 
grasses  and  weeds  present. 

328.  Straw  and  chaff  of  the  cereals. — Straw  is  poor  in  crude  protein 
and  fat,  and  high  in  woody  fiber,  or  cellulose,  a  carbohydrate  that  re- 
quires much  energy  for  its  digestion  and  disposal.  (80)  Accordingly, 
it  should  be  fed  but  sparingly  to  animals  at  hard  work,  fattening  rapidly, 
or  giving  a  large  flow  of  milk.  For  animals  at  light  work,  fattening 
slowly,  or  giving  only  a  little  milk  some  straw  can  often  be  advantageous- 
ly used.  Straw  is  particularly  useful  in  winter  with  horses  that  are  idle 
and  cattle  that  are  being  carried  over  without  materially  gaining  in 
weight.  Heat  is  one  of  the  requirements  of  such  animals,  and  the  large 
amount  of  energy  expended  in  masticating,  digesting,  and  passing  straw 
thru  the  body  finally  appears  as  heat  which  helps  warm  the  body.  (501, 
502)  The  stockman  who  understands  the  nature  and  properties  of  straw 
will  usually  be  able  to  make  large  use  of  it.  In  Canada  and  Europe 
pulped  roots  and  meal  are  often  mixed  with  straw,  which  is  cut  or 
"chaffed,"  and  the  moist  mass  allowed  to  soften  and  even  to  ferment 
slightly.  It  is  then  readily  consumed  in  large  quantities  by  cattle  and 
sheep  with  satisfactory  results.  In  many  districts  of  Europe  horses  are 
fed  cut  straw  mixed  with  their  concentrate  allowance.  In  trials  at  the 
Indiana  Station,  Skinner  and  King  found  that  oat  straw  was  as  satisfac- 
tory as  clover  hay  for  satisfying  the  desire  for  dry  roughage  of  steers 
otherwise  fed  shelled  corn,  cottonseed  meal,  and  corn  silage.  When  fed 
with  corn  silage,  oat  straw  is  equal  to  corn  stover  for  fattening  lambs. 
(778,  862) 

Oat  straw  with  its  soft,  pliable  stems  is  the  most  nutritious,  followed 
by  barley  straw.  Wheat  straw,  being  coarse  and  stiff,  is  not  so  readily 
eaten  by  cattle,  tho  spring-wheat  straw  is  of  more  value  than  that  from 
winter  wheat.  Rye  straw,  harsh  and  woody,  is  better  suited  for  bedding 
than  for  feed.  The  chaff  of  wheat  and  oats  contains  more  crude  protein 
than  does  straw,  and  forms  a  useful  roughage  when  not  unduly  con- 
taminated with  dust,  rust,  or  mold. 

329.  Straw  from  the  legumes  and  other  plants. — Straw  from  the  le- 
gumes contains  considerably  more  crude  protein  and  less  fiber  than 
that  from  the  cereals  and  is  more  digestible.  In  a  trial  by  H.  W.  Mum- 
ford  at  the  Michigan  Station*^'  field-bean  straw  proved  superior  to  oat 
straw  for  fattening  lambs.    Carmichael  of  the  Ohio  Station**  found  that 

"  Mich.  Bui.  136.  *'  Ohio  Bui.  245. 


THE  SMALLER  GRASSES— STRAW— HAY-MAKING      217 

lambs  fed  corn  and  linseed  meal  made  better  gains  on  soybean  straw  than 
on  corn  stover,  tho  refusing  41  per  ct.  of  the  soybean  straw.  Field-pea 
straw,  with  its  finer  stems  and  often  still  carrying  some  seed,  has  a  high- 
er value  than  the  coarser  straw  from  field  beans  or  soybeans.  While 
not  especially  desirable,  flax  straw  may  be  fed  in  the  absence  of  better 
roughage.  The  statement  that  the  stringy  fiber  of  flax  forms  indigestible 
balls  in  the  stomachs  of  farm  animals  is  unwarranted,  since  it  is  digested 
the  same  as  other  fibrous  matter,  such  as  the  lint  of  cotton  and  the  pith 
of  corn  stalks.  Green  colored  straw  from  immature  flax  plants  should 
be  fed  with  extreme  caution,  as  it  may  contain  large  amounts  of  prussic 
acid.  Ince  of  the  North  Dakota  Station*^  found  the  amount  of  this 
poison  in  straw  or  chaff  from  ripe  flax  plants  so  small  that  it  could  not 
cause  trouble  if  fed  in  moderate  amounts.  Straw  containing  considerable 
flaxseed  or  weed  seeds  has  increased  value.  Wilson  of  the  South  Dakota 
Station***  advises  against  feeding  flax  straw  to  pregnant  animals. 

Buckwheat  straw  is  of  low  value  and  may  cause  digestive  disturbances 
if  fed  in  large  amount.*^  Nelson  of  the  Arkansas  Station*^  states  that 
properly  cured  rice  straw  is  excellent  for  stock. 


III.  Hay-making 

Thruout  the  temperate  regions  hay  from  the  grasses  and  legumes 
serves  as  the  common  roughage  for  all  the  larger  animals  that  produce 
food  or  perform  labor  for  man.  The  conversion  of  green  forage  into 
hay  must  have  been  the  first  great  step  in  changing  the  nomad  herdsman 
into  the  farmer-stockman.  In  the  United  States  for  the  year  1914,  over 
49,145,000  acres  of  land  produced  70,071,000  tons  of  hay  worth  on  the 
farm  $779,068,000.*^ 

330.  Nutritive  value  of  dried  grass. — To  determine  the  effect  upon  its 
feeding  value  of  drying  young  grass  Armsby^"  conducted  a  trial  at  the 
Wisconsin  Station  and  a  later  test  at  the  Pennsylvania  Station.  In  the 
Wisconsin  experiment  the  grass  was  cut  when  9  to  10  inches  high,  and 
in  the  Pennsylvania  trial  short  grass  was  cut  with  a  lawn  mower.  In 
each  case  half  the  grass  was  fed  fresh  to  a  cow,  and  the  other  half  later 
fed  to  the  same  cow  after  being  carefully  dried  in  the  sun  on  canvas 
in  the  first  trial,  and  in  the  second,  over  a  steam  boiler.  There  was  no 
difference  in  the  amount  either  of  milk  or  butter  fat  produced  on  the 
dried  and  the  fresh  grass,  showing  that  perfectly  dried  grass  yields  as 
much  nutriment  as  when  fed  in  the  fresh  condition.  In  actual  hay  mak- 
ing, however,  more  or  less  of  the  finer  portions  of  the  plant  is  always  lost. 

Exposure  to  the  sun  reduces  the  palatability  by  bleaching  and  causes 
a  loss  of  aromatic  compounds,  dew  works  injury,  and  rain  carries  away 
the  more  soluble  portions.  (56)  Thus,  while  the  dried  grass  may  theo- 
retically equal  the  fresh  forage,  in  practice  it  falls  short. 

«  N.  D.  Bui.  106.  •«  Ark.  Bui.  98. 

"Breeder's  Gaz.,  59,  1911,  p.  19.  •">  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Yearbook  1914. 

"Pott,  Emahr.  u.  Futter.,  II,  p.  329.         »» Penn.  Rpt.  1888. 


218  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Stockhard'^  cured  one  sample  of  meadow  hay  in  3  days  and  left 
another  in  the  field  for  13  days  in  alternate  wet  and  dry  weather. 
Analysis  showed  that  the  weathered  hay  had  lost  12.5  per  ct.  of  its  total 
dry  substance,  representing  one-fourth  of  its  original  nutritive  value. 
Marcker^^  found  the  loss  in  meadow  hay  exposed  to  prolonged  rain  to 
be  18.4  per  ct.  of  the  dry  substance.  Even  greater  losses  occur  when 
legume  hay  is  exposed  to  rain.  According  to  Wolff^^  40  per  ct.  of  the 
dry  matter  of  clover  hay  may  be  extracted  by  cold  water.  Headden  at 
the  Colorado  Station^*  analyzed  alfalfa  hay  before  and  after  exposure  to 
3  rains,  aggregating  1.8  inches,  with  the  following  results: 

Composition  of  alfalfa  hay  he  fore  and  after  exposure  to  rain 

Crude  protein         Fiber         N-free  extract  Fat  Ash 

Per  ct.  Per  ct.  Per  ct.  Per  ct.  Per  ct. 

Hay  not  rained  on....         18.7  26.5  38.7  3.9  12.2 

Hay  damaged  by  rain.         11.0  38.8  33.6  3.8  12.7 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  damaged  hay  contained  much  less  crude 
protein,  considerably  less  nitrogen-free  extract,  and  much  more  fiber. 
Of  the  original  nutrients  60  per  ct.  of  the  crude  protein,  41.0  per  ct.  of 
the  nitrogen-free  extract,  and  33.3  per  ct.  of  the  fat, — or  31.7  per  ct. 
of  the  total  dry  matter  was  lost.  The  actual  damage  was  even  greater, 
for  the  nutrients  lost  were  those  most  soluble  and  hence  most  easily 
digested. 

331.  Hay-making. — The  widely  varying  character  of  grass  and  legume 
crops,  the  dryness  and  the  temperature  of  the  soil  of  the  meadows,  the 
humidity  of  the  atmosphere,  and  the  intensity  and  continuity  of  sun- 
light and  heat,  are  all  modifying  factors  that  combine  to  make  the  cur- 
ing of  forage  crops  into  hay  one  of  those  arts  which  cannot  be  very  help- 
fully discussed  in  books.  However,  it  is  highly  important  to  understand 
the  principles  underlying  hay-making  and  have  in  mind  the  procedures 
under  the  leading  systems.  Each  can  then  adapt  his  practice  to  his  own 
conditions. 

In  curing  hay  under  ideal  conditions,  3  different  processes  take  place 
which  are  well  summarized  by  Piper  :^^  (1)  A  reduction  in  water 
content  to  about  15  per  ct.  (ranging  from  7  per  ct.  to  25  per  ct.),  (2) 
fermentations  of  the  hay  produced  by  enzymes,  which  usually  develop 
a  characteristic  aroma,  (3)  more  or  less  bleaching,  due  to  destruction  of 
the  green  chlorophyll  by  sunlight,  the  bleaching  being  increased  by  the 
action  of  the  dew. 

The  ends  sought  in  making  hay  are  to  secure  bright  green  color,  good 
aroma,  retention  of  the  leaves  and  other  finer  parts  (especially  in 
legumes),  and  freedom  from  dust  and  mold. 

When  it  is  desired  to  secure  prime  hay  without  regard  to  expense,  it 
is  mown  as  soon  as  the  dew  is  off  in  the  morning,  allowed  to  lie  in  the 

"  Wolff,  Farm  Foods,  Bng.  ed.,  p.  155.       "  Colo.  Bui.  111. 

»'  Loc.  cit.  »  Forage  Plants,  p.  24. 

"Farm  Foods,  Eng.  Ed.,  p.  160. 


THE  SMALLER  GRASSES— STRAW— HAY-MAKING      219 

swath  until  dry  on  the  surface,  then  turned,  if  heavy,  by  hand  or  by 
hay  tedder,  or  raked  into  loose  windrows.  Before  the  dew  falls,  it  is 
bunched  into  well-made  cocks  and,  if  sufficiently  cured  so  that  it  vnll 
not  mold,  is  allowed  to  remain  until  it  has  passed  thru  a  sweating  pro- 
cess. With  legume  hay  it  is  well  to  protect  the  cocks  from  rain  by  hay 
caps.  After  sweating,  it  is  usually  necessary  to  open  the  cocks  carefully 
and  in  large  flakes  to  avoid  shattering  the  leaves.  These  flakes  rapid- 
ly give  off  their  moisture,  which  by  this  time  has  spread  evenly  to  all 
parts,  and  the  hay  is  soon  ready  for  the  barn.  Where  the  hay  was  green 
or  damp  with  rain  when  cocked,  it  may  be  necessary  to  open  the  cocks 
the  next  morning,  recocking  before  nightfall  if  still  not  dry  enough. 
By  this  system  the  hay  is  exposed  but  little  to  the  bleaching  action  of 
the  sun  and  dew,  and  there  is  no  marked  loss  of  aroma,  which,  tho  un- 
weighable,  has  real  value  in  rendering  hay  palatable.  Before  the  partly 
dried  plants  are  piled  into  cocks,  the  leaves  will  have  dried  out  more 
than  the  stems.  As  the  leaves  and  stems  remain  alive  for  some  time 
after  having  been  severed  by  the  mower,  if  the  hay  is  cocked  before  the 
leaves  are  entirely  dried  out  and  thereby  killed,  they  will  continue  to 
draw  water  from  the  stems.  This  process  is  especially  important  with 
the  legumes,  which  have  thick  stems  that  are  usually  quite  succulent, 
while  the  leaves  dry  rapidly  and  become  brittle  and  shatter  badly.  Hay 
cocked  in  the  afternoon  entraps  much  warm  air,  and  the  mass  remains 
in  a  condition  favorable  to  the  transpiration,  or  giving  off,  of  moisture 
during  the  night.  The  heat  yielded  by  the  plant  while  still  carrying 
on  its  life  functions  and  the  warm  air  entrapped  by  grass  gathered  in 
the  afternoon  should  not  be  confused  with  the  heat  which  may  develop 
in  partially  cured  or  damp  hay  thru  fermentation,  caused  by  molds 
and  bacteria. 

Hay  put  into  the  barn  when  so  dry  that  it  will  not  pack  well,  is  not 
in  first  class  condition.  It  should  be  mowed  away  with  just  that  amount 
of  moisture  which  allows  it  to  settle  compactly  when  treaded  down.  Salt 
and  lime  scattered  over  hay  when  put  into  the  mow  tend  to  prevent 
fermentation  and  check  the  growth  of  molds.  Salt  also  renders  it  more 
palatable.  These  materials  are  not  essential,  but  are  helpful,  especially 
when  storing  partially  cured  hay  during  bad  weather.  Damp  hay  may 
be  improved  by  placing  it  in  alternate  layers  with  dry  straw.  The  straw 
absorbs  moisture  as  well  as  aroma  from  the  hay,  so  that  cattle  the  more 
readily  eat  both  straw  and  hay.  Hay  from  second-growth  grass,  or 
aftermath,  is  rich  in  nutrients,  but  it  is  made  at  a  time  when  the  ground 
is  often  damp  and  cool,  the  days  short,  and  the  heat  of  the  sun  weak. 
This  combination  renders  the  curing  of  aftermath  difficult,  and  the  prod- 
uct is  apt  to  be  of  less  value  than  first-crop  hay.  Cured  under  favor- 
able conditions,  aftermath  hay  is  excellent. 

New-made  hay  is  laxative  and  should  not  be  fed  to  horses,  since  it 
makes  soft  flesh  and  may  cause  colic.  Not  until  the  sweating  process  has 
been  completed  in  the  mow  and  the  mass  cooled  off  can  new-crop  hay 
be  fed  with  entire  safety. 


220  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

332.  Making  hay  under  favorable  conditions. — On  farms  where  large 
acreages  of  hay  are  made,  it  is  often  unprofitable  to  cure  the  crop  in 
cocks,  owing  to  the  labor  involved,  even  tho  better  hay  is  thus  secured. 
Under  a  system  often  followed  the  hay  is  mown  in  the  morning  and  by 
frequent  tedding  and  turning  is  housed  before  the  dew  falls  at  night. 
When  the  weather  is  very  dry,  even  clover  and  alfalfa,  if  dry  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  swath,  are  often  raked  directly  into  small  windrows  by  a 
side-delivery  or  other  rake,  without  previous  tedding.  After  curing 
here  for  a  few  hours  the  hay  is  loaded  from  the  swath  by  the  hay  loader, 
or,  in  the  West,  is  hauled  to  the  stack  with  a  sweep  rake. 

Another  method  is  to  cut  the  crop  late  in  the  afternoon  so  that  the 
dew  will  not  materially  affect  the  plants  during  the  night,  because  they 
are  but  little  wilted.  Even  should  rain  come  it  will  cause  far  less  in- 
jury than  if  the  plants  were  partially  cured.  The  following  day,  by  aid 
of  tedder  or  rake,  the  drying  is  hastened  as  much  as  possible,  and  the 
hay  placed  under  cover  or  in  the  stack  before  night. 

When  these  methods  are  followed  with  the  legumes,  it  is  impossible 
to  avoid  much  loss  of  the  leaves,  for  when  curing  in  the  swath  or  windrow 
the  leaves  become  dry  and  brittle  long  before  the  stems  are  dry  enough 
to  allow  the  hay  to  be  stored.  Headden  of  the  Colorado  Station^^  found 
that  40  to  60  per  ct.  of  the  weight  of  the  alfalfa  plant  is  in  its  leaves, 
which  carry  four-fifths  of  the  crude  protein  and  over  half  of  the  nitrogen- 
free  extract  and  fat.  Three-fourths  of  the  fiber,  or  woody  portion,  of 
alfalfa  is  in  the  stems.  He  further  found  that  in  the  dry  climate  of 
Colorado,  with  all  conditions  favorable,  for  every  ton  of  alfalfa  hay  taken 
off  the  field  not  less  than  350  lbs.  of  leaves  and  stems  was  wasted,  and 
with  unfavorable  conditions  and  careless  handling  there  was  a  loss  of  as 
much  as  3,000  lbs.  In  other  words,  it  is  possible  for  more  hay  to  be 
lost  than  is  garnered. 

In  dry  climates,  to  avoid  undue  loss  of  leaves  and  yet  save  the  labor 
involved  in  cocking  the  hay  by  hand,  especially  with  alfalfa  and  clover, 
the  hay  is  not  allowed  to  cure  long  in  the  swath,  but  is  raked  into  wind- 
rows in  the  afternoon  and  allowed  to  remain  there  over  night.  The 
next  morning  after  the  dew  is  off  the  hay  is  bunched  with  a  rake  and 
should  be  ready  to  haul  by  afternoon.^^ 

333.  Aids  in  curing  hay. — Besides  hay  caps  to  protect  the  cocks  of  cur- 
ing hay  from  rain,  especially  with  such  crops  as  cowpeas  and  peanuts 
which  are  thick  stemmed  and  succulent,  devices  are  often  used,  under 
unfavorable  weather  conditions,  to  allow  the  air  to  penetrate  the  cocks.^* 
The  simplest  is  the  perch,  which  is  a  stake  about  6  feet  high  with  cross 
arms  2  to  3  feet  long.  This  is  driven  into  the  ground  so  that  the  cross 
arms  do  not  touch  the  earth,  and  the  green  or  partly-cured  plants  are 
then  piled  on  the  frame  so  as  to  make  a  tall,  slender  cock.    A  somewhat 

«'Colo.  Bui.  110. 

"  Jardin  and  Call,  Kan.  Bui.  197. 

*«  Adapted  from  Piper,  Forage  Plants,  pp.  26-28. 


THE  SMALLER  GRASSES— STRAW— HAY-MAKING      221 

more  elaborate  device,  the  pyramid,  consists  of  3  or  4  legs  joined  at  the 
top  and  sometimes  shaped  so  they  can  be  driven  firmly  into  the  ground. 
This  permits  of  making  a  larger  cock  with  an  air  space  in  the  interior. 
Other  frames  combine  the  characteristics  of  the  perch  and  the  pyramid. 
Often  such  crops  as  co\\T)eas  are  stacked  before  thoro  curing,  rails 
supported  at  the  ends  being  used  to  separate  the  stack  into  layers  with 
air  spaces  between. 

In  Mississippi  M'hen  the  heavy  rainfall  menaces  some  of  the  alfalfa 
cuttings  Gurler^"  constructs  sleds  of  boards  and  scantlings,  about  5  by 
5  feet,  on  which  the  alfalfa,  cured  as  much  as  possible,  is  cocked  and 
covered  with  muslin  caps.  These  large  cocks  usually  remain  untouched, 
or  when  the  alfalfa  is  very  green  when  cocked  they  may  be  opened  out  in 
flakes  to  dry  the  more  quickly.  When  cured,  the  cocks,  still  on  the  sleds, 
are  drawTi  direct  to  the  barn  or  baler. 

334.  Brown  hay. — Where  weather  conditions  render  it  impossible  to 
make  good  hay  by  the  usual  methods,  the  crop  may  be  preserved  as 
"broAvn  hay."  The  fresh-cut  material  may  be  made  into  cocks  at  once, 
each  layer  being  thoroly  compacted  by  tramping.  The  curing  is  brought 
about  by  the  fermentation  which  takes  place  in  the  moist  mass.  After 
the  cocks  have  stood  for  48  to  60  hours  they  are  opened  out  for  a  time  to 
allow  the  vapor  to  escape,  and  the  brown  hay  may  then  be  safely  housed. 
More  commonly  the  crop  is  somewhat  cured  in  the  air  and  then  piled  in 
compact  stacks  where  it  remains  until  fed.  The  crop  must  not  be  too 
dry  when  stacked  or  it  can  not  be  packed  firmly  enough,  and  the  undue 
amount  of  air  present  permits  the  fermentation  to  produce  sufficient 
heat  to  char  the  mass.  If  the  crop  is  too  green,  it  will  not  cure,  but  be 
converted  into  stack  silage.  Pott""  recommends  stacking  when  about 
one-fourth  of  the  water  has  been  lost  by  curing.  At  this  stage  it  will 
not  be  possible  to  wring  any  water  from  a  wisp  of  the  grass  stems.  The 
crop  should  not  be  stacked  when  wet  with  rain  or  dew. 

The  product  will  vary  in  color  from  dark  brown  to  nearly  black, 
depending  on  the  extent  of  the  fermentation.  The  darker  the  color  the 
lower  wall  be  the  feeding  value.  Browoi  hay  of  good  quality  has  an 
aromatic  odor  and  is  well  liked  by  stock.  However,  as  the  losses  of 
nutrients  are  greater  than  when  the  crop  is  cured  into  hay  by  the  usual 
methods,  the  process  can  be  recommended  only  when  the  weather  is 
unusually  unfavorable. 

335.  Spontaneous  combustion. — It  is  now  generally  conceded  that 
spontaneous  combustion  may  occur  in  partly  dried  clover  or  grass.  Hoff- 
mann*^^  states  that  when  hay  heats,  oxygen  is  taken  from  the  air,  and 
organic  matter  is  transformed  into  carbon  dioxid  and  water.  The  water 
thus  formed  further  moistens  the  hay,  which  then  ferments,  owing  to 
the  presence  of  bacteria.  The  first  fermentation  may  cause  a  tempera- 
ture of  133°  F.,  and  this  leads  to  a  higher  one  of  about  194°  F.    When 

™  Information  to  the  authors.  "Expt.  Sta.  Rec,  10,  p.  880. 

'"Ernahr.  u.  Futter.,  I,  1904,  p.  211. 


222  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

this  temperature  is  reached,  the  hay  heats  still  more  and  charring  goes 
on  rapidly.  All  these  processes  together  destroy  at  least  half  of  the 
material  present.  According  to  tests,  clover  hay  will  ignite  at  302°  to 
392°  F.  The  temperature  may  become  sufficiently  high  for  sponta- 
neous combustion,  which  is  indicated  by  the  hay  becoming  darker  in  color 
and  finally  black,  by  sooty  odors,  and  by  smoke.  It  is  probable,  tho  not 
certain,  that  spontaneous  combustion  does  not  occur  in  partially  dried 
clover  or  grass  even  if  quite  damp,  provided  it  carries  only  its  own 
natural  moisture.  Spontaneous  combustion  generally,  and  possibly 
always,  occurs  in  stored  or  stacked  hay  that  carries  external  moisture  in 
the  form  of  dew  or  rain.  The  trouble  is  best  avoided  by  never  placing 
hay  material  in  stack  or  barn  when  it  carries  excessive  moisture  or  is 
wet  with  dew  or  rain.  When  curing  hay  heats  dangerously  high  it 
should  be  compacted  and  covered  with  other  material  and  all  other 
possible  means  taken  to  shut  out  the  air. 

336.  Measurement  and  shrinkage. — ^WolP-  states  that  420  cubic  feet 
of  timotli}'-  or  500  of  clover  hay  in  the  mow  equals  1  ton.  Wheeler  and 
Adams  of  the  Rhode  Island  Station^^  found  that  field-cured,  mixed  red 
top  and  timothy  hay,  containing  from  25  to  29  per  ct.  water  when  placed 
in  the  barn,  showed  a  shrinkage  of  from  15  to  20  per  ct.  of  the  original 
weight  when  later  removed.  Jordan  of  the  Pennsylvania  Station®*  found 
that  timothy  hay  stored  in  the  mow  shrank  on  the  average  22  per  ct.  and 
red  clover  37  per  ct.  Wilson  of  the  Arizona  Station''^  found  the  shrinkage 
of  stacked  alfalfa  hay  to  range  from  11  to  23  per  ct.  Sanborn  of  the 
Missouri  Station'^®  estimates  that  a  hay  stack  12  ft.  in  diameter  has  33 
per  ct.  of  its  contents  in  the  surface  foot  where  it  is  more  or  less  exposed 
to  the  weather.  A  stack  of  second-crop  clover  lost  30  per  ct.  in  weight 
between  early  August  and  the  following  March,  17  per  ct.  of  this  loss 
being  water  and  13  per  ct.  dry  matter. 

°=  Handbook  for  Farmers  and  Dairymen. 

"R.  I.  Bui.  82.      "Penn.  Bui.  5.      "^Ariz.  Rpt.  1907.      ^Mo.  Bui.  25,  1st  series. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

LEGUMINOUS  PLANTS  FOR  FORAGE 

The  cereal  grains  and  the  grasses  are  all  rich  in  carbohydrates  com- 
pared with  crude  protein,  and  thus  serve  primarily  as  sources  of  energy 
and  fat  in  nourishing  animals.  The  legumes  comprise  the  great  group 
of  food-bearing  plants  characterized  by  their  high  content  of  crude  pro- 
tein, and  therefore  serve  especially  for  building  the  muscles  and  the  other 
protein  tissues  of  the  body.  (92-4)  Their  great  value  is  due  not  only 
to  this  but  also  to  their  richness  in  lime  (97-8),  which  is  required  in 
large  amounts  by  growing  animals  and  those  which  are  pregnant  or 
giving  milk.  (See  Appendix  Tables  I  and  VI.) 

The  leguminous  roughages  are  therefore  admirable  supplements  to 
the  cereal  grains,  and  stand  in  marked  contrast  to  forage  from  corn,  the 
sorghums,  and  the  smaller  grasses,  all  of  which,  if  cut  when  nearly 
mature,  furnish  forage  low  in  crude  protein  and  only  poor  to  fair  in 
lime.  Thru  the  proper  utilization  of  roughage  from  the  legumes  the 
amount  of  concentrates  needed  to  provide  balanced  rations  for  farm 
animals  may  be  greatly  reduced.  Indeed,  for  many  classes  of  animals 
merely  legume  hay  and  grain  from  the  cereals  furnish  a  most  satisfac- 
tory combination.  When  to  these  vitally  important  facts  we  add  the 
great  basic  one,  that  the  generous  and  continuous  growing  of  legumes 
is  absolutely  essential  to  the  economical  maintenance  of  soil  fertility, 
then,  and  only  then,  do  we  begin  to  appreciate  the  importance  of  this 
beneficent  group  of  plants  in  husbandry.  In  considering  the  legumes 
it  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  these  crops  flourish  and  build  up  the  nitro- 
gen content  of  the  soil  only  when  the  proper  nodule-forming  bacteria 
are  present  in  the  soil.  Where  these  nitrogen-fixing  germs  are  lacking, 
it  is  essential  that  the  soil  be  inoculated  by  some  means. 

I.  Alfalfa 

337.  Alfalfa,  Medicago  sativa. — The  alfalfa  plant  is  at  its  best  in  the 
great  semi-arid  plains  region  covering  the  western  half  of  the  United 
States,  where  the  alkaline  soil  is  usually  rich  and  deep,  with  perfect 
drainage.  When  amply  watered  by  irrigation  and  energized  by  the 
tropical  sun  of  summer,  alfalfa  here  furnishes  from  2  to  5  cuttings  each 
season,  yielding  a  total  of  from  2  to  5  tons  of  nutritious  hay  per  acre. 
In  the  hot  irrigated  districts  of  the  Southwest  as  many  as  9  to  12  cut- 
tings have  been  secured  in  a  single  season.  Within  the  humid  region, 
experience  is  fast  locating  districts  scattered  from  Louisiana  to  Maine 

223 


224  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

where  this  plant,  which  requires  a  deep,  well-drained  soil,  rich  in  lime, 
may  be  profitably  grown.  Alfalfa  thrives  under  irrigation  in  hot  semi- 
arid  climates,  but  languishes  when  high  temperature  is  combined  with 
a  humid  climate,  except  where  soil  conditions  are  unusually  favorable. 
Marked  success  is  obtained  with  alfalfa  on  certain  soils  in  the  lower 
Mississippi  valley  where  the  annual  rainfall  exceeds  50  inches,  but  in 
general  a  rainfall  of  over  40  inches  is  unfavorable  to  the  crop.^  Where 
soil  and  climate  are  suitable,  this  long-time  perennial  returns  good  crops 
for  many  years  without  reseeding. 

The  acreage  of  alfalfa  in  the  United  States  doubled  during  the  de- 
cade 1899  to  1909,  and  in  the  states  east  of  the  Mississippi  River  it  in- 
creased over  eight-fold.  The  reason  for  this  surprising  advance  is  re- 
vealed in  the  following  table,  which  gives  the  average  yield  per  acre 
in  1909  thruout  the  United  States  from  alfalfa,  clover,  timothy,  and 
corn : 

Returns  per  acre  of  alfalfa  and  other  crops 

Dig.  carbo- 
Yield  Dry  Dig.  crude       hydrates  Net 

per  acre  matter  protein  and  fat  energy 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Therms 

Alfalfa  hay 5,040  4,632  529  2,143  1,734 

Clover  hay 2,580  2,185  183  1,080  896 

Timothy  hay 2,440  2,118  68  1,106  819 

Com  (ears  and  stover) .  .  3,440  2,604  140  1,824  1,762 

The  table,  computed  from  the  average  returns  for  the  whole  country, 
shows  that  alfalfa  produced  by  far  the  largest  yield  of  dry  matter  per 
acre  of  all  forage  crops  generally  available,  even  80  per  ct.  more  than 
corn,  the  king  of  forage  plants.  More  striking  still  is  the  fact  that 
alfalfa  produced  almost  3  times  as  much  protein  as  clover  and  nearly 
4  times  as  much  as  corn.  It  excelled  corn  in  yield  of  digestible  carbo- 
hydrates and  fat  (fat  being  multiplied  by  2.25),  tho  owing  to  the  high 
net  energy  value  of  the  corn  grain,  the  corn  plant  surpassed  alfalfa 
in  yield  of  net  energy. 

Even  in  the  eastern  states,  larger  returns  are  possible  from  alfalfa 
than  those  given  above.  Voorhees  of  the  New  Jersey  Station^  reports 
a  yield  of  26.6  tons  of  green  alfalfa  forage  per  acre  from  5  cuttings. 
This  contained  11,785  lbs.  of  dry  matter  and  2,328  lbs.  of  crude  protein, 
or  as  much  as  is  contained  in  7.3  tons  of  wheat  bran. 

338.  Alfalfa  for  hay. — The  recommendation  often  made,  that  alfalfa 
be  cut  for  hay  when  about  one-tenth  in  bloom,  is  not  a  safe  rule,  especially 
in  the  eastern  states,  where  this  plant  often  has  but  few  blossoms.  A 
better  guide  is  to  cut  for  hay  as  soon  as  new  shoots  are  well  started  at 
the  crown  of  the  plant.  Cutting  late  reduces  the  next  crop,  for  many 
of  these  shoots  will  have  grown  so  long  as  to  be  clipped  by  the  mower. 
By  harvesting  the  crop  at  this  early  stage  the  maximum  yield  is  usually 
obtained,  and  the  hay  is  more  leafy  and  palatable,  with  no  undue  amount 

^  Piper,  Forage  Plants  and  their  Culture,  p.  310.  =*  Forage  Crops. 


LEGUMINOUS  PLANTS  FOR  FORAGE  225 

of  fiber.  Such  hay  is  suitable  for  all  farm  animals  except  horses,  for 
which  late-cut  hay  is  preferable,  since,  tho  less  nutritious,  it  is  less 
"washy."  (506) 

Alfalfa  hay  is  richer  than  red  clover  hay  in  digestible  crude  protein, 
but  is  lower  in  fat  and  contains  slightly  less  digestible  carbohydrates. 
Respiration  experiments  tend  to  show  that  clover  hay  furnishes  slightly 
more  net  nutrients  than  alfalfa  hay.  Appendix  Tables  I,  II,  and  III 
show  that  early-cut  alfalfa  hay  is  higher  in  crude  protein  and  lower  in 
fiber  and  more  digestible  than  that  from  more  mature  plants.  In  making 
alfalfa  hay  it  is  especially  important  to  guard  against  the  loss  of  the 
leaves,  which  are  the  most  valuable  portion  of  the  crop.  (332)  Widtsoe 
at  the  Utah  Station^  shows  that  while  the  leaves  and  flowers  of  alfalfa 
cut  in  earl}^  bloom  make  up  only  about  43  per  ct.  of  the  hay,  they  con- 
tain over  two-thirds  of  all  the  crude  protein  and  nearly  three-fourths 
of  all  the  fat  in  the  crop. 

The  relative  value  of  the  different  cuttings  of  hay  will  depend  on  the 
climatic  conditions.  Except  for  horses  the  finer  stemmed,  more  leafy 
hay  is  to  be  preferred  to  that  which  is  coarser.  Carroll  of  the  Utah 
Station*  found  no  marked  difference  in  the  value  of  first,  second,  and 
third  crop  alfalfa  for  milk  production.  (610)  In  certain  sections  of 
the  West,  wild  foxtail,  or  squirrel  tail  grass,  Hordeum  juhation,  injures 
the  quality  of  the  first  cutting  on  account  of  its  objectionable  beards. 
As  this  grass  makes  palatable  hay  when  cut  early,  the  crop  may  be 
harvested  then  or  may  be  ensiled,  which  will  soften  the  beards. 

339.  Feeding  alfalfa  hay. — Owing  to  the  fondness  of  horses  for  alfalfa 
hay  their  allowance  should  be  restricted  lest  they  gorge  themselves 
thereon.  Fed  in  proper  amount  alfalfa  hay  has  given  satisfaction  as 
the  sole  roughage  even  with  horses  at  rapid  work.  (506)  The  fattening 
of  cattle  and  sheep  in  the  western  states  has  been  revolutionized  by  the 
use  of  alfalfa  hay,  due  to  the  large  and  economical  gains  secured  when 
this  nitrogenous  roughage  is  combined  with  the  carbonaceous  grains 
and  perhaps  silage  or  wet  beet  pulp.  (766-8,  857-9)  From  the  few  direct 
comparisons  that  have  been  made  of  the  relative  value  of  alfalfa  and 
red  clover  hay  for  fattening  animals,  we  may  conclude  that  these  rough- 
ages have  about  equal  value  for  that  purpose,  and  that  the  real 
superiority  of  alfalfa  lies  not  in  the  greater  nutritive  value  of  the  hay, 
but  rather  in  the  larger  yields.  Breeding  and  stock  cattle  wintered  on 
this  nutritious  hay,  preferably  with  corn  silage  in  addition,  will  more 
than  maintain  their  weight.  Cottrell  of  the  Kansas  Station^  reports 
that  heifers  wintered  on  alfalfa  hay  alone  made  an  average  gain  of  1.2 
lbs.  per  head  daily,  returning  104  lbs.  increase  for  each  ton  of  hay  fed. 
(797-8)    For  breeding  ewes  alfalfa  hay  is  equally  satisfactory.    (884) 

For  the  dairy  cow  alfalfa  hay  is  a  most  excellent  feed,  since  it  is 
rich  not  only  in  crude  protein  but  also  in  mineral  matter,  especially 
lime,  which  is  required  in  large  amount  in  milk  production.  (610)     It 

•Utah   Bui.  48.  *Utah  Bui.  126.  "Kan.  Bui.  114. 


226  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

also  has  a  beneficial  laxative  effect.  The  statement  is  sometimes  made 
that  alfalfa  hay  is  fully  equal  to  wheat  bran  for  the  milch  cow.  A 
comparison  of  the  digestible  nutrients  and  net-energy  value  of  these 
feeds  A\dll  show  that  the  hay  contains  only  about  nine-tenths  as  much 
digestible  crude  protein  as  bran,  and  about  3  times  as  much  fiber.  (218) 
Because  of  this  alfalfa  hay  furnishes  only  about  70  per  ct.  as  much  net 
energy  as  bran.  It  is  therefore  not  surprising  that  in  trials  at  the  New 
Jersey  Station^  alfalfa  hay  could  not  entirely  replace  bran,  cottonseed 
meal,  etc.,  with  cows  giving  a  large  flow  of  milk.  The  coats  of  cows  fed 
alfalfa  hay  in  place  of  all  the  concentrates  were  less  smooth  and  glossy 
than  those  getting  some  meal  as  a  part  of  their  ration.  When  alfalfa 
furnished  as  much  as  60  per  ct.  of  the  crude  protein  usually  supplied 
in  the  form  of  bran,  cottonseed  meal,  etc.,  there  was  some  shrinkage  in 
milk  flow,  but  a  financial  saving  of  over  25  per  ct.  in  the  feed  cost  of 
producing  the  milk.   (611-2) 

Alfalfa  hay  can  be  largely  employed  in  maintaining  shotes  and 
breeding  svn.ne  during  winter.  CottrelF  states  that  brood  sows  wintered 
on  alfalfa  hay  with  no  grain  farrowed  large,  healthy  litters  of  pigs  in 
the  spring.  Even  for  fattening  pigs  numerous  trials  show  that  a  limited 
amount  of  alfalfa  hay  aids  in  producing  cheap  gains.  (1010) 

340.  Pasturing  alfalfa^Alfalfa  is  not  primarily  a  pasture  plant,  for 
it  grows  from  buds  on-flie  crowns  instead  of  by  a  lengthening  of  the  lower 
parts  of  the  stems  and  blades,  as  with  the  grasses.  Especially  in  humid 
regions  grazing  is  apt  to  injure  the  stand.  Cattle  and  sheep  on  alfalfa 
pasture  are,  moreover,  subject  to  bloat.  Nevertheless,  this  crop  furnishes 
such  nutritious  pasture  that  it  is  grazed  on  many  farms  even  in  the  east- 
ern states.  To  avoid  serious  injury  to  the  stand,  fields  should  never  be 
pastured  until  they  have  become  well  established  and  animals  should  be 
kept  off  when  the  ground  is  frozen,  soft,  or  muddy.  Heavy  stocking 
of  the  pasture  is  decidedly  injurious,  especially  with  horses  and  sheep, 
which  gnaw  the  plants  to  the  ground.  Since  certain  parts  of  a  field 
are  always  more  palatable  to  stock  and  these  are  grazed  closely  while 
other  spots  are  passed  by,  Wing^  advises  a  combination  of  pasturing 
and  mowing.  The  area  to  be  pastured  is  divided  into  3  lots,  and  after 
the  stock  have  eaten  a  considerable  part  of  the  crop  on  the  first  they  are 
turned  onto  the  second  lot,  the  alfalfa  remaining  on  the  first  being  cut 
for  hay.  When  the  first  lot  has  grown  to  about  the  blooming  stage  it 
is  again  grazed.  Except  where  mild  winters  prevail,  alfalfa  should  be 
allowed  to  grow  to  a  height  of  6  to  12  inches  in  the  fall  for  winter  pro- 
tection. 

Alfalfa  pasture  is  especially  suitable  for  horses  and  pigs,  which  are 
not  subject  to  bloat.  Gramlich  of  the  Nebraska  Station^  found  that 
horses  fed  hay  at  noon  only  and  turned  on  alfalfa  pasture  at  night 
stood  hard  farm  work  as  well  as  others  which  were  dry-fed.     For  colts 

«N.  J.  Bui.  204.  « Alfalfa  Farming  in  America,  p.  337. 

^Kan.  Bui.  114.  "Nebr.  Exten.  Bui.  28. 


LEGUMINOUS  PLANTS  FOR  FORAGE  227 

and  young  horses  the  succulent  alfalfa,  rich  in  protein  and  mineral 
matter,  is  especially  helpful.  (509)  This  pasture  is  the  foundation  of 
cheap  pork  production  on  thousands  of  farms.  (984-5) 

The  danger  to  cattle  and  sheep  from  bloat  varies  greatly  with  climate 
and  other  factors.  Tho  it  is  always  present  in  some  degree,  in  such 
sections  as  the  irrigated  districts  of  the  Southwest,  but  trifling  loss  is 
experienced.  Sheep  are  more  subject  to  bloat  than  cattle.  The  follow- 
ing methods  advocated  by  Coburn^*^  and  Wing^^  will  aid  in  avoiding 
bloat,  tho  no  procedure  is  absolute  insurance  against  loss:  For  perma- 
nent pasture  sow  with  the  alfalfa,  bluegrass,  brome  grass,  or  some  other 
grass  adapted  to  your  conditions.  Use  upland  in  preference  to  lowland 
for  pasture,  and  have  a  constant  supply  of  water  for  the  stock.  Frosted 
alfalfa  is  especially  dangerous,  but  in  the  late  fall  after  the  crop  has 
dried  it  may  be  grazed  again.  Before  turning  animals  on  alfalfa  for 
the  first  time,  allow  them  to  fill  up  on  grass  pasture,  with  grain  in 
addition,  if  they  have  been  accustomed  to  it.  Then  in  the  middle  of 
the  forenoon,  when  they  do  not  care  to  gra-ze  longer,  turn  them  on  the 
alfalfa.  Tho  some  advise  allowing  the  stock  to  graze  only  a  few  minutes 
the  first  day  and  graduall}^  increasing  the  length  of  time  on  the  following 
days,  it  is  probably  safer  to  keep  them  on  the  pasture  continuously,  for 
they  will  then  never  consume  undue  amounts  at  one  time.  Watch  the 
stock  closely  for  the  first  few  days  and  remove  permanently  those  animals 
which  exhibit  symptoms  of  bloat,  for  individuals  show  great  differences 
in  their  susceptibility  to  the  trouble.  The  Miller  and  Lux  Co.,  who 
graze  thousands  of  cattle  on  alfalfa  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  Cali- 
fornia,^- when  starting  cattle  on  alfalfa  pasture  cut  part  of  a  field  and 
turn  the  cattle  upon  this  portion  after  the  alfalfa  is  half  dry.  Then 
after  they  are  well  filled  they  are  allowed  to  eat  whatever  of  the  green 
crop  they  wish. 

341.  Alfalfa  for  soilage. — Alfalfa  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  all 
soiling  crops,  owing  to  the  large  yields  and  the  fact  that  under  proper 
management  it  will  furnish  rich  succulence  thruout  the  entire  summer. 
Considerably  more  forage  may  be  obtained  from  a  given  area  as  soilage 
than  animals  gather  by  grazing.  In  a  trial  with  dairy  cows  by  Lyon 
and  Haecker  at  the  Nebraska  Station^^  only  half  as  much  feed  was 
secured  when  alfalfa  was  pastured  as  when  the  crop  was  cut  and  fed 
as  soilage.  Voorhees  of  the  New  Jersey  Station^*  reports  that  the  first 
cutting  is  ready  about  the  last  of  May  or  the  first  of  June,  with  3  cuttings 
following  at  intervals  of  from  4  to  6  weeks.  In  certain  hot  irrigated 
sections  of  the  West  where  no  satisfactory  grass  pastures  can  be  pro- 
vided in  summer,  dairy  cows  are  often  maintained  for  most  of  the  year 
mainly  on  alfalfa,  fed  as  soilage.  In  the  Sacramento  valley  many  herds 
are  fed  30  to  40  lbs.  of  green  alfalfa  per  head  daily  ^^^th  what  alfalfa 
hay  they  will  eat,  but  no  concentrates.     The  allowance  of  alfalfa  soilage 

*"  The  Book  of  Alfalfa,  pp.  109-119.  "  Information  to  the  authors. 

"Alfalfa  Farming  in  America,  pp.  338-344.     "Nebr.  Bui.  69.     "Forage  Crops. 


228  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

may  even  be  increased  to  50  lbs.,  which  amount  will  furnish  nearly  2  lbs. 
of  digestible  crude  protein/^  Alfalfa  alone  makes  a  very  narrow  ration, 
the  nutritive  ratio  being  1 :  4.0  or  less.  Undoubtedly  larger  production 
would  be  secured  were  some  carbonaceous  concentrate  added.  Whether 
this  would  be  profitable,  however,  would  depend  on  the  relative  price  of 
the  feeds.  Complaints  have  been  received  from  practical  dairymen  that 
this  one-sided  ration  tends  to  abortion  and  other  troubles.  In  Europe 
where  soilage  is  commonly  fed  to  horses  in  summer  alfalfa  is  the  most 
popular  crop.^^  Whether  it  will  prove  profitable  to  feed  alfalfa  as 
soilage  rather  than  to  graze  it  will  be  determined  by  the  relative  cost 
of  land  and  labor. 

342.  Alfalfa  silage. — In  many  instances  alfalfa  is  ensiled  with  entire 
success,  but  often  poor,  vile-smelling  silage  is  produced.  The  difficulty 
seems  due  to  the  high  protein  content  of  the  crop  compared  with  the 
small  amount  of  sugars,  from  which  the  acids  necessary  to  preserve  the 
silage  may  be  formed.  (404)  True^'  reports  the  successful  ensiling  of 
alfalfa  at  the  Nevada  Station  during  4  successive  years.  If  the  crop 
was  somewhat  dry  when  put  into  the  silo,  water  was  added  to  it.  Favor- 
able results  have  been  secured  when  alfalfa  has  been  ensiled  with  green 
rye  or  wheat  cut  when  just  past  the  milk  stage,  when  they  are  rich  in 
sugars.  Esten  of  the  Connecticut  (Storrs)  Station"  suggests  that  the 
third  cutting  of  alfalfa  may  be  satisfactorily  ensiled  with  green  corn 
or  sorghum.  Owing  to  the  palatability  of  good  alfalfa  hay,  whenever 
the  crop  can  be  cured  in  a  satisfactory  manner  there  is  little  reason  for 
ensiling  the  crop,  especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that  either  corn  or  the 
sorghums  are  reliable  silage  crops  in  nearly  all  sections  of  the  country. 
In  the  West  where  foxtail,  with  its  troublesome  beards,  sometimes  greatly 
injures  the  quality  of  the  first  cutting,  it  may  be  profitable  to  ensile  the 
crop.  (338)  Alfalfa  should  be  ensiled  just  as  soon  after  cutting  as 
possible  and  should  preferably  be  cut  into  short  lengths  so  that  it  may 
be  well  packed.  When  it  is  impossible  to  avoid  undue  curing,  it  should 
be  ensiled  with  dew  on  it  or  water  should  be  added. 

343.  Types  of  alfalfa. — Besides  the  common  alfalfa,  which  is  the  t^Tpe 
chiefly  grown  in  the  United  States,  various  other  types  are  of  importance 
in  certain  sections.  Turkestan  alfalfa  is  indistinguishable  from  ordinary 
alfalfa  in  growth.  Tho  inferior  in  the  humid  regions,  the  consensus  of 
opinion  in  semi-arid  regions  is  that  it  is  somewhat  superior  to  the  common 
type  in  drought  and  cold  endurance.  Arabian  and  Peruvian  alfalfa  are 
rapid  growing,  tender  strains,  which  have  an  unusually  long  gro^^dng 
season.  In  the  irrigated  districts  of  the  Southwest  these  types  are  valu- 
able. Several  strains  of  yeUow-flotvered,  sickle,  or  Siberian  alfalfa 
(Medicago  falcata),  some  of  which  produce  rootstocks,  have  been  intro- 
duced into  the  northern  plains  district.  This  tj-pe  is  especially  hardy 
and  promises  to  be  of  value  in  climates  too  severe  for  the  common  type. 
The  term  variegated  alfalfa,  or  sand  lucern,  is  applied  to  hybrids  of  the 

15  N.  J.  Bui.  148.  "  Information  to  the  authors. 

"Wing,  Alfalfa  Farming  in  America,  p.  331.       ''Conn.  (Storrs)  Bui.  70. 


LEGUMINOUS  PLANTS  FOR  FORAGE  229 

common  and  Siberian  types,  which  are  exceptionally  drought  resistant 
and  hardy. 

344.  Alfalfa  meal  and  feed. — The  manufacture  of  alfalfa  meal  (ground 
alfalfa  hay)  and  various  feeds  containing  more  or  less  of  this  material 
has  increased  rapidly  of  late.  Alfalfa  meal  varies  in  fineness  from  a 
product  nearly  as  fine  as  corn  meal  to  a  coarsely  chopped  or  shredded 
material,  containing  pieces  half  an  inch  in  length.  Compared  with  hay 
the  meal  is  easier  to  transport  to  distant  markets,  there  is  somewhat  less 
waste  in  feeding  it,  and  for  animals  having  poor  teeth,  or  horses  worked 
long  hours,  the  grinding  is  undoubtedly  beneficial,  (507)  The  bulky 
meal  is  also  helpful  in  diluting  heavy  concentrates,  which,  if  carelessly 
fed,  may  cause  digestive  disturbances.  For  these  reasons  alfalfa  meal 
has  a  legitimate  field.  However,  grinding  ever  so  finely  will  not  trans- 
form a  roughage  into  a  concentrate.  As  shown  elsewhere  (424),  with 
animals  having  good  teeth  and  ample  time  to  masticate  their  food, 
grinding  hay  does  not  increase  its  digestibility.  Owing  to  the  great 
palatability  of  well-cured  alfalfa  hay  but  little  is  refused  when  it  is  fed 
long.  Unfortunately,  it  is  impossible  to  determine  without  chemical  or 
microscopic  analysis  whether  alfalfa  meal  has  been  made  from  nutritious, 
leafy,  early-cut  hay  or  from  over-ripe,  stemmy  material.  Hence  the  meal 
should  be  purchased  on  guarantee  of  composition,  special  attention  being 
paid  to  the  fiber  content,  which  in  first-class  meal  should  not  be  higher 
than  in  good  quality  hay,  or  about  30  per  ct. 

From  4  trials  at  the  Colorado  Station^''  Morton  concludes  that  for 
fattening  lambs  the  value  of  ordinary  alfalfa  hay  may  be  increased  15 
to  25  per  ct.  by  grinding,  but  that  with  hay  of  good  quality  such 
preparation  will  not  pay.  (835)  McCampbell  of  the  Kansas  Station-** 
found  that  alfalfa  meal,  fed  dry,  irritated  the  nostrils  of  horses  and 
that  they  preferred  long  hay  to  the  meal  when  wet.  He  concludes  that 
alfalfa  meal  is  not  a  desirable  or  an  economical  feed  for  horses  when  good 
alfalfa  hay  is  available.  (507)  In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  market 
price  of  alfalfa  meal  is  often  as  high  or  higher  than  wheat  bran,  it  is 
important  to  note  that  in  trials  at  each  of  3  stations  substituting  good 
quality  alfalfa  meal  for  an  equal  weight  of  bran  lessened  the  production 
of  dairy  cows.  (613)  Ordinarily  the  stockman  can  produce  roughage 
more  economically  on  his  farm  than  he  can  purchase  it  in  commercial 
feeds.  In  case  he  desires  to  mix  hay  with  heavy  concentrates  the  ma- 
terial may  readily  be  cut  sufficiently  fine  in  a  silage  cutter.  Unless  good 
alfalfa  meal  sells  at  an  appreciably  lower  price  than  wheat  bran  its 
purchase  can  not  be  recommended. 

Molasses,  either  beet  or  cane,  is  now  mixed  with  alfalfa  meal,  the 
product  being  sold  as  "alfalmo"  or  under  other  names.  The  mixture 
is  well-liked  by  stock,  but  its  economy  as  a  feed  must  be  determined  by 
comparing  the  composition  and  price  with  those  of  other  feeds.  Many 
mixed  feeds,  discussed  in  Chapter  XI  (285),  contain  more  or  less  al- 
falfa meal. 

»  Colo.  Bui.  187.  ^oRan.  Bui.  186. 


230  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

II.  Ked  Clover 

345.  Medium  red  clover,  Trifolium  pratense. — This  legume,  commonly 
known  as  red  clover,  is  the  most  important  legume  in  the  humid  sections 
of  the  northern  two-thirds  of  the  United  States,  where,  grown  in  rotation 
with  corn  and  the  cereals,  it  so  helpfully  serves  for  pasture  and  hay 
production  and  for  the  maintenance  of  soil  fertility.  Clover  is  chiefly 
seeded  in  combination  with  timothy,  19,542,000  acres  of  mixed  clover 
and  timothy  being  grown  for  hay  in  the  United  States  in  1909,  compared 
with  only  2,443,000  acres  of  clover  alone.  Eed  clover  does  best  on  well- 
drained  soils  rich  in  lime,  being  intolerant  of  a  water-logged  or  acid 
soil.  A  short-lived  perennial,  but  few  plants  live  over  3  years,  and  the 
crop  is  usually  treated  as  a  biennial. 

Thruout  the  clover-growing  districts  red  clover  generally  yields  a 
heavy  first  crop  of  hay,  with  a  second  cutting  which  is  usually  much 
lighter  and  which  is  often  allowed  to  mature  for  seed.  In  the  southern 
states,  where  it  does  not  thrive  during  the  heat  of  summer,  red  clover  is 
sometimes  grown  as  a  winter  annual,  the  first  crop  being  cut  in  the  spring 
and  the  second  in  early  summer.  At  the  northern  limits  of  its  culture 
but  one  cutting  is  produced.  The  average  yield  of  clover  hay  per  acre, 
according  to  the  census  of  1910,  was  1.29  tons,  but  under  favorable 
conditions  much  higher  returns  are  secured,  the  yield  in  2  cuttings 
ranging  from  2  to  4  tons  or  even  more  per  acre. 

On  all  stock  farms  in  the  eastern  United  States  there  should  be  a 
well-planned  rotation  of  crops,  such  as  corn,  followed  by  either  wheat, 
oats,  or  barle}',  and  this  in  turn  by  a  legume,  preferably  red,  alsike,  or 
mammoth  clover,  grown  either  alone  or  with  the  grasses,  some  of  the 
fields  being  grazed  by  the  stock. 

Under  such  a  rotation,  when  proper  use  is  made  of  the  farm  manure, 
reinforced  by  phosphate  and  potash  fertilizers  when  necessary,  the 
humus  and  fertility  of  the  soil  on  the  whole  farm  is  maintained  or  even 
increased,  the  weeds  are  held  in  check,  and  the  maximum  yield  of  crops 
is  economically  produced  on  all  the  fields.  Because  alfalfa  fields  are 
usually  difficult  to  establish  and  should  be  maintained  for  many  years, 
the  alfalfa  plant  does  not  particularly  favor  a  short  rotation  of  crops. 
In  their  eagerness  to  grow  alfalfa,  ambitious  farmers  in  the  East  are 
apt  to  neglect  the  clovers,  which  are  so  vitally  helpful  in  maintaining 
fertility  of  the  whole  farm  in  short-time  crop  rotations.  In  many  cases 
the  growing  of  red  or  mammoth  clover  has  been  abandoned  on  account 
of  failure  to  secure  stands.  Such  "clover  sickness"  of  the  soil  may  be 
due  to  certain  diseases,  but  in  most  cases  it  means  that  lime  and  phos- 
phate, and  possibly  potash  are  needed.  Farmers  who  willingly  prepare 
fields  thoroly  for  alfalfa  often  fail  to  exercise  reasonable  care  to  get 
good  stands  of  clover. 

346.  Development  of  nutrients. — Immature  clover,  like  all  young 
plants,  is  exceedingly  watery.     At  the  Wisconsin  Station-^  Woll  found 

»Wis.  Rpt.  1889. 


LEGUMINOUS  PLANTS  FOR  FORAGE  231 

but  8.2  per  ct.  dry  matter  in  green  clover  cut  long  before  it  had  reached 
the  proper  condition  for  making  hay.  Such  clover  contained  more  water 
than  skim  milk.  This  explains  why  clover  when  cut  too  early  is  such 
unsatisfactory  soilage;  the  animals  cannot  then  consume  enough  to 
secure  the  nourishment  they  require. 

Hunt  of  the  Illinois  Station-  has  arranged  the  results  of  studies  of 
the  medium  red  clover  plant,  made  by  himself  and  Jordan  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Station,  to  show  the  yield  per  acre  at  various  stages  of  growth. 

Yield  and  nutrients  in  an  acre  of  medium  red  clover 

Yield  of  Carbohydrates 

Stage  of  growth  when  cut              hay  Crude  N-free 

per  acre  Ash  protein  Fiber  extract  Fat 

Illinois,  Hunt                                         Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Full  bloom 3,600  217       400  660  1,052  197 

Heads  thi-ee-fourths  dead..  .    3,260  196       379  672  1,024  156 
Pennsylvania,  Jordan 

Heads  in  bloom 4,210  260      539  1,033  1,731  116 

Some  heads  dead 4,141  226       469  1,248  1,379  106 

Heads  aU  dead 3,915  208      421  1,260  1,378  94 

The  table  shows  that  when  cut  at  full  bloom  the  clover  crop  yielded 
the  largest  amount  of  hay  per  acre,  and  also  contained  more  ash,  crude 
protein,  nitrogen-free  extract,  and  fat.  The  fiber,  or  woody  matter, 
which  is  the  least  valuable  portion  of  the  plant,  was  the  only  nutrient 
which  increased  after  full  bloom.  The  loss  of  other  nutrients  after 
blooming  was  due  to  the  withering  and  dropping  of  the  lower  leaves 
and  probably  to  a  leaching  of  soluble  nutrients  by  rains.  This  shrink- 
age of  nutrients  as  clover  matures  is  similar  to  that  in  the  smaller 
grasses  (313),  and  is  in  marked  contrast  to  the  continued  storage  of 
nutrients  up  to  full  ripening  in  Indian  corn.  (23) 

The  table  clearly  points  to  full  bloom  as  theoretically  the  best  date 
for  cutting  clover  hay.  Practical  experience,  however,  places  the  time 
somewhat  later,  or  when  about  one-third  of  the  blossom  heads  have 
turned  bro"WTi.  This  is  because  at  any  earlier  date  the  plant  is  so  soft 
and  sappy  that  only  with  difficulty  can  it  be  cured  into  good  hay.  De- 
laj^ing  until  aU  the  heads  are  dead  makes  haying  still  easier,  but  means 
poor,  woody,  unpalatable  hay. 

347.  Clover  for  hay. — ^Well-cured  clover  hay,  bright  and  with  leaves 
intact,  is  a  most  excellent  roughage  for  all  farm  stock.  Tho  dusty 
clover  hay  is  to  be  avoided  for  feeding  horses,  that  of  good  quality  is 
successfully  and  economically  used  with  both  farm  and  city  horses.  (505) 
Mixed  clover  and  timothy  hay  is  preferred  by  many  to  clear  clover  hay 
for  horse  feeding  since  it  usually  is  more  free  from  dust. 

No  investigations  of  the  experiment  stations  in  animal  husbandry 
have  been  more  helpful  than  those  showing  the  great  value  of  the 
legumes,  including  clover  hay,  for  fattening  cattle  and  sheep.  By  add- 
ing clover  hay  to  the  ration  the  grain  requirement  can  be  materially 
reduced  and  the  fattening  period  shortened — both  matters  of  great  im- 

"  111.  Bui.  5. 


232  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

portanee  in  these  days  of  high-priced  concentrates.  (764,  857-9)  For  the 
cow,  clover  hay  is  unexcelled  as  a  roughage,  unless  by  alfalfa.  Not 
only  is  it  palatable  and  much  relished,  but  it  is  high  in  protein  and 
lime.  Where  well-cured  clover  hay  furnishes  one-half  or  more  of  the 
roughage,  the  dairyman  is  able  to  cut  the  allowance  of  concentrates  and 
materially  reduce  the  cost  of  the  ration.  (614)  This  roughage  has 
the  same  high  place  for  feeding  breeding  ewes,  wintering  cattle,  and 
especially  for  young  animals.  (787,  798-9,  692)  Early-cut  clover  hay 
ranks  next  to  alfalfa  for  swine,  being  especially  valuable  for  breeding 
stock.  (1011) 

348.  Clover  for  pasture,  soilage,  and  silage. — Clover  pasture  is  helpful 
and  important  for  all  farm  animals.  For  pigs  it  furnishes  about  suf- 
ficient food  for  maintenance,  so  that  all  the  grain  fed  goes  for  gain. 
Clover-pastured  pigs  are  healthy  and  have  good  bone  and  constitution — 
points  of  special  importance  with  breeding  stock.  (986)  Tho  there  is 
somewhat  less  danger  from  bloat  with  clover  than  alfalfa,  cattle  and 
sheep  should  not  be  turned  on  clover  pasture  for  the  first  time  while 
hungry  or  before  the  dew  has  risen.  As  a  preventive,  dry  forage,  such 
as  hay  or  straw,  should  be  placed  in  feed  racks  in  the  pasture.  To 
these  cattle  and  sheep  will  resort  instinctively  when  bloat  threatens. 

Clover  is  particularly  valuable  for  soilage,  ranking  next  to  alfalfa 
among  the  legumes  available  for  that  purpose.  By  cutting  clover  early, 
it  at  once  starts  growth  again  if  the  weather  is  favorable,  and  will 
furnish  three  or  four  cuttings  annually.  In  some  eases  clover  has  made 
fair  silage,  but  so  many  failures  have  occurred  that  this  plant  cannot 
be  recommended  for  such  purpose  except  where  weather  conditions  pre- 
vent its  being  properly  cured  into  hay.  The  same  precautions  should 
then  be  taken  as  with  alfalfa  for  silage.  (633) 


III.  Other  Clovers  and  Leguminous  Forage  Plants 

349.  Mammoth  clover,  TrifoUum  medium. — The  distinctive  character- 
istics of  mammoth  clover  are  its  rank  growth,  coarse  stems,  and  blooming 
2  or  3  weeks  later  than  the  medium  variety.  It  usually  lives  3  years 
or  more  and  thrives  better  on  poor  or  sandy  soil  than  does  medium  red 
clover.  Since  it  yields  but  a  single  cutting  during  the  season,  this 
clover  is  frequently  pastured  for  several  weeks  in  the  early  spring. 
After  the  stock  is  removed  the  plants  shoot  up  and  are  soon  ready  for 
the  mower.  Owing  to  its  coarser  growth  the  hay  is  more  difficult  to 
cure  and  somewhat  less  palatable  than  red  clover.  Wallace-^  recom- 
mends that  for  pasture  medium  and  mammoth  clover  seed  be  sown  in 
equal  proportions,  together  with  grasses,  holding  that  since  mammoth 
clover  blooms  later  there  is  more  nearly  a  succession  of  good  forage  than 
is  possible  with  only  one  variety. 

350.  Alsike  clover,  TrifoUum  hyhridum. — This  variety  of  clover,  once 
supposed  to  be  a  cross  between  red  clover  and  white  clover,  has  weak 

^  Clover  Culture. 


LEGUMINOUS  PLANTS  FOR  FORAGE        233 

stems  which  fall  to  the  ground  unless  supported  by  attendant  grasses. 
Alsike  flourishes  on  land  too  acid  or  too  wet  for  other  clovers,  and  is  a 
hardier,  longer-lived  plant,  enduring  4  to  6  years  in  good  soil.  As  it  will 
grow  readily  on  "clover-sick"  soil,  it  has  replaced  red  clover  on  many 
fields  during  recent  years.  Well-made  alsike  hay  is  fine-stemmed  and 
ranks  among  the  best,  being  eaten  with  but  little  waste. 

351.  White  clover,  Trifolium  repens. — This  creeping  perennial  has 
the  widest  range  of  any  of  the  clovers,  thriving  in  almost  any  soil  from 
Canada  nearly  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  if  moisture  is  ample.  In  the  North 
it  is  an  important  plant  in  mixed  pastures,  forming  a  dense  mat  of 
herbage  and  furnishing  feed  thruout  the  growing  season.  In  the  South 
it  nearly  disappears  in  summer,  but  reappears  in  the  fall  furnishing 
winter  pasturage  and  thus  combines  well  with  Bermuda  grass.  (320) 
Owing  to  its  low,  creeping  growth  it  does  not  yield  hay. 

352.  Sweet  clover. — White  sweet  clover,  Melilotus  alba,  also  known  as 
melilot  and  Bokhara  clover,  is  a  biennial  which  is  widely  distributed 
along  roadsides  and  in  waste  places  over  southern  Canada  and  a  large 
part  of  the  United  States,  thriving  best  on  soils  rich  in  lime.  It  will 
grow  on  soil  so  poorly  drained  or  so  worn  and  low  in  humus  that  alfalfa 
or  red  clover  will  not  live.  Increasing  experience  shows  that  where 
these  more  valuable  legumes  do  not  thrive,  sweet  clover,  which  was  once 
viewed  as  a  weed,  is  of  considerable  value.  Thousands  of  acres  of  de- 
pleted, gullied  land  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  are  being  restored  to 
fertility  by  this  legume.  In  the  West  it  may  be  grown  on  hard  adobe 
soils,  which  it  mellows  with  its  deep  root  system.  The  plant  may  also 
be  utilized  for  pasture,  hay,  and  soilage,  and  has  occasionally  been 
ensiled.  At  first  animals  usually  refuse  sweet  clover,  for  all  parts  of 
the  plant  contain  cumarin,  a  bitter  compound  with  a  vanilla-like  odor. 
In  spring  the  herbage  is  less  bitter  and  animals  of  all  classes  can  gener- 
ally then  be  taught  to  eat  it.  After  becoming  accustomed  to  the  taste 
they  are  said  sometimes  to  prefer  sweet  clover  to  other  legumes  or  the 
grasses.  In  certain  districts  where  the  plants  seem  unusually  high  in 
cumarin  it  is  reported  that  animals  cannot  be  induced  to  eat  them. 
When  the  clover  is  cured  as  hay  a  large  part  of  the  cumarin  is  volatil- 
ized, the  hay  thus  being  less  bitter  than  the  green  plants. 

Sweet  clover  seed  should  be  thickly  sown  so  that  the  stems  will  not 
grow  coarse,  and  the  crop  should  be  cut  when  the  first  blossoms  appear, 
or  even  before,  since  after  this  stage  they  rapidly  grow  woody.  The 
first  season  1  cutting  and  the  second  2  of  hay  can  be  secured  in  the 
North,  and  often  3  in  the  South.  The  crop  should  be  cut  about  6  inches 
from  the  ground,  for  the  new  shoots  grow  out  not  from  the  crown,  as 
in  alfalfa,  but  from  the  stems.  Lloyd  of  the  Ohio  Station^*  states  that 
farmers  report  good  results  from  feeding  sweet  clover  to  horses  and 
cattle.  (769)  Wilson-^  found  the  hay  satisfactory  for  lambs  at  the  South 
Dakota  Station,  and  Eward-®  obtained  good  results  with  sweet  clover 
as  a  hog  pasture  at  the  Iowa  Station,  tho  it  was  greatly  excelled  by 

*♦  Ohio.  Bui.  244.  ^  S.  D.  Bui.  143.  "  Iowa  Bui.  136. 


234  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

alfalfa  and  red  clover.  (859,  987)  Care  must  be  taken  in  pasturing 
cattle  and  sheep  on  sweet  clover,  lest  it  cause  bloat.  The  plants  should 
be  grazed  closely,  as  otherwise  they  become  woody.  A  yellow-flowered 
sweet  clover,  Melilotus  officinalis,  2  weeks  earlier  and  somewhat  smaller 
in  growth  than  the  white  sweet  clover,  has  been  quite  widely  introduced 
in  the  United  States. 

353.  Crimson  clover,  TrifoUum  incarnatum. — This  annual  clover,  adap- 
ted to  mild  climates,  is  grown  chiefly  in  the  Atlantic  seaboard  states 
from  New  Jersey  to  South  Carolina.  Here  it  is  treated  as  a  winter 
annual,  being  sown  in  the  late  summer  or  early  fall,  blossoming  the 
following  spring,  and  dying  by  early  summer.  Crimson  clover  has 
proved  vastly  helpful  to  the  agriculture  of  these  states,  where  it  is  used 
mainly  as  green  manure  and  as  a  winter  cover  crop.  It  is  extensively 
used  for  pasture  and  hay,  and  to  a  more  limited  extent  for  soilage. 
This  clover  is  suited  to  a  wide  range  of  soils,  succeeding  on  both  sandy 
and  clay  land  if  well  drained.  Duggar  of  the  Alabama,-^  and  Williams 
of  the  North  Carolina  Station-^  believe  that  of  all  the  clovers  it  has  the 
widest  adaptability  to  southern  conditions.  An  especially  valuable 
feature  is  that  the  crop  may  be  harvested  or  turned  under  as  green 
manure  early  enough  in  the  spring  to  permit  the  raising  of  other  crops 
the  same  year.  The  climate  of  the  humid  Pacific  coast  section  is  well 
adapted  to  crimson-clover  culture. 

When  grown  for  hay  it  is  important  that  crimson  clover  be  cut  by 
the  time  the  flowers  at  the  base  of  the  most  advanced  heads  have  faded, 
even  tho  the  weather  be  unsettled  for  hay-making.  When  cutting  is  long- 
er delayed,  the  minute  barbed  hairs  of  the  blossom  heads  and  stems  be- 
come hard  and  wiry.  If  hay  from  such  over-ripe  clover  is  fed  to  horses  or 
mules  these  hairs  sometimes  mat  together  in  the  digestive  tract,  forming 
felt-like  masses  which  may  grow  to  the  size  of  baseballs  and  finally  plug 
the  intestines,  causing  death.  When  it  is  necessary  to  feed  over-ripe  hay 
to  horses  or  mules,  which  are  usually  the  only  animals  affected,  to  reduce 
the  danger  it  should  be  given  with  other  roughage,  preferably  with 
succulent  feeds,  or  else  wet  thoroly  12  hours  before  feeding.  Grantham 
of  the  Delaware  Station"^  found  that  of  108  growers  over  three-fourths 
considered  crimson-clover  hay  as  good  or  better  than  that  from  red  clover 
or  cowpeas.  According  to  Piper^"  yields  of  hay  from  good  stands  average 
about  1.25  tons  per  acre.  (615)  During  a  short  season  in  the  spring  be- 
fore it  matures,  crimson  clover  furnishes  valuable  pasturage  or  soilage 
in  advance  of  grass  or  other  clovers,  and  in  warm  sections  it  may  be 
utilized  as  late  fall  or  winter  pasture. 

354.  Bur  clovers. — The  southern  or  spotted  hur  clover  (Medicago  ara- 
hica)  and  California  or  toothed  bur  clover  (M.  hispida)  are  winter 
annuals  that  furnish  valuable  pasturage  in  mild  regions.  The  former, 
which  is  the  hardier,  is  found  chiefly  in  the  southern  states,  and  the 
latter  in  California  and  Texas.     They  are  admirable  supplements  to 

'"  Ala.  Bui.  147.       '*  N.  C.  Cir.  7.         =^  Del.  Bui.  89.      '» Forage  Plants,  p.  432. 


LEGUMINOUS  PLANTS  FOR  FORAGE  235 

Bermuda  pasture,  furnishing  feed  when  that  grass  is  resting  and  re- 
seeding  unless  grazed  too  closely.  (320)  Even  on  land  where  summer 
cultivated  crops  are  grown,  bur  clover,  if  once  sown,  volunteers  in  the 
fall.  Cauthen  of  the  Alabama  Station^^  states  that  tho  not  commonly 
so  used  it  may  be  seeded  for  hay  with  fall  grain. 

355.  The  common  field-pea  vine. — The  common  field  pea,  Pisum 
sativum,  var.  arvense,  the  use  of  which  as  a  grain  crop  has  already 
been  discussed  (261),  is  grown  in  Canada  and  the  northern  states  to 
some  extent  for  forage.  A  combination  of  peas  and  oats,  if  cut  early, 
makes  nutritious  hay,  well  liked  by  all  classes  of  stock  and  also  makes 
silage  of  good  quality.  The  combination  is  frequently  sown  as  a  spring 
soiling  crop,  especially  for  dairy  cows,  or  as  pasturage,  chiefly  for 
swine.  In  some  of  the  irrigated  valleys  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  region 
field  peas,  usually  with  a  small  quantity  of  oats  or  barley,  are  sown 
extensively  and  grazed  when  nearly  mature  by  sheep  and  pigs.  (860,  988) 
In  the  grain  which  the  field  pea  furnishes  and  the  hay  and  silage  which 
it  is  possible  to  secure  from  it,  the  stockman  located  far  north  has  a 
fair  compensation  for  the  corn  crop  which  he  cannot  grow. 

356.  Pea-cannery  refuse. — Formerly  the  bruised  pea  vines  and  empty 
pods  from  the  pea  canneries  were  used  only  for  manure.  The  value  of 
this  rich  by-product  for  stock-feeding  has  now  been  abundantly  demon- 
strated, and  it  is  usually  preserved  in  silos  or  in  large  stacks,  where  the 
decaying  exterior  preserves  the  mass  within.  The  silage  has  a  strong 
odor  but  is  relished  by  all  farm  animals,  especially  dairy  cows,  fattening 
cattle,  and  sheep.  (870)  By  spreading  cannery  waste  out  thinly  on  a 
plat  where  the  grass  is  short,  it  may  be  cured  into  hay  worth,  according 
to  Crosby,^^  20  per  ct.  more  than  clover  hay,  but  this  involves  more 
labor  than  placing  it  in  the  silo. 

357.  Cowpea,  Vigna  sinensis. — This  hot  weather  annual  is  the  most 
important  legume  in  the  cotton-belt,  furnishing  grain  for  humans  and 
animals  (262),  tho  chiefly  growoi  for  forage  and  green  manure.  Its 
especial  value  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  will  grow  on  all  types  of  soil  and 
with  but  little  attention,  increasing  the  fertility  of  the  land  and  furnish- 
ing rich  hay,  pasturage,  soilage,  and  silage.  This  vine-like  plant  does 
not  mature  in  a  definite  time,  but  continues  to  bear  pods  and  put  forth 
new  leaves  during  a  long  period.  Sown  at  corn  planting  or  later,  early 
varieties  mature  the  first  pods  in  70  to  90  days.  The  crop  may  be  then 
cut  for  hay,  or  the  harvesting  considerably  delayed  without  loss.  Cow- 
peas  yield  from  1  to  3  tons  of  excellent  hay  per  acre,  which  is  equal  to 
red  clover  or  alfalfa  in  value  and  is  an  excellent  roughage  for  horses, 
cattle,  and  sheep.  (508,  769,  859)  When  cowpea  hay  is  fed  to  dairy 
cows  or  fattening  steers  the  allowance  of  concentrates  may  be  reduced 
to  one-half  the  amount  needed  when  a  carbonaceous  roughage,  such  as 
corn  stover  or  hay  from  the  grasses,  is  fed.  (616)  Because  of  the  suc- 
culent leaves  and  thick  stems  the  cowpea  is  difficult  to  cure.    To  prevent 

"Ala.  Bui.  165.  "U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  Plant  Indus.,  Cir.  45. 


236  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

loss  of  the  leaves  the  crop  should  be  cured  in  cocks  built  with  devices 
which  permit  air  circulation.  (333) 

To  support  the  vines  cowpeas  are  often  broadcasted  or  drilled  with 
sorghum,  soybeans,  millet,  or  Johnson  grass,  and  Piper^^  suggests  that 
the  new  Sudan  grass  should  prove  excellent  for  this  purpose,  as  it 
matures  at  the  right  time  and  is  readily  cured.  Cowpeas  are  extensively 
planted  with  corn  or  sorghum,  when  some  cowpea  seed  is  often  picked 
by  hand  and  the  remainder  of  the  crop,  corn  and  all,  pastured,  furnish- 
ing economical  feed  ior  cattle,  sheep,  or  pigs.  (770,  872,  990)  The 
combination  crop  makes  palatable,  protein-rich  silage  that  should  be 
more  extensively  used.  Thru  the  greater  utilization  of  cowpeas  and 
other  legumes  the  live-stock  industry  of  the  South  may  be  enormously 
increased. 

358.  Soybean,  Glycine  hispida. — Soybeans  are  for  the  most  part  bushy 
plants  with  no  tendency  to  vine,  and  which,  unlike  cowpeas,  die  after 
the  crop  of  pods  has  been  matured.  (256)  They  thrive  in  the  same 
climate  as  corn,  maturing  sufficiently  for  hay  in  northern  sections  where- 
ever  corn  may  be  grown  for  silage.  Soybeans  are  better  adapted  to  the 
northern  part  of  the  corn  belt  than  cowpeas,  which  require  a  longer 
growing  season  and  are  injured  by  slight  frosts.  They  are  also  more 
drought-resistant  than  cowpeas  and  hence  well  suited  to  light  soils,  tho 
they  will  not  thrive  on  such  poor  land  as  do  cowpeas.  The  fondness  of 
rabbits  for  the  plants  is  a  serious  drawback  in  the  plains  district.  The 
soybean  crop  should  be  cut  for  hay  when  the  pods  are  well  formed  but 
before  the  leaves  begin  to  turn  yellow,  for  soon  after  this  the  stems 
become  woody  and  the  leaves  easily  drop  off.  The  crop  yields  from 
1  to  3  tons  per  acre  of  hay  equal  to  cowpea  or  alfalfa  hay  in  feeding 
value.  (617)  Soybeans  alone  make  rank  smelling  silage,  but  1  ton  of 
soybeans  ensiled  with  3  to  4  tons  of  corn  or  sorghum  makes  a  satisfactory 
product.  For  this  purpose  the  soybeans  and  com  or  sorghum  may  be 
mixed  as  ensiled  or  they  may  be  gro^\Ti  together.  In  the  South  soybeans 
alone  or  soybeans  and  corn  are  often  grazed  by  hogs.  When  designed  for 
pasture  the  beans  should  be  planted  in  rows  to  lessen  the  loss  by  tramping, 
and  the  hogs  should  not  be  turned  in  until  the  pods  are  nearly  mature. 
(989)  In  the  northern  states  the  chief  value  of  soybeans  is  for  sandy 
land  or  as  a  catch  crop  when  clover  or  other  crops  fail.  Moore  and  Del- 
wiche  of  the  Wisconsin  Station^^  report  that  soybeans  planted  in  June  on 
jack-pine  sand  where  sugar  beets  had  failed  produced  2  tons  of  hay 
per  acre.  Evvard  of  the  Iowa  Station^^  found  soybeans  or  cowpeas 
surpassed  for  hog  pasture  by  rape,  clover,  and  alfalfa  on  soil  where  the 
latter  crops  flourished. 

359.  Vetch. — Only  the  hairy  vetch  (Vicia  villosa),  also  called  sand 
or  Russian  vetch,  and  the  common  vetch  (V.  sativa),  also  known  as 
smooth  or  Oregon  vetch,  are  important  in  the  United  States.  Both  are 
ordinarily  annuals,  tho  the  hairy  vetch  especially  may  live  for  more 

»» Forage  Plants,  p.  505.  "'  Wis.  Bui.  236.  **  Iowa  Bui.  136. 


LEGUMINOUS  PLANTS  FOR  FORAGE  237 

than  a  year.  Being  cool-weather  plants,  they  are  usually  fall-sown  in 
mild  climates,  but  a  spring  strain  of  the  common  vetch  is  sometimes 
grown.  While  common  vetch  is  killed  by  zero  temperatures,  hairy  vetch 
usually  endures  the  winter  in  the  northern  states  if  well  established  in 
the  fall.  Hairy  vetch  may  be  grown  on  poorer  soil  than  its  relative, 
is  adapted  to  a  wider  range  than  crimson  clover,  and  is  markedly  drought 
resistant.  It  is  chiefly  gro^m  for  hay,  being  usually  sown  with  the 
cereals  to  support  the  weak  vines,  which  clamber  from  4  to  10  feet  in 
a  tangled  mass.  Harvested  when  the  pods  are  full  gro^^^l,  a  palatable 
hay  is  secured.  According  to  Piper^"  the  yield  from  vetch  grown  alone 
ranges  from  1.5  to  2.5  tons  or  more  of  hay  per  acre.  (619) 

In  the  South  and  in  western  Washington  and  Oregon  where  the 
Mdnters  are  not  severe,  common  vetch  is  preferred  for  soil  rich  enough 
for  its  culture,  since  the  seed  is  cheaper  and  the  vines  grow  less  tangled. 
Piper  places  the  yield  of  hay  at  2.5  tons  in  the  latter  district  and  slightly 
less  in  the  southern  states.  Smith  of  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture"  reports  that  at  Atlanta,  Ga.,  vetch  and  oat  hay  is  popular 
with  liverymen,  selling  on  a  par  with  cowpea  hay.  Besides  furnishing 
hay,  the  vetches  afford  excellent  pasturage  for  cattle,  sheep,  and  swine. 
Smith  reports  the  successful  use  of  vetch  silage  for  a  dairy  herd. 

360.  Lespedeza,  Lespedeza  striata. — Japan  clover,  commonly  called 
lespedeza  in  the  South,  is  a  summer  annual  which  has  now  spread  over 
most  of  the  territory  from  central  New  Jersey  westward  to  central 
Kansas  and  south  to  the  Gulf.  Here,  even  on  the  poorest  soils,  it  appears 
spontaneously  as  a  common  constituent  of  mixed  pastures,  and  unless 
closely  grazed  reseeds  itself  from  year  to  year.  On  the  poorer  sands 
and  clays  of  the  cotton  belt  lespedeza  is  perhaps  the  most  valuable 
pasture  plant,  adding  nitrogen  to  the  soil,  binding  it  together,  preventing 
washing,  and  furnishing  pasturage  well-liked  by  all  stock.  This  legume 
has  not  been  known  to  cause  bloat.  Only  on  rich  soil  does  it  grow  tall 
enough  for  hay.  The  crop  is  easily  cured  and  in  extreme  cases  yields 
3  tons  of  hay  per  acre,  which  according  to  Duggar  of  the  Alabama  Sta- 
tion^® is  equal  to  alfalfa.  (497) 

361.  Velvet  bean,  Stizolohium  deeringianum. — The  tropical  velvet- 
bean  plant  flourishes  south  of  a  line  drawn  from  Savannah,  Georgia, 
to  Austin,  Texas.  The  vines,  which  run  on  the  ground  from  15  to  75 
feet,  are  difficult  to  cure  into  hay,  and  are  mostly  used  for  grazing. 
Scott  of  the  Florida  Station^''  reports  a  yield  of  20  to  30  bushels  of  60 
lbs.  of  shelled  beans  per  acre.  He  states  that  1.5  tons  of  beans  in  the 
pod  are  equal  to  1  ton  of  cottonseed  meal  for  milk  production  and  can 
be  produced  at  30  per  ct.  of  the  cost  of  the  meal.  (604)  Scott  found 
that  the  fat  of  pigs  fed  exclusively  on  velvet  beans  has  a  dark,  dirty 
appearance  and  disagreeable  odor  and  taste,  which  may  probably  be 
avoided  by  feeding  a  limited  quantity  of  beans  with  corn,  cassava,  etc. 

'*  Forage  Plants,  p.  472.  ^  Wing,  Meadows  and  Pastures,  p.  354. 

"U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Farmers'  Bui.  529.   "Fla.  Bui.  114. 


238  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

The  charge  that  velvet  beans  cause  abortion  among  cattle  and  swine  and 
blind  staggers  with  horses  is  substantially  without  foundation.  Horses 
fed  exclusively  on  velvet-bean  hay  may  suffer  from  kidney  trouble,  but 
all  danger  may  be  averted  by  feeding  equal  parts  of  velvet-bean  and  crab- 
grass  hay.  Tracy*°  reports  20  acres  of  velvet  beans  in  Florida  furnish- 
ing half  the  daily  grazing  for  30  cows  during  27  days  in  winter,  after 
which  10  tons  of  pod  beans  were  harvested.  Eighty  acres  of  velvet 
beans  in  southern  Georgia  furnished  grazing  for  100  head  of  cattle  4 
months.  Seventy  days'  grazing  on  velvet-bean  pasture  was  sufficient  to 
put  steers  in  marketable  condition.  (760) 

362.  Peanut,  Arachis  hypogaca. — Peanuts  are  gro-wn  chiefly  for  the 
under-ground  nuts  (258),  tho  the  entire  plant  is  sometimes  cured  into 
a  nutritious  hay.  According  to  Piper,*^  as  a  hay  plant  the  peanut 
cannot  compete  with  the  soybean  or  the  cowpea,  but  the  plant  is  of 
importance  as  a  pasture  crop  for  hogs,  which  root  out  the  nuts.  Hogs 
finished  solely  on  peanuts  yield  a  soft  pork,  but  this  may  be  largely 
avoided  by  feeding  corn  or  other  feeds.  (1005)  Since  the  nuts  will  not 
long  remain  in  the  ground  without  sprouting,  the  crop  must  be  pastured 
soon  after  maturity.  When  peanuts  are  grown  for  the  seeds,  the  straw 
is  used  for  stock  feeding,  the  yield  ranging  from  0.75  to  1.5  tons  or  more 
per  acre. 

363.  Beggar  weed,  Desmodium  tortuosum. — This  annual  legume,  which 
has  rather  woody  stalks  3  to  10  feet  high  bearing  abundant  leafage, 
is  used  for  green  forage  and  hay  production  in  the  sub-tropical  regions 
of  our  country.  Garrison  of  the  South  Carolina  Station*-  reports  a 
yield  of  over  11.5  tons  of  green  and  2.25  tons  of  dry  forage  from  1 
acre.  Smith*'  states  that  on  rich  land  yields  of  from  4  to  6  tons  of  hay  are 
not  unusual.  The  hay  ranges  between  clover  and  alfalfa  in  protein  con- 
tent and  is  relished  by  stoc!"'. 

364.  Miscellaneous  legumes. — The  Tangier  pea  {Lathyrus  tingitanus), 
which  is  somewhat  similar  to  the  common  sweet  pea,  but  more  vigorous 
in  growth,  has  given  promising  results  as  a  hay  and  green  manure  crop 
in  the  southern  states  and  western  Oregon.**  Serraclella  {Ornithopus 
sativus),  cultivated  to  a  considerable  extent  in  Europe  on  poor  sandy 
land,  has  thus  far  attained  no  importance  in  the  United  States.  As  it 
will  grow  on  soil  too  acid  for  other  legumes  it  may  be  found  useful  on 
acid  sands  in  the  northern  states.  The  moth  hean  {Phaseolus  aconiti- 
foliiis),  a  native  of  India,  is  in  many  ways  superior  to  the  cowpea  in 
northern  Texas,  according  to  Conner*^  being  more  drought  resistant 
and  curing  more  readily.  The  hyacinth  hean  or  bonavist  (Dolichos 
lahlah),  an  annual  resembling  the  co^vpea  but  more  viny,  is  often  grown 
as  an  ornamental.    It  is  of  no  especial  promise  as  a  forage  crop  except  in 

*"  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Farmers'  Bui.  300.     "  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Yearbook,  1897. 
*^Forage  Plants,  p.  547.  "Wash.  Bui.  2.,  Spec.  Series. 

«S.  C.  Bui.  123.  ♦"Tex.  Bui.  103. 


LEGUMINOUS  PLANTS  FOR  FORAGE  239 

the  plains  region  of  Texas,  where  it  is  apparently  somewhat  more  drought 
resistant  than  the  cowpea.*" 

The  Kudzu  vine  (Pueraria  thunbergiana)  is  a  rapidly  growing  annual 
vine,  often  grown  as  an  ornamental  in  the  South,  where  it  reaches  a 
length  of  60  feet  or  more.  Recent  trials  show  it  to  be  of  considerable 
promise  as  a  perennial  forage  crop  for  the  Gulf  region.  Under  field 
conditions  the  prostrate  branches  root  at  the  joints  and  send  up  twining 
shoots  2  to  4  feet  high,  which  may  be  readily  cut  with  a  mower. 
According  to  Piper,*^  in  northern  Florida  3  cuttings  of  hay  a  season 
have  been  obtained,  the  yield  ranging  from  lower  than  velvet  beans  to 
as  high  as  10  tons  per  acre. 

"  Tex.  Rpt.  1912.  «  Forage  Plants,  p.  564. 


CHAPTER  XV 

EOOTS,  TUBERS,  AND  MISCELLANEOUS  FORAGES 

I.  Roots  and  Tubers 

In  northern  Europe  and  in  eastern  Canada  root  crops  are  extensively 
grown  for  stock,  but  in  this  country  such  use  has  never  assumed  im- 
portance. Indeed,  in  1909  over  5000  acres  of  corn  were  raised  in  the 
United  States  for  each  acre  of  roots  grown  for  live  stock  feeding. 
Having  cool  summers,  northern  Europe  is  well  suited  to  the  growth  of 
roots  but  not  to  the  culture  of  corn,  while  in  most  parts  of  our  country, 
with  the  hot  summers,  this  imperial  grain  and  forage  plant  thrives. 
As  shown  later  in  this  chapter,  where  corn  flourishes  it  furnishes  a 
palatable,  succulent  feed  at  less  cost  than  do  roots.  Hence,  it  is  reason- 
able to  expect  that  in  the  United  States  the  culture  of  roots  for  forage 
will  increase  only  in  districts  having  summers  so  cool  that  these  crops 
give  better  returns  than  corn,  and  on  farms  in  the  corn  belt  where  too 
few  animals  are  kept  to  use  corn  silage  economically,  or  where  roots 
serve  as  a  relish  for  show  animals  and  dairy  cows  on  official  test. 

365.  Use  and  value  of  roots. — Roots  should  be  regarded  not  as  rough- 
ages, but  as  watered  concentrates,  high  in  available  energy  for  the  dry 
matter  they  contain.  (22)  All  are  low  in  crude  protein  compared  to 
their  content  of  carbohydrates.  The  studies  of  Friis^  in  Denmark  and 
Wing  and  Savage  at  the  New  York  (Cornell)  Station-  show  that  for 
the  dairy  cow  a  pound  of  dry  matter  in  roots  has  the  same  feeding 
value  as  a  pound  of  dry  matter  in  grain,  such  as  corn,  wheat,  or  barley. 
(637)  Wing  and  Savage  found  that  mangels  could  replace  half  the 
grain  ordinarily  fed  in  a  ration  of  grain,  mixed  hay,  and  silage  without 
reducing  the  yield  of  milk  or  butter,  and  that  with  grain  at  $30  per  ton, 
mangels  were  an  economical  substitute  when  they  could  be  grown  and 
stored  for  $4  per  ton. 

Since  nearly  90  per  ct.  of  the  dry  matter  in  roots  and  only  66  per  ct. 
of  that  in  well-matured  corn  silage  is  digestible,  one  would  expect  the 
dry  matter  of  roots  to  have  somewhat  the  higher  value.  However,  in 
the  majority  of  the  trials  in  which  this  question  has  been  studied  with 
the  dairy  cow,  just  as  much  milk  was  produced  from  100  lbs.  of  dry 
matter  in  the  silage  ration  as  in  the  ration  containing  roots.  (638) 

In  addition  to  the  nutrients  they  furnish,  roots  and  other  succulent 

feeds  have  a  beneficial  tonic  effect  upon  animals,   and  are  especially 

helpful  in  keeping  breeding  cattle,  sheep,  or  swine  in  prime  condition. 

Many  successful  stockmen  recommend  roots  highly  for  animals  being 

*Expt.  Sta.  Rec,  14,  1903,  p.  801.  =  N.  Y.  (Cornell)  Bui.  268. 

240 


ROOTS,  TUBERS,  AND  MISCELLANEOUS  FORAGES       241 

fitted  for  exhibitions  and  for  dairy  cows  crowded  to  maximum  production 
on  official  tests.  At  the  Michigan  Station  Shaw^  and  Norton  found  that 
when  roots  were  added  to  a  well-balanced  ration  for  dairy  cows  contain- 
ing good  corn  silage  the  yield  of  butter  fat  was  increased  5.8  per  ct. 
Yet  this  increase  was  not  sufficient  to  offset  the  greater  cost  of  the  ration 
containing  the  roots.  (640) 

In  this  country  the  daily  allowance  of  roots  per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight 
is  usually  25  to  50  lbs.  or  less.  Thruout  Great  Britain  fattening  cattle 
and  sheep  are  often  fed  100  lbs.,  or  even  more,  per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight 
daily  with  satisfactory  results,  and  sheep  are  sometimes  fattened  on 
concentrates  and  roots  alone.  This  practice  can  not  be  generally  recom- 
mended, for  better  results  are  secured  when  some  dry  roughage  is  fed. 
Roots  are  usually  chopped  or  sliced  before  feeding,  and  the  cut  roots 
are  often  put  into  the  feed  box  and  meal  sprinkled  over  them.  In 
feeding  cattle  in  Canada  and  England,  roots  are  quite  commonly  pulped 
and  spread  in  layers  several  inches  thick,  alternating  with  other  layers 
of  cut  or  chaffed  hay  or  straw.  After  being  shoveled  over,  the  mass  is 
allowed  to  stand  several  hours  before  feeding,  to  moisten  and  soften 
the  chaffed  straw  or  hay.  In  this  manner  great  quantities  of  straw  may 
be  successfully  utilized.  (784,  786,  865)  For  winter  feeding  in  the 
northern  states  roots  must  be  stored  in  well-ventilated  pits  or  cellars, 
but  in  mild  climates  they  may  remain  in  the  field  until  fed.  In  Great 
Britain  sheep  are  often  grazed  on  root  crops,  saving  the  labor  of 
harvesting. 

366.  Roots  vs.  corn  silage. — The  most  extensive  of  several  trials  in 
which  the  yields  of  roots  and  silage  corn  have  been  compared  are 
summarized  in  the  following  table  : 


Yield  of  fresh  and  dry  matter  per  acre  of  roots  and  fodder  corn 


Mangels 

Sugar  beets 

Rutabagas 

Fodder  corn 

Station 

Green 
weight 

Dry 

matter 

Green 

weight 

Dry 

matter 

Green 
weight 

Dry 

matter 

Green 
weight 

Dry 

matter 

Maine* 

Lbs. 

15,375 
38,273 

47,480 

Lbs. 

1,613 
4,554 
4,440 

Lbs. 
17,645 
25,591 
29,760 

Lbs. 

2,590 
4,683 
4,890 

Lbs. 

31,695 
39,260 

Lbs. 

3,415 
4,260 

Lbs. 

39,645 
18,332 
38,320 

Lbs. 
5,580 
6,763 
8,050 

Penn.  f 

Ontario,  t  5-8  yrs 

Average 

33.713 

3,536 

24,332 

4,054 

35,478 

3,838 

32,099 

6,798 

*WoIl,  Book  on  Silage.     tPenn.  Rpt.  1898.     {Ontario  Dept.  Agr.,  Bui.  228. 

On  the  average,  the  corn  crop  contained  92  per  ct.  more  dry  matter 
than  mangels,  68  per  ct.  more  than  sugar  beets,  and  77  per  ct.  more  than 
rutabagas.  At  the  Ohio  Station*  Thorne  found  that  to  grow  and  harvest 
an  acre  of  beets  yielding  15.75  tons  and  containing  3,000  lbs.  of  dry 
matter  cost  more  than  an  acre  of  corn  yielding  57  bushels  of  grain  and 
containing  6,000  lbs.,  or  twice  as  much,  dry  matter.     In  trials  covering 

•Mich.  Bui.  240.  *Ohio  Rpt.  1893. 


242  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

4  years  at  the  New  York  (Cornell)  Station^  Minns  found  the  cost  of 
growing  and  ensiling  silage  corn  about  the  same  per  ton  as  that  for 
gro\\dng  and  harvesting  mangels.  However,  owing  to  their  watery- 
nature  100  lbs.  of  dry  matter  in  mangels  cost  over  twice  as  much  as  in 
corn  silage.  These  findings  show  that  where  corn  thrives,  corn  silage 
will  furnish  dry  matter  at  one-half  the  cost  of  roots  or  less.  This  is 
largely  because  root  crops  require  more  careful  and  thoro  preparation 
of  the  soil  and  far  more  hand  labor  in  cultivation,  harvesting,  and 
storage  than  does  corn. 

367.  Yields  of  various  root  crops. — The  most  extensive  comparisons  of 
the  yields  of  various  root  crops  are  those  reported  by  the  New  York 
(Cornell)  Station®  from  5-year  tests  and  by  the  Ontario  Agricultural 
College^  from  trials  covering  5  to  15  years,  which  are  summarized  in 
the  following  table.  The  yields  from  kohlrabi,  cabbage,  rape,  and  kale, 
which  are  sometimes  included  loosely  under  the  term  "root  crops"  are 
also  given,  along  with  the  return  from  a  200-bushel  crop  of  potatoes. 

Yield  and  dry  matter  per  acre  in  various  root  crops 

New  York  (Cornell)  Station  Ontario  Agr.  College 

Green  wt.  Dry  matter  Green  wt.  Dry  matter 

Tons  Lbs.  Tons  Lbs. 

Mangels 39.7  8,400  23.7  4,440 

Sugar  mangels 28 .1  6,400  24 .0  5,460 

Sugar  beets 28 .3  8,000  14 .9  4,890 

Rutabagas  (swedes) 26 .3  5,000  19 .6  4,260 

Hybrid  turnips 27 . 1  5,200                 

Turnips 16.8  3,600  27.2  5,160 

Carrots 18 .5  4,400  27 .5  6,460 

Parsnips 8.3  3,800  8 .3  2,750 

Kohlrabi 23 .4  4,600  15 .8  2,819 

Cabbage 36 .4  4,600  23 .1  4,102 

Dwarf  Essex  rape 17 .2  5,758 

Thousand-headed  kale 17.7  4,000 

Potatoes  (200  bushels) 6.0  2,540  6.0  2,540 

As  is  shown  in  the  table,  the  rank  of  these  various  crops  varies 
widely  in  different  sections,  depending  on  the  climatic  and  soil  con- 
ditions. 

368.  The  mangel,  Beta  vulgaris,  var. — Tho  the  mangel,  or  mangel 
wurzel,  is  the  most  watery  of  roots,  it  returns  a  large  amount  of  dry 
matter  per  acre  because  of  its  enormous  yield.  The  dry  matter  content 
of  mangels  averages  9.4  per  ct.  and  that  of  the  half-sugar  mangels, 
which  are  crosses  between  the  mangel  and  the  sugar  beet,  is  somewhat 
higher.  Because  it  stands  well  out  of  the  ground,  the  mangel  is  easily 
cultivated  and  harvested,  and  furthermore  it  keeps  better  in  winter 
than  does  the  sugar  beet.  Mangels  should  not  be  fed  until  they  have 
been  stored  for  a  few  weeks,  as  the  freshly-harvested  roots  may  cause 
scours.  Mangels  are  useful  for  all  farm  animals,  except  possibly  the 
horse.  (637-8,  784,  864)    Fed  to  rams  or  wethers  for  long  periods,  both 

"  N.  Y.  (Cornell)  Bui.  317.  '  Ontario  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Bui.  228. 

"Piper,  Forage  Plants  and  their  Culture,  p.  587. 


ROOTS,  TUBERS,  AND  MISCELLANEOUS  FORAGES       243 

mangels  and  sugar  beets  tend  to  produce  dangerous  calculi,  or  stones, 
in  the  urinary  organs. 

369.  Sugar  beets,  Beta  vulgaris,  var. — This  root  has  been  niarvelously 
developed  for  the  single  purpose  of  producing  sugar,  some  strains  now 
yielding  16  per  ct.  or  more.  The  sugar  beet  demands  more  care  in  culti- 
vation than  the  mangel  and  more  labor  in  harvesting,  as  it  sets  deep  in 
the  ground.  Sugar  beets  are  esteemed  by  many  dairymen  as  succulence 
for  cows  under  test.  If  liberally  fed,  this  root  may  induce  scouring  be- 
cause of  its  high  sugar  content.  Farmers  patronizing  sugar  factories 
should  utilize  cull  beets  as  well  as  the  tops.  Beet  tops  and  leaves  may  be 
fed  fresh  or  ensiled.  Care  must  be  taken  when  stock  is  turned  on  beet 
fields  to  forage,  as  decaying  beet  tops  may  poison  the  animals.  Accord- 
ing to  IMorton  of  the  Colorado  Station,^  tho  the  tops  keep  better  if  cut, 
they  may  be  ensiled  whole  if  the  mass  is  well  packed.  At  the  Wisconsin 
Station"  Humphrey  found  that  beet  tops  make  good  silage  when  run  thru 
the  silage  cutter  along  with  an  equal  weight  of  dry  corn  fodder,  sufficient 
water  being  added  so  that  the  mass  will  pack  well. 

370.  Rutabaga,  Brassica  campcstris. — The  rutabaga,  or  swede,  ranks 
next  to  the  mangel  in  ease  of  cultivation  and  harvesting.  Sheep  prefer 
it  to  all  other  roots.  Like  other  turnips,  the  rutabaga  may  taint  the 
milk  of  cows,  and  for  this  reason  should  be  fed  immediately  after  milk- 
ing. This  root  is  of  vast  importance  to  the  stock  interests  of  Great 
Britain  and  is  likewise  a  favorite  in  Canada,  where  it  is  extensively 
grown.  (511) 

371.  Turnip,  Brassica  rapa. — Turnips  are  more  watery  than  rutabagas 
and  do  not  keep  so  well.  Hybrid  turnips,  crosses  between  the  turnip 
and  the  rutabaga,  keep  better  than  ordinary  turnips.  Maturing  early, 
turnips  are  used  chiefly  for  early  fall  feeding.  Sown  as  a  catch  crop, 
large  yields  are  often  secured  without  cultivation.  Tho  used  mainly  for 
sheep,  they  can  also  be  fed  to  cattle. 

372.  Carrot,  Daucus  carota. — Under  favorable  conditions  the  stock 
carrot  gives  heavy  yields.  This  root  is  relished  by  horses  of  all  ages  and 
conditions,  but  should  not  be  fed  in  large  amount  to  hard-worked  or 
driving  horses.  (511)  Carrots  also  serve  well  for  other  stock,  especially 
dairy  cows.  Hills  of  the  Vermont  Station^°  writes :  ' '  Carrots  far  sur- 
passed beets  in  feeding  value. ' ' 

373.  Parsnip,  Pastinaca  sativa. — The  parsnip  is  the  favorite  root  with 
dairy  farmers  on  the  islands  of  Jersey  and  Guernsey.  It  contains  about 
as  much  dry  matter  as  the  sugar  beet,  but  because  the  yield  in  this 
country  is  relatively  low  and  the  root  difficult  to  harvest,  it  is  little 
groA\Ti.  (511) 

374.  Potato,  Solamon  titherosum. — In  Europe  heavy-yielding  varieties 
of  large-sized  potatoes  are  extensively  grown  for  stock,  but  in  this 
countrj^  potatoes  are  only  fed  when  low  in  price  or  too  small  for  market. 
Knowing  their  feeding  value,  the  farmer  is  in  position  to  utilize  the 

'Breeder's  Gaz.,  65,  1914,  p.  115.  "Wis.  Bui.  228.  *">Vt.  Rpt.  1907. 


244  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

crop  wisely,  for  feeding  his  live  stock,  rather  than  to  force  it  on  a  pro- 
fitless market.  Potatoes  are  chiefly  employed  for  swdne  feeding  (1001), 
but  may  be  fed  in  limited  amounts  to  cattle,  sheep,  and  horses  in  partial 
substitution  for  grain.  For  pigs  the  tubers  should  be  boiled  or  steamed, 
and  mixed  with  meal.  The  heavy  feeding  of  raw  potatoes  is  not  ad- 
visable, as  it  induces  scouring,  but  they  may  be  fed  in  limited  amounts 
sliced  and  mixed  with  dry  feed.  The  bitter-tasting  water  in  which 
potatoes  are  cooked  should  be  thrown  away,  especially  if  the  tubers  are 
not  sound.  According  to  Pott,^^  potatoes  may  furnish  half  the  dry 
matter  in  the  ration  for  fattening  cattle  and  sheep,  and  one-fourth  for 
horses.  (511)  Milch  cows  should  not  be  fed  more  than  30  to  35  lbs.,  as 
larger  amounts  injure  the  quality  of  the  butter.  (641)  Unripe  potatoes 
and  especially  the  sprouts  of  stored  potatoes  contain  considerable 
solanin,  a  poisonous  compound;  hence  in  feeding  potatoes  any  sprouts 
should  be  removed. 

In  Germany  where  machinery  for  drying  potatoes  has  been  perfected, 
the  dried  product  is  quite  extensively  fed  to  live  stock.  To  produce  1  ton 
of  the  dried  potato  flakes  from  3.5  to  4.0  tons  of  raw  potatoes  are  re- 
quired. 

375.  Jerusalem  artichoke,  Helianthus  tuherosus. — The  tubers  of  this 
hardy  perennial,  which  resemble  the  potato  in  composition,  are  sometimes 
used  for  human  food  and  for  feeding  stock.  The  tubers  live  over  winter 
in  the  ground  and  enough  are  usually  left  to  make  the  next  crop.  Due  to 
this  the  plant  may  sometimes  become  a  weed.  Goessmann  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Station^-  reports  artichokes  yielding  at  the  rate  of  8.2  tons  per 
acre.  They  may  be  harvested  in  the  same  manner  as  potatoes,  or  hogs 
may  be  turned  in  the  field  to  root  out  the  tubers.  At  the  Oregon  Sta- 
tion^^  6  pigs  confined  to  one-eighth  of  an  acre  of  artichokes  gained  244 
lbs.,  consuming  756  lbs.  of  ground  wheat  and  oats  in  addition  to  the 
tubers.  Allowing  500  lbs.  of  grain  for  100  lbs.  of  gain,  we  find  that  an 
acre  of  artichokes  was  worth  3,700  lbs.  of  mixed  wheat  and  oats.  The  pigs 
made  but  little  gain  on  artichokes  alone. 

Pott"  reports  that  the  leaves  and  stems  may  be  cut  when  half  the  leaves 
are  still  green,  without  reducing  the  yield  of  tubers.  This  forage  may  be 
fed  to  sheep,  goats,  or  dairy  cows  with  good  results.  Despite  the  many 
enthusiastic  endorsements  of  artichokes  no  community  in  this  country 
seems  to  grow  them  continuously — a  significant  fact.  (511,  1002) 

376.  Sweet  potato,  Ipomaea  batatas. — The  sweet  potato,  a  southern  crop 
grown  as  far  north  as  New  Jersey  and  Illinois,  serves  not  only  for  human 
food,  but  also  for  feeding  stock,  especially  swine,  which  do  their  own  har- 
vesting. Tho  the  average  yield  is  less  than  90  bushels  per  acre,  some 
farmers  raise  fully  200  bushels. ^^    The  sweet  potato  is  at  its  best  on  sandy 

"Handb.  Ernahr.  u.  Fuller.,  II,  1907,  pp.  363,  366-7. 
"  Mass.  Rpl.  10.      "  Ore.  Bui.  54. 
"Handb.  Ernahr.  u.  Fuller.,  II,  1907,  p.  196. 
"Duggar,  Soulhern  Field  Crops,  p.  449. 


ROOTS,  TUBERS,  AND  MISCELLANEOUS  FORAGES       245 

soil.  Keitt  of  the  South.  Carolina  Station^*'  states  that  land  which  under 
ordinary  cropping  yields  but  20  bushels  of  corn  will  produce  200  bushels 
of  sweet  potatoes  per  acre.  Dodson  of  the  Louisiana  Station^^  considers 
sweet  potatoes  the  best  root  crop  for  hogs  for  fall  and  early  winter  graz- 
ing. (1004)  Conner  of  the  Florida  Station^^  found  that  sweet  potatoes 
may  be  successfully  substituted  for  half  the  com  in  the  ration  of  work 
horses,  3  lbs.  of  sweet  potatoes  replacing  1  lb.  of  corn.  Scott  of  the  same 
station^°  found  that  100  lbs.  of  sweet  potatoes  was  as  useful  as  150  lbs. 
of  corn  silage  for  dairy  cows.  While  more  valuable,  sweet  potatoes  were 
also  far  more  expensive  to  produce  than  the  corn  silage. 

The  vines,  tho  difficult  to  gather  because  they  trail  and  take  root  at 
short  intervals,  are  often  utilized  for  feed,  usually  in  the  green  state. 

377.  Chufa,  Cyperus  esculent  us. — The  chufa  sedge,  frequently  a  weed 
in  damp  fields  on  southern  farms,  produces  numerous  small,  chaffy, 
edible  tubers.  These  are  relished  by  pigs,  which  are  usually  turned  in  to 
harvest  the  crop.  As  chufas  are  low  in  digestible  crude  protein,  protein- 
rich  feeds  should  be  added  to  balance  the  ration.  They  grow  best  on 
light,  sandy  soils,  yielding  from  100  to  150  bushels  of  44  lbs.  each  per 
acre.  Like  artichokes,  the  tubers  remain  in  the  ground  uninjured  thru 
the  winter.  Good  crops  of  chufas  have  produced  307  to  592  lbs.  of  pork 
per  acre,  after  making  allowance  for  the  other  feed  consumed  by  the 
pigs.  (1006) 

378.  Cassava,  Manihot  utilissima. — Cassava,  a  bushy  plant  4  to  10  feet 
in  height  with  fleshy  roots  like  those  of  the  sweet  potato,  grows  in  Florida 
and  along  the  Gulf  coast.  In  the  tropics  varieties  having  bitter  roots 
containing  prussic  acid  are  grown.  These  must  be  dried  or  heated  be- 
fore feeding.  The  sorts  grown  in  the  United  States  have  sweet  roots  con- 
taining but  a  trace  of  prussic  acid.  From  5  to  6  tons  of  roots,  carrying 
from  25  to  30  per  ct.  of  starch,  are  produced  per  acre.  They  are  used  for 
the  manufacture  of  starch  and  for  cattle  and  swine  feeding.  At  Musco- 
gee, Alabama,^°  200  steers  and  100  hogs  were  fattened  by  using  1600  lbs. 
of  cassava  roots  daily  in  place  of  grain. 

Dodson-^  reports  that  in  Louisiana  a  larger  tonnage  can  be  obtained 
from  sweet  potatoes  than  from  cassava,  and  at  about  one-third  the  cost. 
This  crop  has  never  been  important  in  the  United  States  and  its  culture 
has  declined  greatly  in  the  last  20  years.  The  cassava  waste  of  starch 
factories  should  be  dried  for  feeding.  (785) 


II.  Miscellaneous  Succulent  Feeds 

379.  Cabbage,  Brassica  oleracea. — On  rich  ground  cabbage  gives  as 
good  returns  of  palatable  forage  as  do  root  crops,  but  as  more  labor  is 
required  in  its  cultivation,  it  is  but  little  grown  for  stock  feeding.  Cab- 
bage is  highly  prized  by  shepherds  when  preparing  stock  for  exhibition, 

"  S.  C.  Rpt.  1909,  p.  32.  "  Fla.  Bui.  72.     ="  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Farmers'  Bui.  167. 
"  La.  Bui.  124.  »»  Fla.  Bui.  99.    "  La.  Bui.  124. 


246  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

and  is  also  used  for  feeding  milch  cows,  Gill  of  England--  considering  it 
superior  to  rutabagas.  Like  other  plants  of  the  mustard  family  it 
should  be  fed  after  milking  to  avoid  tainting  the  milk.  When  cabbage 
is  raised  for  market,  the  small  heads  and  the  leaves  may  be  fed  to  stock. 

380.  Kohlrabi,  Brassica  caulorapa. — This  member  of  the  mustard  fam- 
ily, which  is  valued  for  its  thickened,  turnip-like  stem,  can  be  gro^vn 
wherever  rutabagas  thrive,  tho  the  yield  is  usually  lower.  According  to 
the  New  York  (Cornell)  Station"  kohlrabi  is  a  good  substitute  for 
rutabagas  in  the  Middle  West  where  these  roots  have  a  tendency  to  run 
to  neck  and  form  little  root.  Kohlrabi  stands  well  out  of  the  ground  and 
thus  can  be  readily  pastured  by  sheep,  which  also  relish  the  leaves.  This 
crop  has  not  been  knowTi  to  taint  the  milk  when  fed  to  cows. 

381.  Rape,  Brassica  napns. — Largely  thru  the  instrumentality  of  our 
experiment  stations,  rape  is  now  extensively  growTi  by  stockmen  thruout 
the  United  States.  This  member  of  the  turnip  family  stores  its  nutri- 
ment in  the  numerous  leaves  and  stems,  the  parts  eaten  by  stock.  The 
Dwarf  Essex  variety  should  be  sown,  birdseed  rape  being  worthless. 
While  rape  can  be  used  for  soiling,  it  is  best  to  let  stock  harvest  the  crop. 
Unless  grown  in  rows,  cattle  will  tramp  down  considerable  of  the  forage 
while  grazing.  Rape  is  too  watery  for  silage.  The  seed,  which  is  in- 
expensive, may  be  sown  in  succession  from  early  spring  until  August  in 
the  North  and  even  later  in  the  South,  either  broadcast,  in  drills  and 
cultivated,  or  finally  with  corn  just  previous  to  the  last  cultivation. 

From  6  to  12  weeks  after  seeding  the  crop  is  large  enough  for  use. 
Zavitz  of  the  Ontario  College^*  reports  a  yield  of  27  tons  of  rape  forage 
per  acre  from  2  lbs.  of  seed  sown  in  drills  27  inches  apart,  the  crop  hav- 
ing been  cultivated  every  10  days.  In  plot  tests  covering  15  years  he 
secured  an  average  yield  of  19.2  tons  per  acre.-^  Rape  endures  quite 
severe  frosts,  therefore  furnishing  late  autumn  feed.  It  should  never  be 
eaten  so  closely  that  only  the  bare  stalks  remain,  for  the  yield  of  new 
leaves  will  then  be  reduced.  Animals  on  rape  consume  large  amounts  of 
salt,  which  should  be  freely  supplied,  as  it  tends  to  check  any  undue 
laxative  effect  of  the  forage.  Sometimes  stock  must  be  taught  to  eat 
rape,  but  they  later  become  fond  of  it. 

Cattle  which  during  the  fall  months  have  the  run  of  a  rape  field,  to- 
gether with  pasture,  will  go  into  winter  quarters  in  high  condition.  To 
avoid  tainting  the  milk  of  dairy  cows,  rape  should  be  fed  or  grazed  only 
directly  after  milking.  Rape  has  its  largest  use  for  sheep  and  hogs,  and 
since  the  animals  gather  the  crop,  the  cost  is  low  compared  with  the  re- 
turns. Cabbage,  rape,  turnips,  etc.,  like  all  cruciferous  plants,  have  an 
unusually  high  content  of  sulfur,  which  may  explain  in  part  their  value 
for  sheep.  (875-6)  Access  to  clover  or  bluegrass  pasture  when  on  rape 
is  highly  advantageous  to  all  stock,  besides  reducing  the  danger  from 
bloat  or  hoven.   Rape  furnishes  one  of  the  best  forages  for  hogs,  and  as 

"Jour.  Brit.  Dairy  Assoc,  1898.  ='Ont.  Agr.  College,  Rpt.  19. 

'"N.  Y.   (Cornell)  Bui.  244.  ==Ont.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bui.  228. 


ROOTS,  TUBERS,  AND  MISCELLANEOUS  FORAGES       247 

it  somewhat  more  than  maintains  them,  all  the  grain  which  is  fed  goes 
to  make  gain.  (982,  992)  Pigs,  especially  the  white  breeds,  running  in 
rape  when  the  leaves  are  wet,  may  suffer  from  a  skin  affection. 

382.  Kale,  Brassica  oleracea,  var.  acephala. — Coarse  growing  varie- 
ties of  kale,  a  cabbage-like  plant  that  does  not  form  heads,  are  used  ex- 
tensively for  soilage  and  pasturage  in  England  and  France.  In  this 
country  kale  is  grown  extensively  only  in  the  northern  Pacific  coast  dis- 
trict, M'here  ' '  thousand-headed ' '  kale,  the  common  variety,  is  considered 
the  best  of  soiling  crops  for  dairy  cows.  On  rich  soil  and  with  ample 
moisture  yields  of  35  to  45  tons  and  even  more  are  secured.^**  In  the 
mild  climate  of  that  section  the  crop  is  fed  chiefly  from  October  to  April, 
as  it  endures  considerable  frost.  Frozen  kale  should  be  thawed  out  be- 
fore being  fed.  Like  other  members  of  the  mustard  family,  it  should  be 
fed  after  milking  to  avoid  tainting  the  milk.  Kale  is  an  excellent  feed 
for  sheep  and  swine. 

A  hybrid  kale  with  thick,  fleshy  stems,  called  marrow  cabbage,  has 
excelled  common  kale  in  trials  at  the  Western  Washington  Station.^^ 
The  large  leaves  are  harvested  as  they  mature,  and  later  the  entire  plant 
is  cut  and  fed. 

383.  Pumpkins,  squashes,  and  melons. — The  pumpkin,  Cucurbifo  pepo, 
is  often  planted  in  corn  fields  and  the  fruits  used  as  a  relish  for  horses, 
cattle,  or  pigs.  The  field  pumpkin  resembles  the  mangel  in  composition 
while  the  smaller  garden  pumpkin  contains  somewhat  more  dry  matter. 
Hills  of  the  Vermont  Station^®  found  2.5  tons  of  pumpkins,  including 
seeds,  equal  to  1  ton  of  corn  silage  for  dairy  cows.  Tho  often  cooked  for 
swine,  trials  show  equally  satisfactory  results  with  the  raw  pumpkins. 
(1003)  The  tradition  among  farmers  that  pumpkin  seeds  increase  the 
kidney  excretions,  tend  to  dry  up  cows,  and  hence  should  be  removed 
before  feeding,  has  no  good  foundation.  The  seeds  contain  much  nutri- 
ment and  should  not  be  wasted.  Pigs  relish  them,  and  they  act  as  a 
vermifuge,  freeing  the  animals  of  worms  and  putting  the  digestive  or- 
gans in  good  condition.  As  the  seeds  are  rich  in  protein  and  oil,  eating 
an  excess  may  cause  digestive  disturbance.  Squashes  and  melons,  es- 
pecially pie  melons,  or  citrons  (also  called  cow  melons),  are  sometimes 
fed  to  stock. 

384.  Apples  and  other  fruits. — ^Windfall  apples,  pears,  peaches,  plums, 
oranges,  figs,  etc.,  may  often  be  fed  advantageously  to  stock  and  sound 
fruit  may  be  thus  used  when  prices  are  too  low  to  warrant  marketing 
the  crop,  for  all  farm  animals  relish  these  fruits.  (511)  Fruits  contain 
somewhat  more  dry  matter  than  roots,  the  chief  nutrients  being  the 
sugars.  Since  they  are  low  in  protein,  they  should  be  used  with  protein- 
rich  feeds.  For  dairy  cows  apples  have  about  40  per  ct.  of  the  value  of 
corn  silage,  and  apple  pomace  is  practically  equal  to  the  same  weight  of 
corn  silage.  (635)    In  trials  at  the  Utah  Station^^  when  fed  with  shorts 

=«Wash.  Bui.  2,  Special  Series;    Ore.  Cir.  5.  =«  Vt.  Rpt.  1908. 

"^Wash.  Bui.  2,  Special  Series.  "Utah  Bui.  101. 


248  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

and  skim  milk  to  pigs  100  lbs.  of  apples  equaled  9  to  15  lbs.  of  concen- 
trates. Wilson  of  the  Arizona  Station^"  reports  satisfactory  gains  with 
lambs  fed  ripe  waste  olives  and  alfalfa  hay. 

385.  Spurrey,  Spcrgula  saliva. — On  sandy  land  in  northern  Europe 
spurrey,  which  requires  a  cool,  moist,  growing  season,  is  used  as  a  catch 
crop  for  soilage  and  for  green  manure.  The  plant  has  proved  of  little 
value  in  this  country,  not  being  adapted  to  our  hot  summers. 

386.  Prickly  comfrey,  Symphytum  asperrimum. — This  plant,  occa- 
sionally exploited  by  advertisers,  has  little  merit  in  comparison  with  the 
standard  forage  plants.  When  carefully  cultivated  it  gives  quite  large 
returns  of  forage  which  at  first  is  not  relished  by  cattle.  Woll  of  the 
Wisconsin  Station^^  found  that  red  clover  returned  23  per  ct.  more  dry 
matter  and  25  per  ct.  more  crude  protein  than  the  same  area  of  carefully 
cultivated  prickly  comfrey. 

387.  Mexican  clover,  RicJiardsonia  scabra. — This  annual,  which  is  not 
a  legume,  is  abundant  in  sandy  land  in  sections  of  Florida  and  along 
the  Gulf  Coast,  where  it  springs  up  spontaneously  each  summer  after  the 
manner  of  crab  grass.  It  furnishes  pasturage  and,  tho  rather  succulent, 
may  be  cured  into  hay. 

388.  Purslane,  Portulaca  oleracea. — The  succulent  weed  of  the  garden, 
purslane,  can  often  be  used  to  advantage  with  swine.  Plumb  of  the 
Indiana  Station^^  fed  brood  sows  9  lbs.  of  purslane  each  daily,  along 
with  wheat  shorts  and  hominy  meal,  and  secured  fair  daily  gains. 

389.  Tree  leaves  and  twigs. — The  small  branches  and  leaves  of  trees 
are  regularly  fed  to  farm  animals  in  the  mountain  regions  of  Europe 
where  herbage  is  scarce,  and  in  case  of  the  failure  of  pastures  or  the  hay 
crop  they  have  been  extensively  used  elsewhere.  Tree  leaves  are  more 
digestible  than  twigs,  and  the  better  kinds  compare  favorably  with  or- 
dinary hay  in  feeding  value.  Leaves  of  the  ash,  birch,  linden,  and  elder 
are  valued  in  the  order  given.  They  are  eaten  with  relish,  especially  by 
goats  and  sheep.  These  statements  apply  only  to  leaves  gathered  at  the 
right  stage  and  cured  substantially  as  is  hay  from  the  grasses.  Leaves 
which  turn  brown  and  drop  from  the  trees  in  autumn  are  worthless  for 
feeding  farm  animals.  Brush  feed,  consisting  of  ground  and  crushed 
t^^^gs,  stems,  and  leaves,  is  used  in  certain  mixed  feeds  as  an  absorbent 
for  molasses.  (285) 

III.  Plants  op  the  Desert 

Sagebrush,  saltbush,  and  greasewood  flourish  on  the  plains  of  western 
America  where  alkali  and  common  salt  shut  out  many  or  even  all  of  the 
ordinary  forage  plants. 

390.  Sagebrush.— Writing  of  the  Red  Desert  of  Wyoming,  Nelson''^ 
says:  "The  amount  of  sagebrush,  Artemisia,  spp.,  consumed  in  the 
desert  is  simply  amazing.     .     .     .  Whole  bands  (of  sheep)  Avill  leave  all 

'"Ariz.  Rpt.  19.  "Ind-  Bui.  82. 

«Wis.  Rpt.  1889.  "'U-  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Div.  Agros.,  Bui.  13. 


ROOTS,  TUBERS,  AND  MISCELLANEOUS  FORAGES      249 

other  forage  and  feed  on  sagebrush  for  a  day  or  two  at  a  time.    After 
that  they  will  not  touch  it  for  some  days,  or  even  weeks. ' ' 

391.  Saltbush,  Atriplex,  spp. — Many  species  of  the  saltbush,  both  an- 
nual and  perennial,  furnish  forage  to  range  animals  on  the  western 
plains.  The  Australian  saltbush,  introduced  into  California  and  Ari- 
zona, will  under  favorable  conditions  produce  15  to  20  tons  of  green 
forage  per  acre,  or  3  to  5  tons  of  dry,  coarse  hay  which  has  about  the 
same  digestibility  as  oat  hay.  Peacock  of  New  South  Wales^*  reports 
that  sheep  fed  saltbush  in  pens  lost  3  lbs.  in  weight  per  head,  but  re- 
mained healthy  during  a  period  of  a  year.  Others  getting  grass,  hay,  and 
saltbush  made  substantial  gains.  Saltbush  mutton  was  dry  and  tough, 
but  had  a  good  flavor, 

392.  The  greasewoods,  Sarcohatus,  spp. — The  shrubby  greasewoods 
likewise  flourish  on  the  plains  and  are  browsed  by  range  animals.  Forbes 
and  Skinner  of  the  Arizona  Station^^  report  an  analysis  of  greasewood 
which  compared  favorably  with  alfalfa  in  the  amount  of  crude  protein 
and  other  nutrients  contained.    Such  forage  is  readily  eaten. 

393.  Russian  thistle,  Salsola  kali,  var.  tragus. — The  introduced  Rus- 
sian thistle,  now  growing  over  great  areas  of  the  plains  east  of  the  Rock- 
ies, is  used  to  some  extent  for  pasture  and  hay.  The  mature  plants  are 
woody  and  loaded  with  alkali.  It  should  be  cut  when  in  bloom  and 
quickly  stacked. 

394.  Cacti. — In  western  Texas,  New  Mexico,  and  Arizona,  various 
cacti,  principally  prickly  pear,  Opuntia,  spp.,  growing  wild  on  the  ranges, 
are  used  for  feeding  cattle,  especially  during  periods  of  drought.  The 
chollas  and  other  types  of  cane  cacti  are  also  eaten  by  stock.  Cacti  grow 
but  slowly  unless  the  soil  is  good  and  there  is  reasonable  rainfall  during 
some  part  of  the  year.  Because  of  its  peculiar  structure  and  habits  this 
plant  can  survive  protracted  drought,  tho  it  makes  little  or  no  growth  at 
such  times.  Under  favorable  conditions  the  prickly  pear  may  be  har- 
vested about  once  in  5  years.  In  Texas  Mexican  teamsters  make  free  use 
of  the  pear  for  feeding  their  work  oxen,  and  some  rangemen  have  fed 
large  quantities  along  with  sorghum  and  cotton  seed  or  cottonseed  meal 
to  their  fattening  cattle.  Cacti  may  be  fed  where  they  grow  by  first 
singeing  off  the  spines  with  a  gasoline  torch,  after  which  the  cattle  eat 
them  with  apparent  satisfaction.  Under  favorable  conditions  a  man  can 
singe  the  spines  from  6  to  12  tons  of  standing  "pears"  per  day.  In 
some  cases  the  pears  are  gathered  in  wagons  and  put  thru  machines 
which  chop  them  in  such  manner  that  the  spines  are  rendered  more  or 
less  harmless. 

Prickly  pears  are  less  watery  than  roots,  containing  on  the  average 
16.5  per  ct.  dry  matter,  of  which  3.4  per  ct.  is  ash,  and  are  lower  in  pro- 
tein but  somewhat  higher  in  nitrogen-free  extract.  The  young  joints 
are  more  watery  than  those  which  are  2  years  old  or  over,  and  cattle 
are  said  to  prefer  those  which  are  more  mature.     Cane  cacti  contain  a 

"Agr.  Gaz.  N.  S.  Wales,  1906.  ^'Ariz.  Rpt.  1903. 


250  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

higher  percentage  of  dry  matter  than  the  prickly  pears.  Cacti  alone  do 
not  provide  a  maintenance  ration  for  stock.  According  to  Vinson,^" 
cattle  in  the  deserts  of  Sonora,  Mexico,  subsist  for  3  months  of  the  year 
on  little  else  than  the  fruits  of  cacti,  but  they  become  emaciated.  When 
fed  in  large  amounts  with  no  dry  feed  cacti  tend  to  produce  scours.  As 
cacti  are  all  low  in  protein,  this  forage  should  be  supplemented  by  pro- 
tein-rich feeds,  such  as  alfalfa  hay  or  cottonseed  meal.  From  trials  at 
the  Arizona  Station^^  Vinson  concludes  that  6  lbs.  or  more  of  cholla 
fruit  with  0.5  to  0.75  lb.  of  alfalfa  hay  will  maintain  a  sheep  in  a  lean 
but  healthy  condition. 

In  a  trial  by  Griffiths^^  cows  fed  3  lbs.  cottonseed  meal  and  8  to  12  lbs. 
of  rice  bran  per  head  daily  ate  about  150  lbs.  of  singed  prickly  pear,  6 
lbs.  of  pear  equaling  1  lb.  of  sorghum  hay  in  feeding  value.  A  lot  of  27 
steers  fed  a  ration  of  96  lbs.  chopped  prickly  pear  and  4.4  lbs.  of  cotton- 
seed meal  gained  1.75  lbs.  per  head  daily,  requiring  55  lbs.  of  pear  and 
2.5  lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal  per  pound  of  gain. 

Spineless  cacti,  which  during  recent  years  have  been  extensively  ad- 
vertised, have  long  been  known  in  Mexico  and  the  Mediterranean  coun- 
tries. The  spineless  varieties  are  not  hardy  where  the  temperature  falls 
below  20°  F.  and  are  thus  of  limited  value  in  the  southwestern  states. 
These  cacti  cannot  survive  on  the  open  range  because  cattle  will  graze 
and  destroy  them,  and  moreover  they  must  be  enclosed  by  rabbit-proof 
fences,  as  these  animals  are  fond  of  them.  Griffiths'''^  reports  yearly 
yields  of  20  to  25  tons  of  spineless  cactus  per  acre  without  irrigation  at 
Chico  in  the  Sacramento  Valley,  California ;  this  locality  having  an  aver- 
age rainfall  of  23  inches.  These  yields  were  secured  mth  expert  culti- 
vation and  when  a  perfect  stand  was  carefully  maintained. 

The  chief  importance  of  cacti  will  undoubtedly  be  to  furnish  emer- 
gency forage  for  stock  in  the  semi-arid  regions  in  case  of  drought,  for 
these  plants  are  able  to  utilize  most  efficiently  small  and  irregular  sup- 
plies of  moisture.  For  this  purpose  plantations  of  the  spiny  cacti  may  be 
established  on  the  open  range,  where  they  will  be  able  to  grow  and  hold 
their  own  until  drawn  upon  in  time  of  serious  drought,  for  cattle  will 
not  graze  them  when  other  feed  is  reasonably  abundant. 


IV.  Poisonous  Plants 

Only  the  briefest  mention  can  be  made  of  the  leading  plants  poison- 
ous to  stock.  One  in  trouble  should  send  suspected  specimens  to  the 
experiment  station  of  his  state  or  to  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture. 

395.  Plants  carrying  prussic  acid. — Prussic  acid,  a  most  deadly  poison, 
has  been  found  in  over  200  species  of  plants.  It  is  present  in  the  wild 
cherry,  laurel,  locust,  vetch,  Java  bean,  flax,  etc.    The  leaves  of  the  wild 

""Ariz.  Bui.  67.  ^U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  Anim.   Indus.,  Bui.  91. 

"Ariz.  Rpt.  21.  '°U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Farmers'  Bui.  483. 


ROOTS,  TUBERS,  AND  MISCELLANEOUS  FORAGES       251 

cherry,  especially  when  wilted,  are  particularly  fatal  to  cattle.  Peters 
and  Avery  of  the  Nebraska  Station^*'  have  shown  that  when  the  sorghums, 
both  saccharine  and  non-saccharine,  are  stunted  by  drought,  prussic 
acid  may  develop  in  such  quantity  as  to  bring  death  to  cattle  browsing 
upon  them,  the  affected  animals  often  dying  soon  after  eating  a  few 
mouthfuls  of  the  poisonous  forage.  While  normal  plants  are  entirely 
harmless,  authorities  advise  caution  in  the  use  of  the  sorghums,  kafirs, 
Johnson  grass,  etc.,  growing  on  rich  soil,  as  well  as  in  the  use  of  second- 
growth  and  stunted  plants.  The  poison  is  not  found  in  wilted  or  cured 
sorghum  or  in  sorghum  silage,  which  are  therefore  always  safe  for 
feeding. 

396.  Ergot. — The  seeds  of  rye  and  many  grasses  are  sometimes  at- 
tacked by  a  fungus  which  produces  enlarged  black,  sooty  masses,  known 
as  ergot.  Occasionally  hay  or  straw  bearing  the  fungus  severely  injures 
cattle  which  are  continuously  fed  thereon  during  winter.  Ergot  acts 
on  the  nervous  system,  depressing  heart  action  and  thereby  restricting 
the  blood  circulation.  In  advanced  cases  the  ears,  tail,  and  lower  parts 
of  the  limbs  of  affected  animals  lose  warmth  and  sensibility,  dry  gangrene 
sets  in,  and  the  diseased  parts  finally  slough  away.  Animals  showing 
symptoms  of  this  trouble  should  have  their  feed  changed  to  remove  the 
cause,  and  be  warmly  housed  and  liberally  supplied  with  nourishing  food. 

397.  Forage  poisoning. — During  recent  years  serious  losses  of  horses 
and  mules  have  occurred  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  especially  in 
the  Central  West,  from  forage  poisoning,  or  blind  staggers  (cerebro- 
spinal-meningitis).  This  is  caused  by  eating  moldy  feed,  either  corn 
grain,  corn  fodder,  silage,  or  grass,  or  it  may  result  from  drinking  water 
which  has  passed  thru  moldy  vegetation.  Cattle  also  may  be  killed  by 
such  poisoning  but  are  less  susceptible  than  horses  or  mules.  Whenever 
poisoning  is  suspected  the  feed  should  be  changed  immediately,  for  the 
mortality  is  high  in  well-developed  cases,  the  animal  dying  in  some  in- 
stances in  6  to  8  hours.*^  To  prevent  the  disease  care  should  be  taken  not 
to  feed  moldy,  improperly  cured,  or  otherwise  damaged  feed.  Graham  of 
the  Kentucky  Station*-  states  that  if  moldy  forage  must  be  fed  it  should 
be  given  sparingly  with  other  feed  of  good  quality.  When  corn  is  at  all 
moldy  he  recommends  "floating"  it.  This  consists  of  placing  the  grain 
in  water,  whereupon  the  damaged  kernels  will  rise  to  the  surface  and  may 
be  skimmed  off. 

398.  Cornstalk  disease. — A  mysterious  ailment  in  the  West  at  times 
attacks  cattle  turned  into  the  stalk  fields  during  fall  and  winter  after  the 
corn  ears  have  been  removed.  All  efforts  to  determine  the  cause  have 
thus  far  proved  futile.  Alway  and  Peters  of  the  Nebraska  Station*^ 
investigated  the  losses  from  cornstalk  disease  in  one  county  in  Nebraska 
in  which  404  farmers  lost  1,531  head  of  cattle  during  a  single  fall.  They 
state  that  no  precaution  and  no  feed  or  combination  of  feeds  has  so  far 

^"Nebr.  Bui.  77.  '"Ky.  Bui.  167. 

^^Haslam,  Kan.  Bui.  173.  "Nebr.  Press  Bui.  27. 


252  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

been  found  to  prevent  or  mitigate  the  losses  from  this  disease.  They 
further  conclude  that  farmers  in  districts  in  which  the  disease  is  preva- 
lent, unless  they  are  to  lose  the  valuable  forage  of  their  com  stalks,  must 
choose  between  two  alternatives:  (1)  Cutting  the  stalks  when  the  corn 
ripens,  shocking  them  in  the  field  and  feeding  the  fodder,  thus  avoiding 
all  trouble.  (2)  Pasturing  the  standing  stalks  with  the  knowledge  that 
they  are  liable  to  lose  as  many  as  one-twentieth  of  their  cattle  in  an  un- 
favorable season. 

399.  Com  smut. — At  the  Wisconsin  Station**  the  senior  author  fed  2 
milch  cows  on  well-cleaned  corn  smut  mixed  with  wheat  bran,  starting 
with  a  few  ounces  and  increasing  until  32  ounces  of  smut  was  supplied 
daily  to  each  cow.  At  this  point  one  refused  her  feed,  but  the  allowance 
of  the  other  M^as  increased  until  64  ounces,  or  1  peck,  was  fed  daily. 
This  cow  seemed  to  thrive  on  the  smut  and  was  growing  fat,  when  she 
suddenly  sickened  and  died.  Smith  of  the  Michigan  Station*^  fed  4 
cows  on  well-cleaned  corn  smut  until  each  was  eating  from  1  to  10  lbs. 
daily.  Only  one  cow  showed  any  indisposition,  and  she  recovered.  In 
experiments  by  the  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry,*"  United  States  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  corn  smut  was  fed  to  heifers  without  harmful  effect. 
It  is  reasonable  to  conclude  that  corn  smut  is  generally  harmless  to 
cattle,  tho  animals  becoming  fond  of  it  and  eating  inordinately  may  suffer 
harm. 

400.  Loco  poisoning. — Great  numbers  of  horses,  cattle,  and  sheep  have 
been  lost  on  the  great  ranges  of  western  America  thru  ' '  loco ' '  poisoning 
brought  about  by  eating  various  plants,  mostly  legumes.  The  loss  from 
this  cause  in  Colorado  alone  has  been  estimated  at  a  millon  dollars  an- 
nually.*^ "Locoed"  animals  have  a  rough  coat  and  staggering  gait, 
carry  a  lowered  head,  and  show  paralytic  symptoms — in  general,  going 
"crazy."  The  studies  of  Marsh  and  Crawford*^  seem  to  show  that  the 
poisoning  is  due  to  the  presence  of  barium  salts  in  certain  legume  plants. 
Barium  does  not  generally  exist  in  the  soil,  so  the  dangerous  plants  are 
found  only  in  certain  districts.  Loco  poisoning  is  most  prevalent  in 
springtime  when  the  ranges  provide  scant  feed,  and  the  emaciated 
animals  are  forced  to  subsist  largely  on  plants  which  they  would  ordinar- 
ily reject.    Well-nourished  animals  are  rarely  affected. 

401.  Castor  bean. — The  castor  bean  and  the  pomace  remaining  after 
the  oil  has  been  extracted  contain  a  deadly  poison.  Castor  beans  or 
pomace  accidentally  getting  into  feeding  stuffs  sometimes  cause  myste- 
rious deaths.  Camivan*^  reports  that  exposing  castor  oil  cake  to  the  air 
for  5  or  6  days  or  cooking  the  seeds  or  cake  for  2  hours  destroys  the 
poison. 

"Wis.  Rpt.  of  Regents,  1881. 

«  Mich.  Bui.  137. 

"U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  Anim.,  Indus.  Bui.  10. 

"U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  Plant  Indus.,  Bui.  121,  Pt.  Ill;  Farmers'  Bui.  380. 

"  Loc.  cit.  "  Ann.  See.  Agr.,  Lyon,  1887. 


ROOTS,  TUBERS,  AND  MISCELLANEOUS  FORAGES       253 

402.  Saltpeter. — Mayo  of  the  Kansas  Station^"  reports  losses  of  cattle 
from  eating  corn  forage  carrying  quantities  of  saltpeter  in  and  on  the 
stalks.  The  dangerous  forage  had  been  grown  on  land  previously  used 
as  feed  lots  where  the  soil  was  excessively  rich, 

403.  Miscellaneous  poisonous  plants. — The  common  horsetail,  water 
hemlock,  poison  hemlock,  death  camas,  several  species  of  larkspur,  cockle 
bur,  woody  aster,  and  many  other  plants  are  more  or  less  poisonous  to 
farm  animals.  As  Marsh^^  points  out,  stock  seldom  eat  poisonous  plants 
by  choice,  but  only  when  induced  or  compelled  by  the  scarcity  of  other 
feed.  When  the  grazing  is  short  animals  should  therefore  be  kept  away 
from  spots  definitely  known  to  be  infested  with  such  plants.  In  moving 
herds  or  flocks  on  the  range  special  precautions  should  be  taken  when  it 
is  necessary  to  pass  over  a  trail  that  has  been  used  by  many  others,  for 
all  good  feed  will  have  been  consumed,  and  the  stock  will  eat  whatever 
is  left. 

'^Kan.  Bui.  49.  "U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Farmers'  Bui.  536. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

SILAGE— SOILAGE— THE  PREPARATION  OF  FEED 

I.  Silage  and  the  Silo 

The  preservation  of  beet  leaves,  beet  waste,  and  other  green  forage  by 
gathering  into  heaps  or  into  earthen  pits  and  covering  with  earth  has 
long  been  practiced  in  Europe.  In  1877  the  French  farmer,  Goffart,  pub- 
lished his  ' '  Manual  of  the  Culture  and  Siloing  of  Maize  and  Other  Green 
Crops,"  the  first  book  of  its  kind,  covering  25  years  of  practical  ex- 
perience. To  Goffart  belongs  the  credit  of  describing  the  first  modern 
silo  and  of  observing  and  recommending  the  peculiar  merits  and  advan- 
tages of  the  maize  (corn)  plant  for  silage.  In  1876  Francis  Morris, 
Oakland  Manor,  Howard  county,  Maryland,  made  the  first  silage  in 
America  by  putting  whole  corn  forage  into  a  pit  dug  in  the  ground  and 
covering  it  with  earth.  The  first  silo  in  this  country  built  partly  above 
ground  was  constructed  by  Dr.  J.  M.  Bailey  of  Boston,  Massachusetts, 
in  1879.  In  the  same  year  Mr.  J.  B.  Brown  of  New  York  gave  American 
readers  a  translation  of  Goffart 's  book,  and  in  1880  Dr.  J.  M.  Bailey 
issued  "The  Book  of  Ensilage,  the  New  Dispensation  for  Farmers."  In 
1881  Professor  I.  P.  Roberts^^  at  Cornell  University,  and  the  senior 
author-  at  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  built  and  filled  the  first  silos  used 
for  experimental  purposes  in  America.  By  these  means  silos  and  silage 
were  brought  prominently  before  the  farmers  of  this  country,  and  the 
interest  which  was  awakened  has  steadily  increased  until  the  ensilage  of 
fodders  has  become  a  factor  of  vast  importance  in  American  agriculture. 

404.  How  ensiling  preserves  forage. — When  green  forage  is  packed 
firmly  into  an  air-tight  chamber,  such  as  a  silo,  fermentations  take  place, 
caused  both  by  the  enzymes  contained  in  the  plant  cells  and  by  bacteria 
and  yeasts  carried  into  the  silo  on  the  forage.  During  these  fermen- 
tations much  of  the  sugar  in  the  ensiled  forage  is  broken  down  into  or- 
ganic acids,  chiefly  lactic  acid  (the  acid  in  sour  milk),  with  some  acetic 
acid  (the  acid  in  vinegar),  and  traces  of  other  acids.  In  these  changes 
oxygen  is  taken  up  and  carbon  dioxid  (carbonic  acid  gas)  given  off.  At 
first  the  oxygen  in  the  air  which  has  been  entrapped  in  the  ensiled  mass 
is  used  up,  but  if  the  mass  has  been  well  compacted,  this  is  soon  ex- 
hausted. The  enzymes  and  bacteria  then  obtain  the  additional  oxygen 
needed  for  these  decompositions  from  the  oxygen-containing  compounds 
in  the  forage— chiefly  the  sugars.  When  the  sugar  in  the  forage  has 
been  changed  into  the  acids  the  fermentation  is  checked,  for  the  other 

^Information  to  the  authors. 

=Wis.  Rpt.  on  Amber  Cane  and  the  Ensilage  of  Fodders,  1881,  pp.  60-69. 

254 


SILAGE— SOILAGE— THE  PREPARATION  OF  FEED       255 

carbohydrates  are  attacked  to  only  a  small  extent.  It  is  due  to  this  that 
well-matured  corn  or  sorghum  makes  less  acid  silage  than  immature 
plants,  which  contain  more  sugar.  Even  tho  an  excess  of  sugar  is  present 
the  fermentation  comes  to  an  end  at  length,  for  sufficient  acid  is  finally 
produced  to  prevent  both  the  further  growth  of  the  bacteria  and  yeasts 
and  the  action  of  the  plant  enzymes.  During  the  fermentation  processes 
the  temperature  rises  somewhat,  but  if  the  mass  has  been  well  compacted, 
so  that  but  little  air  is  present,  the  temperature  in  the  interior  of  the  silo 
rarely  reaches  100°  F.  The  changes  are  therefore  far  less  extensive  than 
those  which  occur  in  the  making  of  brown  hay.  (334) 

Not  only  does  the  accumulation  of  acid  automatically  check  the  further 
action  of  the  acid-forming  enzymes  and  bacteria,  but  it  also  prevents  the 
growth  of  undesirable  putrefying  bacteria,  such  as  cause  the  decaying  of 
meat.  The  poor-quality,  foul-smelling  silage  which  often  results  when 
such  legumes  as  alfalfa,  clover,  or  soybeans  are  ensiled  aloue  is  doubt- 
less largely  due  to  the  fact  that  there  is  not  enough  sugar  present  in  the 
plants  to  yield  sufficient  acid  to  check  the  growth  of  these  putrefying 
bacteria.  The  high  protein  content  of  these  plants  also  favors  putre- 
faction. 

After  a  few  days  the  silage-making  processes  cease,  and  no  appreciable 
changes  will  take  place  so  long  as  the  air  is  excluded.  Instances  are  on 
record  where  silage  made  12  to  14  years  before  has  been  found  to  be  of 
excellent  quality. 

Tho  the  conversion  of  sugar  into  organic  acids  is  the  chief  change 
which  takes  place  in  good  silage  other  decompositions  also  occur  to  some 
extent.  A  considerable  part  of  the  protein  is  broken  down  by  enzymes 
into  amino  acids  (11),  the  silage  sometimes  containing  2  or  3  times  as 
much  of  these  cleavage  products  as  the  original  fodder.  However,  as 
this  splitting  of  the  protein  into  simpler  compounds  is  similar  to  the 
digestion  which  takes  place  in  the  digestive  tract  of  the  animal  we  need 
not  suppose  that  the  nutritive  value  is  thereby  necessarily  iiapaired.  (49) 

405.  Steaming  silage. — It  has  sometimes  been  advocated  that  forage  be 
steamed  immediately  after  placing  it  in  the  silo,  on  the  ground  that  the 
bacteria,  yeasts,  and  enzymes  are  thereby  destroyed,  and  the  more  or 
less  perfectly  sterilized  mass  thus  preserved  with  little  or  no  fermenta- 
tion. However,  Withycombe  and  Bradley  found  in  digestion  trials  with 
cows  at  the  Oregon  Station^  that  steaming  corn  forage  after  ensiling 
reduced  the  digestibility  of  the  dry  matter  16  per  ct.,  the  crude  protein 
91  per  ct.,  the  ash  79  per  ct.,  and  the  fiber,  nitrogen-free  extract,  and  fat 
to  a  slight  extent.  Hence,  tho  the  steamed  silage  was  admirably  pre- 
served and  contained  only  half  as  much  acid  as  ordinary  silage,  its  feed- 
ing value  was  greatly  reduced.  (83) 

406.  Requisites  of  a  good  silo. — 1.  Air-tight  walls.  The  silo  walls  must 
be  air-tight,  for  if  oxygen  gains  entrance  the  fermentations  will  con- 
tinue and  molds  will  grow,  spoiling  the  silage.     Such  action  takes  place 

'  Ore.  Bui.  102. 


256  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

at  the  top  of  the  silo  where  the  mass  is  exposed  to  the  air,  but  if  the 
silage  has  been  well  packed  and  wet  down,  the  impervious  top  layer  of 
rotten  material,  which  soon  forms,  prevents  further  entrance  of  the  air. 
All  doors  must  fit  tightly,  else  the  silage  will  spoil  about  the  openings. 

2.  Cylindrical  shape.  In  the  early  silos,  which  were  rectangular 
structures,  it  was  exceedingly  difficult  to  pack  the  mass  in  the  corners  so 
that  it  would  not  spoil.  With  the  devising  of  the  cylindrical  silo  by  King 
at  the  Wisconsin  Station*  this  serious  trouble  was  overcome,  thereby 
greatly  advancing  the  practice  of  ensiling  forage  plants.  The  cylindri- 
cal silo  has  now  been  commonly  adopted,  for  besides  the  advantage  of 
having  no  corners,  it  provides  the  largest  cubic  capacity  for  a  given 
amount  of  building  material,  and  the  sides  are  strong  and  unyielding. 

3.  Smooth,  perpendicular,  strong  walls.  Unless  the  walls  of  the  silo 
are  smooth  and  perpendicular,  cavities  will  form  along  the  walls  as  the 
mass  settles  and  the  adjacent  silage  will  spoil.  The  walls  must  be  strong 
and  rigid,  for  during  the  settling  of  the  silage  a  great  outward  pressure 
is  developed.  This  increases  with  the  depth  of  the  silo  and,  according  to 
King,^  reaches  330  lbs.  per  square  foot  of  wall  surface  at  a  depth  of  30 
feet.    After  the  silage  has  fully  settled  this  lateral  pressure  ceases. 

4.  Depth.  The  early  silos  were  shallow,  and  even  tho  the  forage  was 
well-tramped  it  was  often  necessary  to  weight  the  mass  down  to  force  out 
the  air  sufficiently.  By  making  the  silo  deep  the  great  pressure  com- 
pacts all  but  the  upper  layers  so  that  the  losses  thru  fermentation  are 
reduced  to  a  minimum.  The  fact  that  the  losses  of  nutrients  are  heaviest 
in  the  upper  layers  and  surface  of  the  silage  is  another  reason  for  having 
the  silo  deep,  because  the  loss  per  ton  of  total  contents  is  thereby  reduced. 
At  the  Wisconsin  Station®  King  placed  about  65  tons  of  green  corn  for- 
age in  an  air-tight  silo  in  8  layers,  and  determined  the  loss  in  each  layer, 
after  standing  from  September  to  March.  The  dry  matter  lost  in  the 
respective  layers  was  as  follows:  surface  (eighth)  layer,  32.5  per  ct. ; 
seventh  layer,  23.4  per  ct. ;  sixth  layer,  10.3  per  ct. ;  fifth  layer,  2.1  per 
ct. ;  fourth  layer,  7.0  per  ct. ;  third  layer,  2.8  per  ct. ;  second  layer,  3.5 
per  ct. ;  and  bottom  layer  9.5  per  ct.  While  the  surface  layer  lost  over 
32  per  ct.  of  its  original  dry  matter,  the  average  loss  in  the  first  5  layers 
from  the  bottom  was  less  than  5  per  ct.,  and  the  loss  for  the  whole  silo 
only  8.1  per  ct. 

407.  Types  of  silos. — Silos  may  be  constructed  of  wood,  solid  concrete, 
concrete  blocks,  brick,  stone,  glazed  tile,  or  sheet  steel.  In  the  semi-arid 
regions  pit  silos,  preferably  with  cement  lining  and  curb,  are  extensively 
used,  but  these  are  impracticable  in  humid  climates.  In  the  southwestern 
states  silos  are  sometimes  built  of  adobe,  reinforced  with  wire  and  plas- 
tered with  cement.  The  choice  between  the  various  types  of  construc- 
tion, all  of  which  make  good  silos  when  well-built,  will  depend  upon  local 
conditions. 

This  work  can  present  only  the  primary  principles  relating  to  silo 
*Wis.  Bui.  28.,  issued  July,  1891.  "Wis.  Bui.  83.  "Wis.  Bui.  83. 


SILAGE— SOILAGE— THE  PREPARATION  OF  FEED       257 

construction,  advising  those  interested  to  secure  from  the  state  experi- 
ment stations  or  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  instruc- 
tions concerning  the  form,  materials,  manner  of  construction,  etc.,  as 
detailed  in  bulletins  which  are  available  for  the  asking. 

408.  Advantages  of  silage. — The  widespread  use  of  the  silo  for  the 
preservation  of  forage  is  easily  explained  when  we  consider  the  advan- 
tages this  system  offers,  the  more  important  of  which  are : 

1.  At  a  low  expense  silage  furnishes  high-quality  succulent  feed  for 
any  desired  season  of  the  year.  For  winter  feeding  silage  is  far  cheaper 
than  roots  and  is  as  efficient  a  feed,  except  possibly  in  the  case  of  animals 
being  fitted  for  shows  or  milch  cows  on  forced  test.  (109,  365)  For  sum- 
mer feeding  silage  furnishes  succulent  feed  with  less  bother  and  expense 
than  do  soiling  crops.  Dairy  cows  yield  no  greater  product  from  soilage 
than  from  silage.  (420,  642) 

2.  When  crops  are  properly  ensiled  less  of  the  nutrients  are  wasted 
thru  the  fermentations  which  take  place  than  are  lost  when  the  forage  is 
cured  as  hay  or  dry  fodder.  (301,  330,  332) 

3.  Silage,  even  from  plants  with  coarse  stalks,  such  as  corn  and  the 
sorghums,  is  eaten  practically  without  waste.  On  the  other  hand  from 
20  to  35  per  ct.  of  dry  corn  fodder,  even  if  of  good  quality,  is  usually 
wasted.'^  The  use  of  silage  thus  permits  the  keeping  of  more  stock  on  a 
given  area  of  land,  a  factor  of  much  importance  on  high-priced  land. 

4.  Crops  may  be  ensiled  when  the  weather  does  not  permit  of  curing 
them  into  dry  fodder.  In  some  sections  of  the  South  it  is  almost  im- 
possible to  preserve  the  corn  crop  satisfactorily  as  grain  and  stover  on 
account  of  the  humidity,  and  also  because  rodents  and  weevils  cause 
great  loss  in  the  stored  grain.^  Preservation  as  silage  obviates  both 
difficulties. 

5.  "Weedy  crops  which  would  make  poor  hay  may  make  silage  of  good 
quality,  the  ensiling  process  killing  practically  all  the  weed  seeds  pres- 
ent.« 

6.  The  product  from  a  given  area  can  be  stored  in  less  space  as  silage 
than  as  dry  forage.  A  cubic  foot  of  hay  in  the  mow,  weighing  about  5 
lbs.,  contains  approximately  4.3  lbs.  of  dry  matter.  An  average  cubic 
foot  of  corn  silage  from  a  30-foot  silo,  weighing  about  39.6  lbs.,  will  con- 
tain 10.4  lbs.  dry  matter,  or  nearly  2.5  times  as  much.  Dry  corn  fodder 
takes  up  even  more  space  per  pound  of  dry  matter  than  hay.  In  climates 
where  it  is  necessary  to  store  fodder  under  cover  this  may  be  an  added 
reason  for  the  use  of  the  silo. 

409.  Crops  for  the  silo. — The  suitability  of  the  leading  crops  for  silage 
has  been  discussed  in  detail  in  the  foregoing  chapters.  Where  it  thrives 
Indian  corn  is  the  best  silage  plant.  (300)  The  sorghums,  including 
both  the  sorghos  and  the  grain  sorghums,  are  next  in  value  and  im- 
portance, as  crops  for  silage.  (309)     In  England  meadow  grasses  have 

'  Skinner  and  Cochel,  Ind.  Bui.  129.         » Washburn,  Vt.  Bui.  170. 
'  Ferris,  Miss.  Bui.  158. 


258  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

been  converted  into  stack  silage,  in  which  case  the  decaying  outside  pro- 
tects the  interior  of  the  mass — a  practice  which,  however,  is  not  gaining 
favor.  Potts  of  Australia^'*  reports  that  3  tons  of  grass  silage  is  esti- 
mated to  be  worth  1  ton  of  oat  hay.  A  stack  containing  200  tons  of  grass 
silage,  opened  after  10  years,  furnished  good  feed.  Georgeson  of  the 
Alaska  Experiment  Station"  reports  that  fresh  native  grasses  kept  well 
when  stored  in  a  log  silo  made  smooth  inside,  and  that  such  silage  satis- 
factorily maintained  oxen  during  3  winters.  Green  cereals  are  fairly 
satisfactory  for  silage,  providing  they  are  ensiled  before  the  stems 
have  become  woody.  (318)  Since  the  hollow  stems  of  these  plants  con- 
tain air,  such  forage  must  be  closely  compacted  in  the  silo. 

As  a  class  the  legumes  have  proved  disappointing  for  silage  when 
ensiled  alone.  (342,  348)  Better  results  have  been  secured  when  such 
crops  as  alfalfa  and  clover  are  ensiled  with  plants  which  carry  more 
sugar  and  less  protein,  such  as  green  rye,  wheat,  corn,  or  sorghum. 
Except  where  weather  conditions  prevent  curing  these  legumes  into 
satisfactory  hay,  there  is  usually  little  need  of  ensiling  them,  for  more 
reliable  silage  crops  may  usually  be  grown.  When  ensiled  with  corn  or 
the  sorghums,  cowpeas  and  soybeans  produce  silage  of  high  quality, 
rich  in  protein.  (357-8)  The  refuse  of  pea  canneries  makes  a  silage 
much  relished  by  farm  animals.  (356) 

Such  substances  as  beet  pulp,  beet  tops,  apple  pomace,  the  waste  from 
sweet  corn  canneries,  and  sorghum  bagasse  may  be  successfully  ensiled 
in  silos,  or  placed  in  heaps  and  covered  with  earth,  or,  if  no  better 
provision  can  be  made,  massed  in  large  heaps  without  covering,  in  which 
case  the  outside  portion  on  decaying  forms  a  preserving  crust.  (274,  356) 
Cooke  of  the  Vermont  Station^ ^  found  that  ensiled  apple  pomace  was 
preferred  by  cows  to  either  hay  or  com  fodder,  and  concludes  that  it 
has  a  value  equal  to  corn  silage  for  cows.  (635)  Boyce  of  Australia^^ 
reports  prickly  pears  making  silage  relished  by  cattle,  the  thorns  soften- 
ing and  becoming  harmless.  Weeds  and  other  waste  vegetation  may 
sometimes  be  advantageously  ensiled.  Featherstonhaugh  of  Australia" 
reports  a  case  where  800  tons  of  ensiled  thistles  made  satisfactory  silage. 
Attempts  to  ensile  cabbage,  rape,  and  turnips  have  failed,  the  product 
being  ill-smelling  and  watery. 

410.  Cost  of  silage The  cost  of  silage  per  ton  will  vary  widely  de- 
pending on  the  price  of  labor,  the  yield  of  forage  per  acre,  rent  of  land, 
etc.  The  following  summary  of  recent  data  from  4  experiment  stations 
gives  the  approximate  ton  and  acre  cost  of  growing  a  silage  crop  and 
placing  it  in  the  silo,  including  the  rent  of  land,  cost  of  fertilizers, 
man  and  horse  labor,  interest  and  depreciation  on  machinery  and  silo, 
and  other  charges,  such  as  the  cost  of  twine  and  fuel : 

"  N.  S.  Wales  Gaz.,  Vol.  15,  p.  82.  "  N.  S.  Wales  Gaz.,  Vol.  8,  p.  505. 

"  Alaska  Bui.  1.  "  N.  S.  Wales  Gaz.,  Vol.  9,  p.  71. 

"  Vt.  Rpt.  1903. 


SILAGE— SOILAGE— THE  PREPARATION  OF  FEED       259 
Cost  per  acre  of  corn  silage 

Minnesota  Illinois                     Ohio  New  Jersey 

Station,"  Station,"  Station,"                Station,i8 

201  acres  147  acres  115  acres                  30  acres 

Dollars  Dollars  Dollars                    Dollars 

Land  rental 3 .75  5 .28  3 .81                

Manure  or  fertilizers 3 .73  1 .46  \            m  1 1; 

Seed 1.06  0.42  0.28/            ^""^^ 

Labor  growing  and  cutting  crop  ..5.191  1 2  26  146"^                 827 

Labor  filling  silo 4 .  12  / 

Twine 0.36  0.41  0.18  1 

Coal 0.42  0.46  0.25  [            10.84 

Rental  of  power  for  cutter 1 .39  1 .21  1 .36  J 

Interest  and  depreciation  on  farm 

machinery 1 .56  1 .76  1 .34                 

Miscellaneous 1 .13  0 .58  0 .42                 

Total  cost  per  acre 18.98  26.11  23.73  29.26* 

Cost  per  ton 3.30  3.65* 

*  Not  including  rent  and  interest  and  depreciation  on  farm  machinery. 
»  Minn.  Bui.  145.  i'  Ohio  Bui.  266. 

18  UnpubUshed  data.  "  N.  J.  Rpt.  1913,  pp.  414-415. 

Carrier  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture/*  collecting 
data  from  31  Wisconsin  and  Michigan  farms,  found  the  amount  of  corn 
forage  placed  in  the  silo  daily  varied  from  3.3  to  7.4  tons  for  each  man 
employed.  Chase  and  Wood  of  the  Nebraska  Station,-^  gathering  data 
for  341  acres  of  silage  corn,  found  that  the  average  cost  per  ton  in  filling 
silos  was  as  follows :  Cutting  with  binder,  $.20 ;  hauling,  $.44 ;  putting 
in  silo,  $.40;  twine,  $.03;  and  interest  and  depreciation  on  silo,  $.32. 
Figuring  corn  at  $.50  per  bushel  and  stover  at  $.50  per  acre  the  total 
average  cost  of  the  silage  was  $2.98  per  ton. 

411.  Silage  on  the  stock  farm. — The  use  of  silage  has  practically 
revolutionized  the  feeding  of  dairy  cattle  over  a  large  part  of  the  United 
States,  and  is  fast  assuming  equal  importance  for  the  feeding  of  beef 
cattle  and  sheep.  This  succulent  feed  tends  to  keep  the  bowels  normal, 
the  body  tissues  sappy,  the  skin  pliant,  and  the  coat  glossy,  all  of  which 
mark  the  animals  as  in  condition  to  make  the  most  from  their  feed.  (109) 
Furnishing  at  any  time  of  the  year  a  uniform  supply  of  succulence 
nearly  equal  in  palatability  and  nutritive  effect  to  the  pasturage  of 
early  summer,  silage  is  eminently  suited  to  the  dairy  cow.  (629-36)  .As 
shown  by  the  trials  reviewed  in  later  chapters,  thru  the  wise  use  of 
silage  for  fattening  cattle  and  sheep  the  cost  of  meat  production  may 
be  materially  lowered.  (774-83,  866-70)  Silage  is  especially  valuable  for 
breeding  stock  and  young  animals,  which  would  otherwise  often  be 
wintered  exclusively  on  dry  forage.  On  too  many  farms,  stock  cattle 
barely  hold  their  own  during  winter.  This  means  that  for  half  of  each 
year  all  the  feed  consumed  goes  for  body  maintenance,  returning  nothing 
to  the  owner,  and  serving  only  to  carry  the  animals  over  winter  and  to 
pasture  time,  when  they  once  more  begin  to  gain  in  weight  and  thereby 
really  increase  in  value.     By  the  use  of  corn  silage,  combined  with  other 

^«U.  S.  Farmers'  Bui.  292.  ^Nebr.  Bui.  145. 


260  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

cheap  roughages,  young  cattle  can  be  made  to  gain  steadily  all  winter 
at  small  cost,  so  that  with  the  coming  of  spring  they  w^ill  not  only  have 
increased  in  weight  but  are  in  condition  to  go  on  pasture  and  make 
the  largest  possible  gains. 

Silage  is  a  valuable  succulence  for  the  breeding  flock,  but  must  be 
fed  in  moderation  to  ewes  before  lambing  or  weak,  flabby  lambs  may 
result,  (884)  Good  silage  may  also  be  used  in  a  limited  way  with  idle 
horses  and  those  not  hard  worked  in  winter,  especially  brood  mares  and 
colts.  (510)  Spoiled,  moldy  silage  should  always  be  discarded,  and 
special  care  must  be  taken  to  feed  no  such  material  to  sheep  or  horses, 
which  are  much  more  easily  affected  thereby  than  are  cattle.  Silage 
which  is  unduly  sour  is  apt  to  cause  digestive  disturbances  with  sheep. 
For  all  animals  only  as  much  silage  should  be  supplied  as  will  be 
cleaned  up  at  each  feeding.  Care  should  be  taken  to  remove  any 
waste  for  this  succulence  spoils  in  a  comparatively  short  time  on 
exposure  to  the  air.  Frozen  silage  must  be  thawed  before  feeding. 
If  then  given  before  any  decomposition  takes  place  no  harm  will  result 
from  its  use.-^ 

On  high-priced  land  and  with  high  prices  ruling  for  purchased  con- 
centrates and  for  labor  the  farmer  will  find  the  legumes  and  Indian 
corn  or  the  sorghums  his  best  crop  allies.  Heavily  manured  land  will 
yield  enormous  crops  of  corn  or  sorghum  forage  carrying  much  grain, 
and  this,  utilized  in  part  as  dry  forage,  but  mostly  as  silage,  will 
materially  extend  the  feeding  powers  of  the  farm  in  roughage  rich  in 
carbohydrates.  Then  let  red  clover,  alfalfa,  cowpeas,  vetch,  or  other 
legumes  be  grown  to  furnish  a  protein-rich  dry  roughage.  With  an 
abundance  of  silage  and  legume  hay  the  stockman  need  then  supply 
only  the  minimum  of  rich  concentrates  which  he  must  either  grow  or 
purchase.  With  this  combination  of  feeds  the  number  of  animals  the 
farm  will  carry  is  greatly  increased,  to  the  great  advantage  of  both 
land  and  owner,  and  the  cost  of  producing  meat  and  milk  is  cut  to 
the  minimum. 

412.  Summer  silage. — In  many  districts  sununer  droughts  frequently 
injure  the  pastures,  making  necessary  the  supplying  of  additional  feed 
to  maintain  satisfactory  production  with  dairy  cows  and  other  farm 
animals.  Especially  on  high-priced  land,  where  intensive  agriculture 
must  be  followed,  it  is  often  desirable  to  keep  more  animals  than  can 
profitably  be  maintained  entirely  on  pasture  during  the  summer.  Silage 
will  admirably  meet  both  these  needs  where  enough  animals  are  kept 
to  feed  off  2  inches  or  more  of  silage  each  day  so  that  the  surface  will 
not  decay.  (420) 

In  trials  covering  3  years  at  the  Wisconsin  Station"  Woll,  Humphrey, 

and  Oosterhuis  compared  corn  silage  and  soilage  as  summer  supplements 

to  pasture  for  dairy  cows.     In  the  production  of  milk  and  butter  fat 

the  silage  ration  was  as  efficient  as  that  containing  soilage,  and  also  far 

«iU.  S.  Farmers'  Bui.  556.  "Wis.  Bui.  235. 


SILAGE— SOILAGE— THE  PREPARATION  OF  FEED       261 

cheaper  and  more  convenient.  (642)  To  provide  a  succession  of  green 
feed  for  animals  by  means  of  soiling  crops  it  is  necessary  to  fit  and  plant 
comparatively  small  areas  to  different  crops  at  different  times.  As  the 
cut  soilage  will  quickly  heat  in  warm  weather  if  placed  in  piles  and 
will  then  be  less  palatable,  a  supply  must  be  harvested  each  day  or  at 
least  about  every  2  days.  Harvesting  in  small  quantities  and  in  all 
sorts  of  weather  is  inconvenient  and  expensive,  and  moreover  the  work 
must  be  done  at  the  busiest  season  of  the  year.  On  the  other  hand, 
when  corn  or  the  sorghums  are  grown  for  silage  the  large  fields  are  fitted, 
planted,  cultivated,  and  harvested  with  labor  saving  machinery  at  a 
minimum  expense,  and  feeding  the  silage  takes  but  a  few  minutes  daily. 

Corn  and  sorghum  return  greater  yields  of  nutrients  than  many  of 
the  crops  it  is  necessary  to  include  in  a  soiling  system.  Silage  furnishes 
feed  of  uniformly  high  quality  thruout  the  season,  a  goal  which  is  diffi- 
cult to  attain  by  soiling,  for  one  crop  is  often  exhausted  or  too  mature 
before  the  next  is  in  prime  condition  for  feeding.  The  years  when 
drought  is  severe  and  pastures  unusually  short  are  the  very  times  when 
soiling  crops  will  be  scant  or  may  even  fail.  By  means  of  the  silo,  the 
crop  may  be  carried  over  from  one  year  to  the  next,  thus  providing 
insurance  against  drought. 

413.  Filling  the  silo. — Provided  the  material  is  closely  packed,  it  is 
not  essential  that  green  forage  be  cut  into  bits  to  preserve  it  in  the  silo. 
The  legumes,  such  as  alfalfa,  clover,  cowpea  vines,  etc.,  are  often 
ensiled  uncut,  and  some  farmers  ensile  whole  corn  forage,  tied  in  bundles. 
Especially  with  such  coarse  material  as  corn  or  sorghum,  the  forage 
packs  much  better  when  cut  into  short  lengths  by  passing  thru  a 
silage  cutter.  For  this  reason  and  because  of  the  greater  ease  in  filling 
and  especially  in  removing  the  silage,  corn  and  sorghum  are  commonly 
cut  before  being  ensiled,  preferably  into  one-half  to  one  inch  lengths, 
for  if  cut  longer  than  this  stock  may  refuse  the  coarser  portions. 

When  filling  the  silo  the  inpouring  material  should  be  thoroly  mixed 
and  evenly  spread,  so  as  to  prevent  uneven  settling,  as  well  as  to  make 
the  mass  uniform  for  feeding.  As  the  friction  of  the  walls  retards  the 
settling  of  the  adjacent  forage,  material  here  should  be  kept  slightly 
higher  than  in  the  center  and  should  be  especially  well-tramped.  The 
silage  settles  best  when  several  days  are  occupied  in  filling  the  silo,  for 
time  is  required  for  the  forage  to  soften  and  settle  and  to  expel  the 
entangled  air  thru  heat  and  the  generation  of  carbon  dioxid.  After 
the  mass  has  settled  considerably,  more  forage  may  be  placed  in  the 
silo,  but  any  spoiled  material  should  first  be  removed.  If  feeding  is 
not  to  begin  immediately,  the  surface  should  be  wet  down  thoroly  and 
tramped  well  several  times  the  first  week,  when  an  impervious  layer 
of  rotten  silage  will  form  on  top  and  only  a  few  inches  will  be  spoiled. 
To  lessen  the  waste  it  is  well  to  remove  the  ears  from  the  last  few  loads 
of  corn.  A  covering  of  a  foot  or  so  of  cheap  refuse,  such  as  straw, 
weeds,  or  corn  stalks,   wet  with  water,  will  save  the   more   valuable 


262  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

forage  underneath.  Oat  or  wheat  grains  scattered  over  the  top  of  the 
ensiled  mass  soon  germinate  and  form  a  mat  which  helps  to  keep  out 
the  air.  The  crust  should  not  be  disturbed  until  feeding  commences, 
when  all  spoiled  silage  should  be  removed  and  discarded.  When  the 
forage  becomes  dry  before  being  ensiled  water  should  be  added  either 
to  the  mass  in  the  silo  or  preferably  to  the  cut  forage  as  it  passes  thru 
the  blower. 

414.  Danger  from  carbon  dioxid. — In  silo  filling  there  is  possible  danger 
to  those  who  go  into  the  pit  after  an  intermission,  due  to  the  generation  of 
carbonic  acid  gas,  which  sometimes  accumulates  in  sufficient  quantity 
to  prove  fatal  to  life.  The  possibility  of  danger  may  be  ascertained 
by  lowering  a  lighted  lantern  or  candle  into  the  pit.  If  the  light  con- 
tinues to  burn  at  the  bottom  human  beings  can  live  in  the  same  atmos- 
phere, but  if  it  goes  out  it  means  death  to  one  entering  the  pit.  The 
opening  of  a  door  low  down  in  the  silo  will  allow  the  poisonous  gas 
to  pour  out,  or  pouring  a  lot  of  cut  forage  into  the  pit  soon  creates  a  circu- 
lation which  removes  the  danger. 

415.  Weight  of  silage. — King-^  reports  the  weight  of  silage  from  well- 
matured  corn  2  days  after  filling  the  silo  to  be  as  follows : 

Weight  of  a  cubic  foot  of  corn  silage  at  different  depths 

Depth 
Ifoot 

10  feet 

20  feet 

30  feet 

36  feet 

The  second  column  shows  that  10  ft.  from  the  top  corn  silage  weighs 
about  33  lbs.  per  cubic  ft.,  while  36  ft.  doMTi  it  weighs  61  lbs.,  or  nearly 
twice  as  much.  The  last  column  shows  that  the  whole  mass  do^\^l  to  10 
ft.  has  a  mean  weight  of  about  26  lbs.,  while  the  whole  mass  in  a  silo 
filled  to  a  depth  of  36  ft.  has  an  average  weight  of  42.8  lbs.  per  cubic  foot. 

416.  Capacity  of  the  silo. — The  following  table,  chiefly  from  data 
obtained  by  King,^*  shows  the  approximate  capacity  of  cylindrical  silos 
for  well-matured  corn  silage  2  days  after  filling.  The  depth  indicated 
is  the  actual  depth  of  the  silage,  not  the  height  of  the  silo  wall.  It 
is  therefore  necessary  to  have  the  silo  about  5  feet  higher  than  the 
depth  given  to  allow  for  settling. 

The  table  shows,  for  example,  that  a  silo  20  ft.  deep  and  15  ft.  in  di- 
ameter will  hold  about  59  tons  of  cut  corn  silage,  one  32  ft.  deep  and 
26  ft.  in  diameter  about  346  tons,  and  one  40  ft.  deep  and  22  ft.  in 
diameter  about  340  tons. 

2^  Wis.  Bui.  59.  "  Wis.  Bui.  59. 


Weight  at 

Mean  weight  for 

given  depth 

whole  depth 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

18.7 

18.7 

33.1 

26.1 

46.2 

33.3 

56.4 

39.6 

61.0 

42.8 

SILAGE— SOILAGE— THE  PREPARATION  OF  FEED      263 


Approximate  capacity  of  cylindrical  silos 

in  tons  of 

corn 

silage 

Inside  diameter  in  feet 

10 

12 

14 

15 

16 

18 

20 

22 

24 

26 

20 

26 
28 
30 
32 
34 
36 
38 
40 
42 
44 
47 
49 
61 
56 
61 
70 

38 
40 
43 
46 
49 
52 
55 
58 
61 
64 
67 
70 
74 
80 
87 
101 

51 

55 

59 

62 

67 

71 

75 

79 

83 

87 

91 

96 

100 

109 

118 

138 

59 

63 

67 

72 

76 

81 

85 

90 

95 

100 

105 

110 

115 

126 

136 

160 

67 

72 

77 

82 

86 

91 

97 

102 

109 

114 

119 

125 

131 

143 

155 

180 

85 
91 
97 
103 
110 
116 
123 
130 
137 
144 
151 
158 
166 
181 
196 
228 

105 
112 
120 
128 
135 
143 
152 
160 
169 
178 
187 
196 
205 
224 
243 
282 

127 
135 
145 
154 
164 
173 
184 
194 
205 
216 
226 
237 
248 
271 
293 
340 

151 
161 
172 
184 
195 
206 
219 
231 
243 
256 
269 
282 
295 

177 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

26 

27 

28 

29 

30 

31 

32 

34 

36 

189 
202 
216 
229 
242 
257 
271 
285 
300 
315 
330 
346 

40 

417.  Proper  size  of  the  silo. — The  diameter  of  the  silo  should  be  gauged 
by  the  number  and  kind  of  animals  to  be  fed  from  it,  and  its  height  bythe 
length  of  the  feeding  period.  The  silo  should  be  of  such  diameter  that 
in  the  cooler  part  of  the  year  at  least  1.5  inches,  and  preferably  2  inches, 
of  silage  will  be  removed  from  the  entire  surface  daily  to  keep  the  sur- 
face from  spoiling.  When  silage  is  used  for  summer  feeding  somewhat 
more  should  be  removed  dail}^  The  exact  size  of  silo  required  may  be 
computed  from  the  length  of  the  feeding  period  and  the  amount  required 
daily  for  the  different  kinds  of  stock,  as  shown  in  the  respective  chapters 
of  Part  III.  Knowing  the  number  of  animals  of  each  kind  to  be  fed, 
the  entire  amount  of  silage  which  will  be  consumed  daily  may  be  ascer- 
tained. The  maximum  diameter  which  the  silo  should  have,  may  then 
be  determined  from  the  following:  Two  inches  in  depth  of  ordinary 
corn  silage  weighs  about  3  lbs.  per  surface  square  foot  near  the  top  of 
the  silo  and  9  lbs.  near  the  bottom,  averaging  about  6.6  lbs.  in  a  silo 
filled  to  a  depth  of  30  feet.  To  use  2  inches  from  the  surface  each  day 
the  amounts  indicated  below  should  be  fed  daily  from  silos  of  various 
diameters. 


Minimum  amount  of  silage  to  he  fed  daily  from  silos  of  various  diameters 


Diameter 
of  silo 


Minimum  amount 

of  silage 

Lbs. 


10  feet 520 

11  feet 625 

12  feet 745 

14  feet 1,015 

16  feet 1,325 


Diameter 
of  silo 


Minimum  amount 

of  silage 

Lbs. 

18  feet 1,680 

20  feet 2,075 

22  feet 2,510 

24  feet 2,985 

26  feet 3,505 


In  cold  weather  and  when  the  silage  is  well  packed,  a  somewhat 
smaller  amount  may  be  removed  daily. 


264  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

When  the  minimum  diameter  which  the  silo  should  have  has  thus 
been  determined,  the  total  amount  of  silage  required  for  the  desired 
feeding  period  may  be  computed  and  the  dimensions  for  a  silo  of  this 
capacity  found  by  referring  to  the  table  in  the  preceding  article.  It 
should  be  borne  in  mind  that  silage  in  a  relatively  deep  silo  keeps  better 
than  in  a  shallow  one,  and  that  a  deep  silo  is  the  most  economical  to 
construct.  King-^  found  that  a  silo  36  ft.  in  depth  will  store  5  times 
as  much  feed  as  one  12  ft.  deep,  due  to  the  greater  compactness  of  the 
stored  mass.  Many  silos  are  now  built  40  ft.  or  even  more  in  depth. 
A  silo  20  ft.  in  diameter  will  hold  4  times  as  much  as  one  having  half 
that  diameter,  while  it  costs  but  twice  as  much  to  build.  Gurler-® 
advises  against  silos  over  25  ft.  in  diameter  on  account  of  the  increased 
labor  involved  in  removing  the  silage. 


II.  Soilage 

Soilage  means  supplying  forage  fresh  from  the  field  to  animals  in 
confinement.  It  was  first  brought  to  public  attention  in  this  country 
by  Josiah  Quincy,  whose  admirable  essays,  printed  in  the  Massachusetts 
Agricultural  Journal  in  1820,  were  later  gathered  into  a  booklet 
entitled  "The  Soiling  of  Cattle,"  long  since  out  of  print.  Soilage,  one 
of  the  most  intensive  forms  of  husbandry,  is  especially  helpful  where 
it  is  desired  to  concentrate  labor  and  capital  in  maintaining  farm  ani- 
mals on  a  relatively  small  area  of  land. 

So  far  as  known  to  the  authors  the  word  "soilage"  was  used  for  the 
first  time  in  an  editorial  in  the  New  York  Independent  of  March  11,  1909 
by  E.  P.  Powell,  the  helpful,  charming  writer  on  rural  topics.  It  is  in 
a  class  with  the  words  "leafage,"  "herbage,"  "forage,"  "pasturage," 
and  "silage,"  and  is  here  adopted  as  a  valuable  accession  to  our  all  too 
brief  distinctively  agricultural  vocabulary. 

418.  Advantages  and  disadvantages  of  soilage. — Compared  with  allow- 
ing animals  to  gather  their  food  by  grazing,  soiling  has  the  following 
advantages:  1.  With  all  crops,  even  grasses,  which  soon  spring  up 
again  when  grazed,  a  larger  yield  is  secured  by  allowing  the  plants  to 
nearly  mature  before  harvesting  than  by  pasturing  them."  (310)  2. 
With  a  properly  planned  succession  of  soiling  crops  an  abundance  of 
palatable  feed  may  usually  be  supplied  thruout  the  season,  so  that  the 
production  of  the  animals  will  not  decline  if  pastures  become  parched 
in  midsummer.  3.  None  of  the  forage  is  wasted  thru  being  tramped 
down  by  the  animals  or  fouled  with  manure.  4.  Less  fencing  is  required. 
5.  In  bad  weather  cattle  will  be  more  comfortable  fed  soiling  crops  in 
the  stable  than  when  grazing. 

The  greater  expenditure  for  labor,  seed,  and  fertilizer  in  producing 
the  crops  and  for  labor  in  cutting  and  carrying  them  to  the  animals 
are  the  chief  disadvantages  of  soilage.     In  warm  weather  soilage  will 

==  Physics  of  Agriculture.  "Largely  from  Quincy,  The  Soiling  of  Cattle. 

2«The  Farm  Dairy. 


SILAGE— SOILAGE— THE  PREPARATION  OF  FEED      265 

ferment  and  mold  in  a  short  time  if  left  in  piles.  When  but  few  animals 
are  fed  the  green  forage  may  be  spread  thinly  on  the  barn  floor,  where 
it  will  keep,  but  soilage  thus  handled  dries  out  and  is  less  palatable. 
Where  a  considerable  quantity  is  harvested  at  one  time  much  labor  may 
be  saved  by  using  the  mower  and  horse  rake.  During  wet  spells  the 
palatability  of  the  soilage  is  reduced,  and  it  is  difficult  to  harvest  and 
cart  the  food  to  the  animals  without  injury  to  the  land.  On  the  other 
hand,  pastures  also  suffer  if  grazed  while  wet. 

419.  Yield  of  pasturage  and  soilage. — Quincy  reports  that  he  main- 
tained 20  cows  in  stalls,  allowing  exercise  in  an  open  yard,  on  the  soilage 
from  17  acres  of  land  where  50  acres  had  been  required  when  the  land 
was  pastured. 

The  senior  author'^  kept  3  cows  for  122  days  in  summer  on  3.7  acres 
of  excellent  bluegrass  pasture  at  the  Wisconsin  Station  and  maintained 
3  others  in  stable  and  yard  for  the  same  period  by  feeding  soiling  crops 
(green  clover,  fodder  corn,  and  oats)  from  1.5  acres.  On  this  area  a 
total  of  44,835  lbs.  of  green  forage  was  produced.  The  product  from 
an  acre  under  each  system  was  as  follows : 

Yield  of  milk  and  butter  from  1  acre  of  soiling  crops  and  pasture 

Milk  per  acre  Butter  per  acre 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

From  1  acre  of  soiling  crops 4,782  196 

From  1  acre  of  pasture 1,780  82 

This  shows  that  in  Wisconsin  1  acre  of  soilage  crops  equalled  about 
2.5  acres  of  good  bluegrass  pasture  for  feeding  dairy  cows. 

Otis  of  the  Kansas  Station-**  found  that  it  required  0.71  acre  of 
soiling  crops,  half  the  area  being  alfalfa,  to  furnish  a  cow  roughage  for 
144  days,  while,  when  the  cow  was  grazed,  during  the  same  period  it 
required  3.6  acres  of  pasture  composed  of  prairie  and  mixed  grasses. 
After  allowing  for  the  grain  consumed,  soilage  returned  $18.08  and 
pasturage  $4.23  per  acre.  Voorhees^°  found  that  to  produce  a  ton  of 
dry  matter  in  soiling  crops  yielding  from  3  to  4.5  tons  of  dry  matter 
per  acre  annually,  cost  on  an  average  $6.50,  and  that  the  total  cost  per 
ton  of  dry  matter,  including  cutting  and  hauling  to  the  bam,  would 
be  about  $9.^^  The  feeding  value  of  this  dry  matter  was  nearly  equal 
to  that  in  purchased  concentrates  costing  over  $20  per  ton. 

420.  The  place  of  soilage  on  American  farms. — It  has  been  shown 
before  (412),  that  silage  is  a  more  economical  means  of  supplying  succu- 
lent feed  in  summer  than  is  soilage.  On  farms  where  too  few  animals 
are  kept  to  prevent  the  molding  of  the  surface  of  the  silage  as  it  is  fed 
off  or  where  a  silo  is  not  available,  soilage  should  be  provided  to  prevent 
the  usual  midsummer  shrinkage  in  milk  flow  with  cows,  and  in  flesh  with 
beef  cattle  or  sheep.  Under  this  system  animals  may  be  housed  in 
darkened  stables  away  from  the  flies  during  the  heated  portion  of  the 
day  and  fed  liberally  with  fresh  cut  soilage,  being  turned  to  pasture 
at  night  for  exercise  and  grazing.     Young  cattle  will  then  continue 

=«Wis.  Rpt.  1885.      «Kan.  Press  Bui.  71.     ""Forage  Crops.     ''N.  J.  Rpt.  1907. 


266  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

growing,  steers  will  increase  in  fatness,  and  cows  yield  a  normal  flow 
of  milk  during  a  period  of  the  year  when,  because  of  heat,  flies,  and 
scant  pastures,  there  is  quite  commonly  no  profit,  and  sometimes  serious 
loss.  It  is  also  often  advantageous  to  supply  extra  green  forage  during 
the  fall  months,  even  tho  the  pastures  have  then  partly  recovered  their 
ability  to  supply  nutriment. 

Because  of  the  high  price  of  labor  in  this  country  it  is  not  usually 
economical  to  maintain  cattle  in  summer  on  soilage  or  silage  with  no 
pasturage  in  regions  where  good  summer  pastures  may  be  provided.  On 
high-priced  land  where  it  is  desired  to  keep  as  many  animals  as  pos- 
sible on  a  given  area  such  a  system  may  be  the  most  profitable.  In 
Europe  where  labor  is  relatively  cheap  compared  with  land,  a  much 
wider  use  can  economically  be  made  of  soilage. 

421.  Crops  for  soilage. — A  long  list  of  crops  are  well  suited  for  soilage, 
including  the  various  legumes,  such  as  alfalfa,  the  clovers,  field  peas, 
cowpeas,  and  soybeans;  the  cereals,  as  rye,  wheat,  barley,  and  oats; 
the  smaller  grasses;  and  especially  corn — sweet  corn  for  early  feeding 
and  field  corn  later —  and  the  sorghums.  The  adaptability  of  all  these 
for  soilage  has  been  discussed  in  the  preceding  chapters. 

Soiling  crops  should  not  be  fed  until  reasonably  mature.  Green, 
immature  plants  are  composed  largely  of  water,  and  often  cattle  cannot 
consume  enough  of  them  to  secure  the  required  nourishment.  (23,  310) 
For  this  reason,  where  quite  green  crops  are  fed,  some  dry  forage  should 
also  be  supplied. 

422.  A  soiling  chart. — ^Wherever  soilage  is  practiced,  a  succession  of 
crops  must  be  carefully  planned  so  that  a  continuous  supply  of  green 
forage  of  the  proper  stage  of  maturity  will  be  available  over  the  period 
desired.  This  must  be  worked  out  by  each  farmer,  bearing  in  mind  the 
yields  and  seasons  of  maturity  of  the  various  crops  which  are  suited  to 
his  soil  and  climatic  conditions.  In  such  planning  it  is  helpful  to  pre- 
pare a  soiling  chart,  similar  to  the  following,  worked  out  by  Voorhees 
of  the  New  Jersey  Station,^-  which  will  show  the  area  of  each  crop  to 
be  grown,  the  date  of  seeding,  the  period  of  feeding,  and  the  estimated 
yield.  Any  attempt  in  this  line  will  be  more  or  less  imperfect  at  first 
but  may  be  modified  from  growing  experience  and  close  study  to  meet 
the  local  conditions. 

This  chart  is  an  example  of  a  practical  system  of  soilage,  since  it 
records  the  actual  attainment  of  one  who  most  successfully  specialized 
in  this  system  for  many  years.  The  results  here  reported  were  obtained 
upon  lands  once  regarded  as  of  low  agricultural  value,  brought  to  high 
productiveness  by  systematic  soilage  and  fertilization.  The  table  shows 
that  24  acres  of  land,  producing  2  and  sometimes  3  crops  during  the 
season,  yielded  278.3  tons  of  green  forage,  supplying  an  average  of  60.4 
lbs.  of  green  forage  daily  per  head  to  an  equivalent  of  50  dairy  cows 
from  May  1  to  November  1,  a  period  of  6  months. 

*"  Forage  Crops,  p.  35. 


SILAGE— SOILAGE— THE  PREPARATION  OF  FEED      267 


Soiling  crops  grown  at  the  New  Jersey  Station  for  the  support  of  a  herd 
equal  to  50  dairy  cows  for  6  months 


Crops  grown 


Total 
seed 
used 


Date  of 
seeding 


Period  of  cutting 
and  feeding 


Total 
yield 


Rye,  2  acres 

Rye,  2  acres 

Alfalfa,  1  acre,  1st  cutting. 

VlTieat,  2  acres 

Crimson  clover,  6  acres . . . . 
Mixed  grasses,  1  acre 

Oats-and-peas,  2  acres .  .  .  . 


Oats-and-peas,  2  acres 

Alfalfa,  2d  cutting 

Oats-and-peas,  5  acres 

Southern  white  com,  2  acres 

Barnyard  millet,  2  acres 

Soybeans,  1  acre 

Cowpeas,  1  acre 

Cowpeas-and-kafir  com,  2  acres 

Pearl  millet,  2  acres 

Cow-peas,  1  acre 

Mixed  grasses,  5  acres  (partly  dried) . 
Barley,  2  acres 


Bushels 
4.0 
4.0 
0.6 
4.0 
1.2 


10.0  \ 
7.5/ 
0.5 
1.4 
2.0 
2.0 
2.0  \ 
1.0/ 
0.25 
1.5 


3.5 


Sept.  27 
Oct.  3 
May  14 
Sept.  26 
July    16 


April    2 
April  11 


April  19 

May  2 
June  19 
June  1 
June  10 

July   10 

July  11 
July  24 


Sept.    2 


May  1-  7 
May  7-19 
May  19-25 
May  25- June  1 
June  1-21 
June  21-26 

June  26- July  4 

July     4-9 

July     9-11 

July  11-22 

July  22-Aug.  3 
Aug.     3-19 
Aug.  19-25 
Aug.  25-Sept.  1 

Sept.    1-16 

Sept.  16-Oct.    1 
Oct.     1-  5 
Oct.     5-27 
Oct.   27-Nov.  1 


Tons 
9.4 
19.2 
11.1 
10.4 
42.8 
8.3 

12.4 

8.2 

2.1 

16.4 

17.7 

23.2 

8.8 

10.5 

24.4 

20.2 
8.0 

20.0 
5.2 


Total 


III.  The  Prepaeation  of  Feeds 

In  the  nomadic  stage  of  husbandry'  the  animals  gathered  their  own 
food,  the  care  of  the  owner  ending  when  grazing,  water,  and  protection 
from  marauders  were  provided.  With  the  change  from  primitive  times 
the  growing  of  plants  and  their  conservation  for  animal  use  becomes 
an  ever-increasing  burden  on  the  stockman.  It  is  therefore  a  question 
of  prime  importance  to  determine  to  what  extent  such  preparation  of 
feeds  as  grinding  or  rolling  grain,  cutting  or  chaffing  hay  and  coarse 
forage,  and  cooking  various  feeding  stuffs  is  profitable. 

The  purpose  of  such  artificial  preparation  of  feed  is  to  make  it  more 
digestible,  to  improve  its  palatability,  or  to  permit  the  mixing  of  well- 
liked  feeding  stuffs  with  materials  which  would  otherwise  be  refused. 
In  studying  any  method  of  preparing  feeds  farmers  must  not  only  con- 
sider the  beneficial  effect,  if  any,  on  the  animals,  but  must  also  determine 
whether  such  effect  is  marked  enough  to  warrant  the  added  expense  in- 
curred. The  value  of  the  different  practices  for  each  class  of  stock  is 
discussed  in  detail  in  the  respective  chapters  of  Part  III,  but  a  summary 
of  the  conclusions  there  dra\^Ti  will  be  helpful  in  sho^nng  the  principles 
which  should  govern  the  feeder  in  deciding  how  far  to  employ  such 
methods  of  preparation. 


268  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

423.  Grinding,  crushing,  or  rolling  grain. — As  has  been  shown  before 
(83),  grinding,  crushing,  or  rolling  grain  increases  the  digestibility  only 
when  animals  fail  to  masticate  the  whole  grain.  In  fact,  grinding  grain 
so  finely  that  it  is  bolted  with  little  chewing  may  sometimes  decrease 
the  digestibility  because  of  imperfect  mixture  with  the  saliva.  For  all 
animals,  such  grains  as  bald  barley  or  rice,  which  are  unusually  hard, 
or  small  seeds,  such  as  millet,  grain  from  the  sorghums,  or  weed  seeds, 
should  ordinarily  be  ground.  For  animals  with  poor  teeth  or  for  young 
animals  before  their  teeth  are  well  developed,  grinding  grain  in  general 
is  advisable.  Ordinarilj^  horses  can  grind  their  own  oats  and  corn,  and 
idle  horses  should  always  do  so.  For  horses  which  are  hard-worked 
and  spend  much  of  their  time  away  from  the  stable  the  grain  may  well 
be  ground  and  mixed  with  a  small  allowance  of  moistened  chaffed  hay. 
(462)  A  cow  yielding  a  large  flow  of  milk  is  a  hard- worked  animal, 
and  her  grain  should  usually  be  ground.  (668)  Where  pigs  follow 
fattening  cattle  to  gather  up  any  grain  which  escapes  mastication  and 
digestion  there  is  no  advantage  in  grinding  corn  or  even  shelling  it, 
except  perhaps  toward  the  close  of  the  feeding  period  when  the  cattle 
may  be  induced  to  eat  more  by  grinding.  Where  no  pigs  run  with 
cattle,  it  is  usually  economical  to  grind  or  crush  the  corn  before  feeding. 
(735-6)  Except  in  the  case  of  small  or  hard  seeds,  sheep  with  good 
teeth  should  grind  their  own  grain.  (835)  While  it  pays  to  grind  the 
small  grains  for  pigs,  there  is  no  appreciable  advantage  in  grinding  corn 
for  pigs  weighing  150  lbs.  or  less.  For  older  animals  such  preparation 
may  sometimes  be  profitable.  (920-1) 

424.  Cutting  or  chaffing  forage. — Passing  such  coarse  forages  as  corn 
or  the  sorghums  thru  a  feed  cutter  or  shredder  is  usually  profitable,  not 
because  the  portions  consumed  are  digested  more  completely  but  because 
the  animals  waste  less  of  the  feed  and  the  cut  forage  is  more  convenient 
to  handle.  This  applies  to  soilage  as  well  as  to  cured  forage.  (297) 
Where  hay  is  palatable  and  consumed  with  little  waste,  it  is  ordinarily 
not  economical  to  cut  or  chaff  it  for  cattle  or  sheep,  unless  it  is  desired 
to  mix  the  good-quality  hay  with  other  less  palatable  feed  so  that  the 
whole  will  be  consumed.  Such  preparation  will  often  pay  with  roughage 
of  poor  quality  as  the  animals  will  consume  the  cut  forage  with  less 
waste.  (835)  The  use  of  cut,  or  chaffed,  hay  and  straw  is  common  in 
establishments  where  large  numbers  of  horses  are  kept.  A  little  water 
lays  the  dust  of  chaffed  hay,  and  the  feeder  can  rapidly  and  accurately 
apportion  the  allowance  for  each  animal.  If  meal  is  mingled  with  a 
limited  portion  of  moistened  chaffed  hay,  the  mixture  is  in  condition  to 
be  quickly  masticated  and  swallowed  so  that  it  can  remain  longer  in  the 
stomach  undergoing  digestion — an  item  of  importance  with  hard-worked 
horses  which  are  in  the  stable  only  at  night.  (459) 

Hay  or  straw  should  not  be  cut  so  fine  that  the  animals  will  swallow  it 
without  chewing,  or  in  the  case  of  ruminants,  that  it  will  escape  rumi- 
nation. Kellner^^  recommends  that  straw  be  cut  into  pieces  1  to  1.4  inches 

"Ernahr.  landw.  Nutztiere,  1907,  p.  265. 


SILAGE— SOILAGE— THE  PREPARATION  OF  FEED      269 

long  for  cattle  and  0.6  to  1  inch  long  for  horses  and  sheep,  green  fodder 
and  hay  being  cut  somewhat  longer. 

425.  Cooking  feed. — In  1854  Professor  Mapes  voiced  the  popular 
opinion  of  those  days  when  he  wrote  :''*  ' '  Raw  food  is  not  in  condition 
to  be  approximated  to  the  tissues  of  animal  life.  The  experiment  often 
tried  has  proved  that  18  or  19  lbs.  of  cooked  corn  are  equal  to  30  lbs.  of 
raw  corn  for  hog  feed."  Numerous  scientific  trials  have  since  demon- 
strated, however,  that  in  general  cooking  feed  does  not  increase  its 
digestibility,  and  in  fact  decreases  the  digestibility  of  the  crude  protein. 
(83,  922)  This  is  shown  by  the  trials  of  Ladd  at  the  New  York 
(Geneva)  Station,^^  in  which  he  determined  artificially  the  digestibility 
of  the  crude  protein  in  several  common  feeds,  before  and  after  cooking, 
with  the  results  shown  below : 

Influence  of  cooking  on  digestibility  of  crude  protein 

Per  cent  digested 
Uncooked  Cooked 

Per  ct.  Per  ct. 

i'resh  corn  meal 68 .6  60 .5 

Old  corn  meal 72 .6  63 .2 

Clover  hay 67 .7  53 .3 

Cottonseed  meal 87 .7  73 .8 

In  each  case  cooking  lowered  the  digestibility  of  the  crude  protein. 

426.  Steaming  roughage  for  cattle. — Fifty  years  ago  and  even  later, 
there  could  be  found  in  this  country  establishments  more  or  less  elaborate 
used  for  steaming  or  boiling  straw,  corn  stalks,  hay,  etc.,  for  cattle 
feeding;  it  is  doubtful  if  there  is  to-day  a  single  one  for  this  purpose. 
Feeding  steamed  hay  to  oxen  at  Poppelsdorf,  Germany,^^  showed  that 
steaming  rendered  the  components  of  hay,  especially  the  crude  protein, 
less  digestible.  When  dry  hay  was  fed,  46  per  ct.  of  the  crude  protein 
was  digested,  while  in  steamed  hay  only  30  per  ct.  was  digested.  The 
advice  given  years  ago  by  the  editor  of  an  agricultural  journal  is  as 
sound  today  as  when  given  :^^  ' '  The  advantages  are  very  slight  and  not 
worth  the  trouble  of  either  building  the  fire,  cutting  the  wood,  or  erecting 
the  apparatus,  to  say  nothing  of  all  these  combined,  with  danger  and 
insurance  added." 

427.  Cooking  feed  for  swine. — ^While  cooking  feed  for  cattle  was  aban- 
doned years  ago,  it  is  still  practiced  to  some  extent  for  swine.  Fortu- 
nately the  matter  has  been  carefully  studied  by  several  experiment 
stations  and  definite  conclusions  reached.  The  most  extended  trial  was 
one  running  9  years  at  the  Maine  Agricultural  College,^*  in  which 
cooked  and  uncooked  corn  meal  were  fed.  In  each  case  there  was  a  loss 
by  cooking.     It  is  not  going  too  far  to  say  that  the  investigators  of  this 

**Trans.  Am.  Inst,  1854,  p.  373. 
'''N.  Y.  (Geneva)  Rpt.  1885. 

"'Hornberger,  Landw.  Jahrb.,  8,  p.  933;  Armsby,  Manual  of  Cattle  Feeding, 
p.  266. 

=' Country  Gentleman,  1861,  p.  112. 

««Ann.  Rpt.  of  Trustees  of  the  Maine  State  Col.  of  Agr.,  1878. 


270  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

subject  usually  began  their  studies  in  the  full  belief  that  the  common 
feeding  stuffs  would  be  improved  by  cooking.  The  following  are  fair 
samples  of  the  comments  which  commonly  accompanied  the  reports  of 
feeding  trials  -wdth  cooked  and  uncooked  feed  for  swine. 

Shelton'''  closes  an  account  of  his  own  findings  with  these  words: 
"The  figures  given  above  need  but  little  comment.  They  show  as  con- 
clusively as  figures  can  show  anything,  that  the  cooked  corn  was  less 
useful  than  the  raw  grain.  .  .  .  Such  entire  unanimity  of  results  can 
only  be  explained  on  the  theory  that  the  cooking  was  an  injurious  process 
so  far  as  its  use  for  food  for  fattening  animals  is  concerned. ' ' 

Brown  of  the  Ontario  Agricultural  College,*"  reviewing  several  trials 
with  cooked  and  uncooked  peas  and  corn,  wrote :  "  I  am  not  at  present 
prepared  to  say  definitely  what  other  kinds  of  food  may  do,  raw  or 
cooked,  with  pigs  or  other  domestic  animals,  or  how  the  other  animals 
will  thrive  with  peas  or  corn,  raw  or  boiled,  but  I  now  assert  on  the 
strongest  possible  grounds  .  .  .  that  for  fast  and  cheap  production  of 
pork,  raw  peas  are  50  per  ct.  better  than  cooked  peas  or  Indian  corn  in 
any  shape." 

At  the  Wisconsin  Station*^  the  senior  author,  starting  with  the  belief 
that  cooking  must  increase  the  value  of  the  common  feeds  for  swine, 
after  some  15  trials  with  cooked  and  uncooked  whole  corn,  corn  meal, 
ground  barley,  and  wheat  middlings,  was  forced  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  Maine  findings  were  correct.  (922) 

428.  Stock  bread. — In  some  sections  of  Europe  bread  is  made  from 
ground  cereals,  leguminous  seeds,  potatoes,  cut  straw,  chaff,  etc.,  prin- 
cipally for  horses,  tho  sometimes  for  calves  and  cattle.  The  bread  may 
be  more  appetizing  than  the  original  materials,  but  the  chemical  changes 
which  take  place  as  a  whole  do  not  increase  its  nutritive  value.  Such 
preparation  can  be  generally  recommended  only  where  unpalatable  feed 
may  thereby  be  consumed  with  less  waste.  Unless  baked  into  hard 
biscuits  such  bread  will  keep  only  a  comparatively  short  time. 

429.  When  cooking  feed  is  advisable. — No  one  can  review  the  large 
accumulation  of  data  from  the  experiment  stations  without  being  con- 
vinced that  generally  it  does  not  pay  to  cook  feed  for  farm  stock  when 
such  feed  will  be  satisfactorily  consumed  without  cooking.  However,  a 
few  feeds,  such  as  the  potato  and  the  field  bean  of  the  North,  can  be 
successfully  fed  to  swine  only  after  being  cooked.  Hard  grains  and 
seeds  which  can  not  be  ground  should  be  cooked  or  soaked.  Musty  hay 
and  corn  fodder  are  rendered  more  palatable  and  safe  by  steaming. 

An  occasional  allowance  of  steamed  or  cooked  barley  or  bran  is 
especially  helpful  to  horses  because  of  its  favorable  action  on  the  bowels, 
and  this  is  doubtless  true  in  lesser  degree  with  fattening  cattle.  In 
winter,  breeding  swine  and  stock  hogs  are  benefited  by  a  daily  feed  of 
steamed  roots,  tubers,  clover  or  alfalfa  chaff,  etc.  with  meal  added.  It 
is  often  advantageous  to  administer  warm  feed  in  winter,  especially  to 
swine,  but  warming  should  not  be  confused  with  cooking  feed. 

"Rpt.  Prof.  Agr.,  Kan.  Agr.  Col.,  1885.       ^Ont.  Rpt.  1876.       "Wis.  Rpt.  1893. 


SILAGE— SOILAGE— THE  PREPARATION  OF  FEED      271 

430.  Soaking  feed. — Corn  becomes  hard  and  flinty  a  few  months  after 
husking,  and  sometimes  causes  sore  mouths,  so  little  being  then  eaten 
that  gains  may  cease  or  the  animals  lose  in  weight.  Grain  which  is 
difficult  of  mastication  should  be  either  ground  or  softened  by  soaking, 
so  that  the  animals  may  at  all  times  consume  full  rations.  Studying 
the  results  of  12  feeding  trials  with  pigs  at  8  stations,  Rommel*-  finds 
a  difference  of  slightly  over  2  per  ct.  in  favor  of  soaked  over  dry  feed 
for  fattening  pigs.  Grisdale  of  the  Ottawa  Experimental  Farms*^  found 
a  loss  from  soaking  ground  grain,  while  whole  grain  returned  better 
gains  when  soaked.  (735,  923) 

431.  General  conclusions. — It  has  generally  been  assumed  that  by 
cutting,  grinding,  and  cooking  feed  much  labor  is  saved  the  animal, 
to  the  advantage  of  the  feeder.  This  idea  is  based  on  the  general  theory 
that  the  less  work  the  animal  does  in  mastication  and  digestion  the 
larger  the  net  production  of  work,  flesh,  or  milk.  On  the  contrary, 
we  know  that  the  muscles  of  the  body  do  not  grow  strong  thru  idleness, 
and  that  work  and  activity  are  conducive  to  bodily  health,  growth,  and 
strength.  We  must  therefore  conclude  that  the  organs  of  mastication 
and  digestion  should  be  kept  working  at  their  normal  capacity.  When 
cutting,  grinding,  cooking,  or  pulping  brings  more  satisfaction  to  fatten- 
ing animals  soon  to  be  slaughtered,  and  causes  them  to  consume  heavier 
rations,  such  preparation  may  pay,  as  it  may  also  with  exceptionally 
hard- worked  animals  that  have  but  limited  time  for  taking  their  rations. 
Feeding  liberally  and  in  an  orderly  manner,  with  ample  variety  in  wise 
combination,  is  more  important  and  helpful  than  making  feeds  fine 
and  soft  so  that  they  can  be  quickly  swallowed  with  little  chewing. 

*'U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  Anim.,  Indus.,  Bui.  47. 
"  Ottawa  Bui.  33. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

MANURIAL  VALUE  OF  FEEDING  STUFFS 

Unless  the  plant  food  removed  from  the  soil  in  crops  is  returned  in 
some  form,  after  a  period  of  years  reduced  yields  will  tell  the  story  of 
soil  depletion.  Already  over  great  areas  of  our  country  the  soil  has 
been  so  "mined"  of  its  original  fertility  that  only  by  the  liberal  appli- 
cation of  commercial  fertilizers  are  remunerative  crops  now  possible. 
This  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  during  1913  there  were  sold  in  the 
United  States  over  6,800,000  tons  of  commercial  fertilizers,  worth  about 
$150,000,000.  In  the  South  Atlantic  states  alone  over  3,750,000  tons  were 
used,  including  hundreds  of  thousands  of  tons  of  cottonseed  meal. 
Southern  planters  feed  great  quantities  of  cottonseed  meal  to  their  crops 
—a  rational  agriculture  would  combine  mixed  cropping  and  stock 
growing  with  cotton  raising.  The  meal  from  the  cotton  seed  would  be 
fed  to  farm  animals  and  the  resulting  manure,  still  rich  in  fertility,  would 
pass  back  to  the  fields,  thereby  giving  a  double  return. 

A  judicious  use  of  commercial  fertilizers  is  highly  commendable,  but 
their  place  in  general  agriculture  is  to  supplement  deficiencies  only 
after  all  the  fertility  in  feeding  stuffs  that  have  been  fed  to  live  stock 
has  been  wisely  and  fully  conserved. 

432.  Farm  manure  as  a  fertilizer. — Just  as  with  commercial  fertilizers, 
the  value  of  farm  manure  is  computed  on  its  content  of  nitrogen,  phos- 
phoric acid,  and  potash,  for  of  the  constituents  which  plants  remove  from 
the  soil  only  these  need  ordinarily  be  replaced.  Phosphoric  acid  and 
potash,  when  naturally  lacking  in  the  soil,  or  when  they  have  been 
carried  off  in  crops  or  animals  sold,  must  be  replaced  by  means  of  com- 
mercial fertilizers  or  the  manure  of  farm  animals.  The  nitrogen  needed 
may  be  indirectly  obtained  from  the  air  by  raising  legumes,  but  in 
practice  much  is  purchased  along  with  phosphoric  acid  and  potash. 

Not  only  do  farm  manures  supply  plant  food  but  the  vegetable,  or 
organic,  matter  they  contain  is  important  in  increasing  the  productivity 
of  the  soil.  As  this  vegetable  matter  gradually  breaks  down  in  the  soil, 
the  acid  products  formed  help  dissolve  and  make  available  to  plants 
some  of  the  otherwise  insoluble  plant  food  in  the  soil.  Furthermore, 
the  humus  formed  from  the  organic  matter  of  manure  helps  retain 
moisture,  improves  the  soil  texture,  renders  it  more  resistant  to  wind 
action,  etc.  The  value  of  organic  matter  to  the  soil  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  on  fields  lacking  in  humus  such  crops  as  rye  are  often  grown 
and  turned  under  as  green  manure  for  the  sole  purpose  of  increasing 
the  humus  content. 

272 


MANURIAL  VALUE  OF  FEEDING  STUFFS  273 

Farm  manures  teem  with  bacteria  of  various  kinds  which  cause 
chemical  changes  not  only  in  the  manure  but  also  in  the  soil  itself,  con- 
verting insoluble  plant  food  into  forms  available  for  crop  growth. 

After  much  practical  work  at  the  Ohio  Station,  Thorne^  concludes 
that  the  fertilizing  constituents  of  farm  manures  have  as  high  a  value  per 
pound  as  those  in  such  high-grade  fertilizers  as  tankage,  bone  meal,  and 
muriate  of  potash.  In  view  of  the  highlj^  beneficial  effects  which  farm 
manure  has  in  addition  to  supplying  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and 
potash,  this  is  a  conservative  estimate.  Because  of  the  enormous  use 
of  commercial  fertilizers  thruout  the  civilized  world,  the  nitrogen,  phos- 
phoric acid,  and  potash  they  carry  have  a  recognized  market  price  per 
pound,  which  fluctuates  no  more  than  that  of  other  standard  articles  of 
world-wide  commerce.  In  this  country  the  average  price  of  these  in- 
gredients to  those  who  buy  in  large  quantities  is  about  as  follows: 
Nitrogen  18,  phosphoric  acid  4.5,  and  potash  5  cents  per  pound.  These 
values  are  used  in  this  volume  in  computing  the  fertilizing  value  of 
feeding  stuffs  and  the  manures  resulting  from  feeding  them  to  farm 
animals. 

433.  Fertilizing^  constituents  recovered  in  manure. — The  proportion 
which  is  recovered  in  the  manure  of  the  total  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid, 
and  potash  supplied  in  the  feed  depends  on  the  age  and  kind  of  animal, 
as  shown  in  the  follo^ving  table  from  Warington  ■.- 

Proportion  of  nitrogen  and  ash  of  food  which  is  voided  hy  animal 

Nitrogen  Ash 

Per  ct.  Per  ct. 

Horse  at  work 100.0  100.0 

Fattening  ox 96 .1  97 .7 

Fattening  sheep 95 .7  96 .2 

Fattening  pig 85 .3  96 .0 

Milch  cow 75 .5  89 .7 

Calf ,  fed  milk 30.7  45.7 

The  mature  horse  at  work  is  merely  repairing  his  body  tissues  as 
they  are  broken  dowTi.  (140)  Therefore  no  nitrogen  or  ash  (containing 
the  phosphoric  acid  and  potash)  is  stored  in  his  body,  but  all  the 
nitrogen  and  practically  all  of  the  ash  is  voided  in  the  manure.  (A 
negligible  amount  of  ash  is  excreted  in  the  perspiration.)  With  fatten- 
ing animals  whose  bodies  are  nearly  or  quite  mature,  but  little  of  the 
fertilizing  constituents  supplied  in  the  food  are  retained  in  the  body, 
over  95  per  ct.  of  both  nitrogen  and  ash  being  voided  by  the  fattening 
ox  and  sheep.  (122)  With  the  pig  fattened  while  not  yet  mature  and 
storing  nitrogen  in  his  lean-meat  tissues,  about  85  per  ct.  of  the  nitrogen 
of  the  food  is  returned  in  the  manure.  As  milk  is  rich  in  nitrogen  and 
ash,  the  cow  in  milk  voids  only  about  75  per  ct.  of  the  nitrogen  and  89 
per  ct.  of  the  ash  contained  in  her  food.  (150)  The  young  calf,  growing 
rapidly  in  bone,  muscle,  and  body  organs,  voids  only  30.7  per  ct.  of  the 
nitrogen  and  45.7  per  ct.  of  the  ash  in  the  food,  storing  the  balance  in 

^Ohio  Bui.  183.  "Chemistry  of  the  Farm,  p.  214. 


274  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

its  body.  (113)  Considering  the  proportion  of  young  animals  and  of 
those  giving  milk  on  the  average  farm,  it  has  been  estimated^  that  from 
the  feed  supplied  farm  stock  about  80  per  ct.  of  the  nitrogen,  phosphoric 
acid,  and  potash  is  ordinarily  recovered  in  the  feces  and  urine.  The 
proportion  of  the  organic  matter  of  the  food  which  is  found  in  the 
feces  will  vary  widely,  depending  on  the  proportion  of  difficultly  diges- 
tible roughage  in  the  ration.  For  well-fed  ruminants  and  horses  it 
ranges  from  40  to  over  50  per  ct.  As  has  been  indicated  before  (432), 
the  organic  matter  is  a  highly  important  factor  in  the  beneficial  action 
of  the  manure.  No  definite  money  value  is,  however,  usually  given  to  it 
in  discussions  of  the  fertilizing  value  of  farm  manures. 

434.  Influence  of  feed  on  the  value  of  manure. — The  animal  creates 
nothing  of  fertilizing  value,  for  it  voids  only  that  which  it  has  eaten 
or  drunk.  Part  of  the  fertilizing  constituents  is  appropriated  in  the 
formation  of  flesh  or  milk,  and  the  rest  is  voided  in  the  excrements. 
The  value  of  manure  therefore  depends  primarily  on  the  character  of 
the  food  from  which  it  originates.  Foods  rich  in  nitrogen,  phosphoric 
acid,  and  potash  yield  rich  manure;  those  low  in  these  constituents 
make  poor  manure.  In  a  trial  reported  by  Warington,*  cows  fed  154 
lbs.  of  mangels  per  head  daily  voided  88  lbs.  of  urine,  containing  but 
0.12  per  ct.  nitrogen  and  0.60  per  ct.  potash.  Other  cows  fed  26  lbs.  of 
alfalfa  hay  and  given  66  lbs.  of  water  daily  voided  only  14  lbs.  of  urine, 
which,  however,  carried  1.54  per  ct.  of  nitrogen  and  1.69  per  ct.  of 
potash,  thus  containing  13  times  as  much  nitrogen  and  3  times  as  much 
potash  per  pound  as  the  urine  from  the  cows  eating  mangels. 

435.  Fertility  and  manurial  value  of  feeds. — Having  shown  that  the 
value  of  manure  depends  primarily  on  the  feeds  eaten,  we  next  consider 
the  fertilizing  constituents  of  typical  feeding  stuffs  and  animal  products, 
shown  in  the  folloAving  table,  taken  from  the  extensive  data  in  Appendix 
Tables  III  and  VI.  For  this  table  the  fertility  value  of  each  feed  per 
ton  has  been  computed  on  the  basis  of  what  the  total  nitrogen,  phos- 
phoric acid  and  potash  in  that  feed  would  cost  if  purchased  in  commer- 
cial fertilizers.  The  last  column  gives  the  manurial  value^  of  each  feed ; 
i.e.,  the  value  of  the  manure  which  would  result  from  feeding  1  ton  of 
the  feed  to  live  stock.  This  has  been  computed  on  the  assumption  that, 
on  the  average,  farm  animals  return  in  the  manure  about  80  per  ct. 
of  the  total  fertilizing  value  of  the  feed.  (433)  Obviously  this  value 
holds  only  when  the  manure  is  so  cared  for  as  to  prevent  the  losses 
mentioned  later.  (442-3) 

'Hart  and  Tottingham,  Gen.  Agr.  Chem.,  1913,  p.  124;  Van  Slyke,  Fertilizers 
and  Crops,  1912,  p.  300. 
*  Chemistry  of  the  Farm,  p.  218. 
'Hart.  Wis.  Bui.  221. 


MANURIAL  VALUE  OF  FEEDING  STUFFS 


275 


Fertilizing  constituents  in  feeding  stuffs  and  animal  products 


Concentrates 

Dent  corn 

Oats 

Wheat 

Wheat  bran 

linseed  meal,  old  pro- 
cess   

Cottonseed  meal,  choice 
Roughages 

Timothy  hay 

Red  clover  hay 

Oat  straw 

Com  silage,  recent  anal- 
yses   

Animals  and  animal  pro- 
ducts 

Fat  ox 

Fat  pig 

MUk 

Butter 


Fertilizing  constituents  in  1000  lbs. 


Nitrogen 


Lbs. 

16.2 
19.8 
19.8 
25.6 

54.2 
70.6 

9.9 
20.5 

5.8 

3.4 


23.3 

17.7 

5.8 

1.2 


Phosphoric 
acid 


Lbs. 

6.9 
8.1 
8.6 

29.5 

17.0 
26.7 

3.1 
3.9 
2.1 


15.5 
6.5 
1.9 
0.4 


Lbs. 

4.0 

5.6 

5.3 

16.2 

12.7 
18.1 

13.6 
16.3 
15.0 

4.4 


1.8 
1.4 
1.7 
0.4 


Fertility 
value 
per  ton 


Dollars 

6.85 

8.42 

8.43 

13.49 

22.31 
29.63 

5.20 
9.36 

3.78 

1.81 


9.96 
7.10 
2.43 
0.51 


Manurial 
value 
per  ton 


DoUars 

5.48 

6.74 

6.74 

10.79 

17.85 
23.70 

4.16 
7.49 
3.02 

1.45 


1.94 


The  fertilit}^  values  given  in  the  fourth  column  mean,  for  example, 
that  the  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash  removed  from  the  soil 
in  a  ton  of  oat  straw  will  cost  not  less  than  $3.78  if  bought  in  the 
market  in  commercial  fertilizers.  A  ton  of  corn  (grain)  removes  $6.85 
in  fertility,  and  of  wheat,  $8.43.  Because  the  legumes  usually  obtain 
much  of  their  nitrogen  from  the  air,  only  a  part  of  the  fertility  in  a 
ton  of  clover,  worth  $9.36,  may  have  been  taken  from  the  soil.  Clover 
hay  is  80  per  ct.  richer  than  timothy  hay  and  over  2.5  times  as  rich 
as  oat  straw  in  fertility.  The  fertility  value  of  wheat  bran  is  $13.49 
per  ton,  while  that  of  the  wheat  grain  is  only  $8.43.  This  is  because  the 
starchy  part  of  the  grain,  which  forms  most  of  the  flour,  holds  but 
little  fertility,  while  the  outside  portion,  the  bran,  is  high  in  nitrogen, 
phosphoric  acid,  and  potash. 

Of  the  feeds  listed,  cottonseed  meal  has  the  highest  fertility  value, 
$29.63  per  ton;  this  explains  why  it  has  often  been  applied  directly 
to  the  soil  as  a  fertilizer.  In  1913  the  farmers  of  Connecticut®  spread 
on  their  fields  nearly  7,000  tons,  or  about  300  carloads,  of  this  valuable 
feeding  stuff,  one  of  the  richest  and  best  for  dairy  cows  and  fattening 
cattle.  Millions  of  dollars  worth  of  cottonseed  meal  are  annually 
applied  by  the  planters  of  the  South  to  the  cotton  fields  to  make  another 
crop  of  cotton.  "Where  the  meal  is  first  fed  to  live  stock,  the  milk  or 
flesh  produced  should  easily  pay  its  cost,  and  under  good  management 
also  for  a  considerable  share  of  the  labor  of  feeding.  With  proper  care 
and  application,  the  manure  resulting  from  each  ton  of  meal  fed  would 

'Conn.  (New  Haven)  Rpt.  1913. 


276  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

be  worth  $23.70,  the  manurial  value,  as  surely  as  would  the  application 
to  the  same  land  of  commercial  fertilizers  worth  this  amount. 

436.  Selling  fertility. — The  table  in  the  preceding  article  further 
shows  that  those  who  sell  such  crops  as  hay,  corn,  and  wheat  part  with 
far  more  fertility  for  a  given  sum  of  money  than  do  those  who  sell 
animals  or  their  products.  The  farmer  who  sells  1,000  lbs.  of  clover  hay, 
worth  $5  to  $8,  parts  with  about  as  much  fertility  as  if  he  had  sold 
1,000  lbs.  of  fat  ox  or  fat  pig,  worth  $60  to  $75,  or  more.  Based  on 
the  selling  price,  milk  carries  considerable  fertility  from  the  farm,  and 
butter  practically  none.  Farm  crops  may  be  regarded  as  raw  products, 
while  farm  animals,  milk,  wool,  butter,  etc.,  represent  manufactured 
products.  A  large  amount  of  raw  material  in  the  form  of  grass,  hay, 
corn,  etc.,  is  put  into  animals,  and  the  heavy  waste  or  by-product 
resulting,  in  the  form  of  manure,  when  carried  back  to  the  fields  con- 
serves most  of  the  fertility.  The  farmer  who  feeds  his  crops  to  live 
stock  is  a  manufacturer  as  well  as  a  producer,  with  two  possible  profits 
instead  of  one,  while  his  farm  loses  little  of  its  fertility.  The  farmer 
who  grows  and  sells  grain,  hay,  and  straw  is  selling  a  large  amount  of 
fertility,  the  need  of  which  will  surely  be  apparent  as  time  goes  on  and 
his  fields  give  smaller  and  smaller  returns.  Such  a  farmer  is  slowly 
but  surely  mining  phosphorus  and  potash  from  his  soil,  which  can  be 
replaced  only  by  some  purchased  material. 

Virgin  soils  as  a  rule  contain  great  quantities  of  available  fertility, 
and  the  pioneer  farmers  in  America,  drawing  upon  Nature 's  store,  have 
given  little  consideration  to  how  their  crops  are  fed  and  have  not 
realized  that  they  are  steadily  and  often  wastefully  drawing  on  the 
store  of  fertility  which  represents  their  principal  capital.  The  western 
farmer,  when  marketing  corn  or  wheat,  or  the  southern  planter,  when 
selling  seed  cotton,  considers  he  is  selling  labor  and  rent  of  land. 
Rarely  does  he  realize  that  he  is  also  selling  fertility,  to  replace  which 
would  cost  a  considerable  part  of  all  the  crop  brings.  Rather  than  to 
reckon  the  value  of  his  crop  at  the  market  price,  he  should  recognize 
that  its  true  value  when  sold  from  the  farm  is  really  the  market  price 
minus  the  value  of  the  fertility  which  the  crop  removes  from  the  soil. 

437.  Buying  fertility. — Even  in  live-stock  farming  where  little  or  no 
grain  or  roughage  is  sold  and  when  proper  care  is  taken  of  the  manure, 
not  all  of  the  fertility  removed  in  the  crops  is  returned  in  the  manure. 
The  supply  of  nitrogen  in  the  soil  can  usually  be  maintained  by  the 
growth  of  legumes,  but  sooner  or  later  it  is  necessary  to  replace  the 
small  but  steady  loss  of  phosphoric  acid  and  potash.  Therefore  in 
purchasing  feeding  stuffs,  one  should  always  consider  not  only  the 
feeding  value  but  also  their  worth  as  fertilizers.  By  purchasing  those 
concentrates  rich  in  phosphoric  acid  and  potash,  such  as  wheat  bran 
and  middlings,  linseed  meal,  cottonseed  meal,  malt  sprouts,  etc.,  many 
live-stock  farms  are  steadily  being  increased  in  fertility. 


MANURIAL  VALUE  OF  FEEDING  STUFFS  277 

438.  British  practice. — In  Great  Britain,  where  many  of  the  farmers 
are  long-period  tenants,  the  manurial  value  of  feeding  stuffs  is  recognized 
by  law  in  a  manner  that  tends  greatly  to  the  betterment  and  permanence 
of  her  agriculture.  The  Agricultural  Holdings  Act,  which  is  the  law 
governing  the  relations  between  landlord  and  tenant,  directs  that  when 
a  tenant  is  vacating  his  leasehold  he  shall  be  reasonably  compensated 
for  the  improvements  he  has  made.  Among  these,  credit  must  be  given 
for  the  fertilizing  value  of  feeding  stuffs  which  the  tenant  may  have 
purchased  and  fed  out,  and  also,  under  certain  conditions,  for  the 
fertilizing  value  of  grains  produced  on  the  farm  and  fed  to  stock.  In 
order  to  furnish  data  to  guide  the  valuers  who  serve  in  settlement 
between  landlord  and  tenant,  after  full  and  extended  study  Lawes  and 
Gilbert  and  later  Voelcker  and  Hall  of  the  Rothamsted  Experiment 
Station  drew  up  tables  shoeing  the  compensation  to  be  allowed  for  the 
fertilizing  value  of  various  feeds.  The  recommendations,  as  revised  in 
1913  and  adopted  by  the  Central  Association  of  Agriculture  and  Tenant 
Right  Valuers,^  are  that  the  tenant  shall  be  credited  as  follows  for  all 
manure  resulting  from  feeding  purchased  feeds  to  stock  on  the  lease- 
hold: 

For  all  unused  manure  or  that  which  has  been  recently  applied  to 
the  land  without  a  crop  being  grown  thereafter,  a  credit  of  three-fourths 
of  the  total  value  of  the  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  in  the  feed  is 
allowed.  Because  a  greater  loss  of  nitrogen  commonly  occurs  in  stored 
manure  than  in  manure  dropped  in  the  fields  by  animals  at  pasture,  a 
credit  of  70  per  ct.  of  the  total  value  of  the  nitrogen  is  allowed  when 
the  stock  have  been  fed  at  pasture,  and  of  only  50  per  ct.  when  they 
have  been  fed  in  barn  or  yard. 

When  one  crop  has  been  groAvn  since  the  application  of  the  manure, 
a  part  of  the  fertility  thereby  being  used  up,  the  credit  allowed  is  only 
half  that  stated  above.  It  is  realized  that  the  beneficial  effects  of  farm 
manure  persist  much  longer  than  2  years,  but  owing  to  the  difficulties 
of  checking  records  for  a  longer  period,  the  compensation  is  not  extended 
over  a  greater  time.  The  principles  of  the  English  law,  as  here  set 
forth,  should  be  drafted  into  every  lease  drawn  between  landlord  and 
tenant  in  this  country. 

439.  Composition  and  value  of  fresh  manure. — Even  tho  the  value  of 
manure  produced  by  animals  of  the  same  kind  depends  primarily  on 
the  nature  of  the  feed  supplied,  it  is  important  to  note  the  approximate 
composition  of  manure  from  the  different  classes  of  farm  animals.  The 
following  table,  adapted  from  Van  Slyke,^  shows  the  percentage  of 
water  and  the  amount  and  value  of  the  fertilizing  constituents  per  ton 
in  fresh  manure,  including  both  feces  and  urine,  from  the  different 
farm  animals. 

TJour.  Roy.  Agr.  Soc,  England,  74,  1913,  pp.  104-119. 
^Fertilizers  and  Crops,  p.  291. 


278  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Composition  of  one  ton  of  average  manure  from  farm  animals 


Nitrogen 
Lbs. 

Phosphoric 

acid 

Lbs. 

Potash 
Lbs. 

Value 
Dol3. 

14 

5 

11 

3.30 

12 

3 

9 

2.74 

19 

7 

20 

4.74 

10 

7 

8 

2.52 

Per  ct. 

Horse  manure 78 

Cow  manure 86 

Sheep  manure 68 

Pig  manure 87 

Horse  and  sheep  manures  contain  less  water  than  that  of  cows  or 
pigs,  and  are  known  as  ' '  hot  manures ' '  because  their  low  water  content 
permits  rapid  fermentation  when  stored.  On  the  other  hand  the  void- 
ings  of  the  cow  and  pig  form  "cold  manures,"  the  high  water  content 
checking  fermentation.  Sheep  manure  has  the  highest  value  per  ton, 
based  on  fertilizing  constituents ;  pig  manure  the  lowest.  Mixed  farm 
manures  carrj^  about  10  lbs.  of  nitrogen,  5  lbs.  of  phosphoric  acid,  and 
10  lbs.  of  potash  per  ton. 

440.  Amount  of  manure  voided. — Various  methods  have  been  suggested 
for  computing  the  amount  of  fresh  manure — feces  and  urine —  produced 
by  farm  animals.  Heiden*'  found  that  on  the  average  100  lbs.  of  dry 
matter  fed  to  farm  animals  produced  the  amount  of  fresh  manure  shown 
in  the  first  column  of  the  following  table.  The  second  column  gives  the 
weight  of  manure  plus  bedding,  computed  from  data  compiled  by  Van 
Slyke." 

Manure  from  100  lbs.  dry  matter  fed  to  farm  animals 


Manure 
Lbs. 

Manure  plus  bedding 
Lbs. 

Horse 

Cow 

Sheep 

210 

384 

183 

280 
427 
285 

Owing  to  the  high  water  content  of  cow  manure,  a  larger  amount  is 
produced  from  100  lbs.  of  dry  matter  in  the  feed  than  in  the  case  of 
the  horse  or  sheep. 

The  amount  of  manure  voided  daily  by  farm  animals  varies  widely, 
depending  on  the  nature  and  amount  of  feed  given  and  the  age,  activity, 
etc.  of  the  animals.  The  following  table,  adapted  from  Van  Slyke,^^  is 
a  helpful  approximation  of  the  amount  of  manure  voided  daily  by  farm 
animals,  per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight. 

Daily  production  of  manure  ly  farm  animals  per  1,000  Vbs.  live  weight 

Feces  Urine  Total  manure         Manure  plus  bedding 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Horse 39  10  49  65 

Cow 52  22  74  82 

Sheep 23  11  34  53 

Pig.. 50  33  83  99 

"Storer,  Agriculture,  1899,  II,  p.  289.        "Fertilizers  and  Crops,  pp.  294,  303. 
"Fertilizers  and  Crops,  p.  303. 


MANURIAL  VALUE  OF  FEEDING  STUFFS  279 

Based  on  live  weight,  the  pig  yields  more  manure  than  other  farm 
animals,  due  to  the  heavy  feed  consumption  per  1,000  lbs,  live  weight 
and  the  watery  nature  of  the  manure. 

441.  Fertilizing  constituents  produced  yearly. — According  to  Van 
Slyke,^-  the  approximate  amount  of  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  and 
potash  voided  annually  by  farm  animals  per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight  is 
as  follows : 

Annual  yield  of  fertilizing  constituents  per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight 

Nitrogen  Phosphoric  acid  Potash  Value 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Dollars 

Horse 128  43  103  30.12 

Cow 156  38  127  36.14 

Sheep 119  44  126  29.70 

Pig 150  104  128  38.08 

The  last  column  shows  the  total  value  of  the  fertilizing  constituents, 
computed  at  the  prices  previously  given.  (432) 

442.  Losses  in  farm  manures.* — From  the  foregoing  it  is  evident  that 
farm  manure  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  products  of  the  farm.  Yet 
many  farmers  who  freely  purchase  commercial  fertilizers  allow  much 
of  the  value  of  the  manure  produced  by  their  live  stock  to  be  washed  away 
in  streams  or  otherwise  dissipated.  It  is  most  important  to  realize  that 
manure  is  a  perishable  product,  and  that  unless  proper  care  is  taken 
over  half  its  value  may  be  lost.  Plant  food  may  be  wasted  thru:  (1) 
Loss  of  urine,  (2)  loss  by  leaching,  (3)  loss  of  nitrogen  by  fermentation. 

The  importance  of  bedding  to  absorb  the  urine  is  showTi  in  the  follow- 
ing table  from  Van  Slyke  :^^ 

Proportion  of  fertilizing  constituents  in  urine  and  feces  of  farm  animals 

Nitrogen  in  Phosphoric  acid  in  Potash  in 

Urine  Feces  Urine  Feces  Urine  Feces 

Per  ct.  Per  ct.  Per  ct.  Per  ct.  Per  ct.  Per  ct. 

Horse 38  62  0  100  44  56 

Cow 51  49  0  100  85  15 

Sheep 48  52  5  95  70  30 

Pig 33  67  12  88  43  57 

Average ...         43  57  4  96  60  40 

With  the  cow  and  sheep  about  half  the  nitrogen  is  voided  in  the 
urine ;  with  the  horse  and  pig  somewhat  less.  Most  of  the  phosphoric 
acid  is  excreted  in  the  feces.  The  cow  voids  about  85  per  ct.  and  the 
sheep  70  per  ct.  of  the  potash  in  the  urine ;  the  horse  and  pig  over  40 
per  ct.  For  all  farm  animals,  43  per  ct.  of  the  nitrogen  and  60  per  ct. 
of  the  potash  passes  in  the  urine.  Pound  for  pound  the  urine  has  a 
greater  fertilizing  value  than  the  feces,  except  with  the  pig.  The  fer- 
tility in  urine  is  also  in  solution  and  hence  much  more  readily  available 
to  plants  than  that  in  the  feces. 

"Fertilizers  and  Crops,  p.  295.  "Fertilizers  and  Crops,  p.  295. 

*This  discussion  of  the  losses  in  manure  and  the  care  of  this  valuable  farm  product  is 
necessarily  very  brief.  For  more  complete  information  consult  the  standard  works  on 
Soils  and  Agricultural  Chemistry. 


280  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

A  manure  pile  under  the  eaves,  against  the  side  of  the  barn,  or  manure 
lying  for  months  in  an  open  barn  yard  is  a  sight  all  too  common  on 
American  farms.  When  manure  is  exposed  to  the  leaching  action  of 
the  rains,  the  losses  are  great,  even  amounting  to  half  of  the  total 
value  in  periods  of  2  to  5  months.  Obviously,  the  loss  falls  on  the 
constituents  which  are  most  soluble  and  therefore  most  quickly  available 
to  plants. 

Thru  fermentation  a  large  share  of  the  nitrogen  in  the  manure  may 
be  dissipated  into  the  air  as  ammonia  or  gaseous  nitrogen.  The  strong 
smell  which  every  farmer  has  noticed  in  close  horse  stables  is  due  to 
the  escaping  ammonia  produced  by  the  breaking  down  of  nitrogen  com- 
pounds in  the  urine.  In  the  hot  fermentations  which  take  place  in  dry, 
loosely  packed  manure,  the  temperature  may  rise  high  enough  to  cause 
' '  fire  f anging, ' '  when  as  much  as  80  per  ct.  of  the  nitrogen  may  be  lost. 
Phosphoric  acid  and  potash  are  not  lost  thru  fermentation  but  heavy 
losses  of  these  constituents  may  occur  thru  leaching. 

443.  Care  of  manure. — To  prevent  loss  in  manure,  the  urine  should 
be  saved  by  having  tight  gutters  and  using  plenty  of  bedding.  If 
possible,  the  manure  should  be  drawn  directly  to  the  fields  and  spread 
each  day.  When  this  can  not  be  done  it  should  be  stored,  preferably 
under  cover,  in  well-packed  piles  kept  moist  to  prevent  hot  fermentation. 
If  hogs  or  cattle  have  access  to  the  shed,  they  aid  in  firming  the  pile. 
In  Europe  manure  is  often  stored  in  pits  or  cisterns.  When  it  is 
necessary  to  leave  manure  out  of  doors,  the  pile  should  be  made  high 
and  compact  so  that  rains  will  not  soak  thru  and  should  be  built  with 
the  sides  perpendicular  and  the  top  sloping  toward  the  center.  It  is  im- 
possible to  prevent  all  waste  in  caring  for  manure,  but  under  proper 
management  not  over  10  to  20  per  ct.  of  the  nitrogen  and  practically 
none  of  the  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  will  be  lost. 


Part  III 
FEEDING  FARM  ANIMALS 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

FACTORS  INFLUENCING  THE  WORK  OF  THE  HORSE 

The  magnitude  of  the  horse  industry  in  the  United  States  is  apparent 
when  we  learn  that  there  were  in  this  country,  according  to  the  census  of 
1910,  23,015,902  horses  valued  at  $2,505,792,588.  These,  with  4,480,140 
mules  and  122,200  asses  and  burros,  make  a  grand  total  of  27,618,242 
animals  of  the  horse  family,  worth  over  $3,000,000,000.  Despite  the 
coming  of  the  automobile  and  the  auto-truck,  for  the  decade  ending  1910 
the  number  of  horses,  mules,  and  asses  in  the  country  increased  11.6  per 
cent.  The  total  value  of  these  animals  exceeds  that  of  all  the  beef  cattle, 
dairy  cattle,  sheep,  goats,  and  swine  combined. 

To  feed  these  work  animals  requires  an  annual  expenditure  of  nearly 
$2,000,000,000.  In  spite  of  the  enormous  feed  bill,  less  attention  is  given 
to  the  scientific  and  economical  feeding  of  this  class  of  live  stock  than  to 
any  other  farm  animals.  Many  a  farmer,  for  instance,  will  carefully 
determine  which  of  the  feeds  available  for  his  dairy  herd  will  furnish  a 
well-balanced  ration  most  cheaply.  Yet  he  may  forget  that  similar  prin- 
ciples apply  to  the  feeding  of  his  work  animals.  An  average  of  about  4 
horses  or  mules  are  kept  on  each  farm  in  the  United  States.  When  we 
learn  in  Chapter  XIX  how  it  is  often  possible  thru  the  economical 
and  proper  selection  of  feeds  and  their  rational  administration  to  save 
10  to  40  per  ct.  of  the  usual  feed  bill,  with  no  injury,  and  in  some  cases 
even  a  benefit  to  the  animals,  it  is  evident  that  a  careful  consideration  of 
the  principles  governing  the  feeding  of  horses  will  pay  every  owner  in 
dollars  and  cents.  Furthermore,  it  is  just  as  essential  to  care  for  work 
animals  so  as  to  ensure  their  maximum  efficiency  as  it  is  to  lubricate 
carefully  the  vehicles  and  machinery  they  draw. 

Before  studying  in  detail  the  feeds  for  the  horse  and  the  methods  of 
feeding  and  care,  it  is  necessary  to  consider  briefly  the  principles  deter- 
mining the  value  of  the  different  classes  of  feeds  for  the  production  of 
work  and  the  various  factors  which  influence  the  amount  of  labor  the 
animal  can  perform. 

Most  of  the  discussions  which  follow  treat  of  the  horse  particularly, 
since  oVer  83  per  ct.  of  our  work  animals  are  horses,  and  nearly  all  of 
the  scientific  trials  have  been  conducted  with  them.    The  same  feeds  may 

281 


282  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

be  used  for  mules,  however,  and  the  same  principles  of  feeding  and  care 
apply  to  these  animals.  (Special  hints  on  the  feed  and  care  of  the  mule 
are  given  in  Art.  532.) 


I.    The  Relation  of  Feed  to  the  Work  of  the  Horse 

The  most  complete  investigations  with  the  horse  bearing  on  the  re- 
lation of  feed  to  work,  are  those  of  Wolff,  Grandeau  and  LeClerc,  and  the 
more  recent  studies  of  Zuntz  and  his  associates.  Wolff's  experiments 
were  with  a  sweep-power  constructed  so  that  the  amount  of  work  per- 
formed could  be  measured.  Zuntz,  in  conjunction  with  Lehmann  and 
Hagemann,  conducted  hundreds  of  tests  with  horses  working  on  a  tread- 
power  so  built  that  the  distance  traveled  and  the  work  performed  were 
accurately  measured.  The  animals  breathed  thru  a  tube  inserted  in 
the  windpipe,  by  which  means  the  oxygen  inhaled  and  the  carbon  dioxid 
exhaled  were  accurately  determined.  (141)  To  such  gaseous  intake  and 
outgo  was  added  that  which  passed  thru  the  skin  and  vent,  as  determined 
by  placing  the  animal  in  a  Pettenkofer  respiration  apparatus.  (71) 

444.  Work. — In  discussing  the  production  of  work  it  is  necessary  to  use 
the  standard  terms  employed  in  its  measurement,  the  foot-pound,  the  foot- 
ton,  and  the  horse  power.  The  foot-pound  and  foot-ton  are  terms  which 
denote  the  work  done  in  lifting  a  weight  of  1  lb.  or  1  ton,  respectively, 
1  ft.  against  the  force  of  gravity.  When  the  rate  at  which  the  work  is 
done  is  taken  into  consideration  the  unit  used  is  the  Jiorse  power,  which  is 
the  power  required  to  lift  a  weight  of  1  lb.  at  the  rate  of  33,000  feet  per 
minute.  If  by  means  of  rope  and  pulleys  a  horse  raises  a  bucket  of  water 
weighing  100  lbs.  from  a  well  330  ft.  deep  in  1  minute,  it  exerts  a  force 
equal  to  1  H.  P.  The  pull,  or  draft,  exerted  by  the  horse  may  be  measured 
by  a  dynamometer,  a  crude  form  of  which  is  a  spring  balance  placed 
between  the  singletree  or  evener  and  the  vehicle  or  object  on  which  the 
pull  is  exerted.  According  to  King,^  the  maximum  pulling  power  of  a 
horse  when  walking  on  a  good  road  is  about  one-half  its  weight,  but  for 
steady  and  continuous  work  for  10  hours  per  day  and  at  the  rate  of  2.5 
miles  per  hour  the  pull  should  not  be  more  than  one-eighth  or  one-tenth 
the  weight  of  the  animal.  The  daily  work  performed  by  horses  of  differ- 
ent weights  would  accordingly  be  as  follows : 

Daily  work  performed  hy  horses  of  different  weights 

Horse-power  produced  Foot-tons  of  work  done 

800-lb.  horse 0 .53—0 .67  5,247—  6,633 

1000-lb.  horse 0.67-0.83  6,633-  8,217 

1200- b  horse  0.80-1.00  7,920-9,900 

1400-  b  horse 0.93-1 .17  9,207-11,583 

i6oo-ib:  hoJse :::::::::: i  .06-1 .33        10,494-13,167 

The  draft  required  to  haul  a  4-wheel  wagon  on  various  types  of  road  is 
approximately  as  follows,  according  to  King  :^ 

^Physics  of  Agr.,  p.  490.  '  Physics  of  Agr.,  p.  436. 


FACTORS  INFLUENCING  THE  WORK  OF  THE  HORSE     283 

Draft  required  to  haul  a  wagon  on  various  types  of  road 

Character  of  road  Lbs.  draft  per  ton 

Common  earth 75  to  224 

Gravel 75  to  140 

Macadam 55  to    67 

Wood  block 28  to    44 

Plank 25  to    44 

This  shows  that  it  requires  a  draft,  or  pull,  of  75  to  224  lbs.,  as  measured 
on  a  spring  balance  placed  between  horse  and  load,  to  draw  a  load  of  a 
ton,  including  wagon,  on  a  country  earth  road,  while  on  a  plank  road  the 
draft  is  but  25  to  44  lbs. 

The  ox  draws  a  load  equal  to  the  horse,  but  ordinarily  at  only  two-thirds 
the  speed.  A  man 's  work  is  usually  from  one-sixth  to  one-tenth  of  a  horse 
power,  or  about  one-fifth  that  of  an  average  horse.  For  a  minute  or  two 
he  can  exert  a  full  horse  power  or  even  more. 

445.  Digestion  trials. — Since  there  have  been  relatively  few  digestion 
trials  with  the  horse,  we  are  usually  obliged  to  use  for  this  animal  the 
coefficients  of  digestibility  obtained  with  the  ox  or  sheep.  (66)  While  the 
horse  digests  the  easily  digestible  feeds  about  as  completely  as  do  the 
ruminants,  it  falls  below  them  in  ability  to  digest  the  more  difficultly  di- 
gestible ones,  as  is  sho^^Ti  in  the  following  table  from  Wolff  •} 

Digestion  coefficients  of  common  feeds  for  the  horse  and  sheep  compared 


Dry 

matter 


Crude 
protein 


Carbohydrates 


N-free 
extract 


Corn 

Horse 

Sheep 

Oats 

Horse 

Sheep 

Alfalfa  hay  {excellent  quality) 

Horse 

Sheep 

Clover  hay 

Horse 

Sheep 

Meadow  hay  {good  quality) 

Horse 

Sheep 

Wheat  straw 

Horse 

Sheep 


Per  ct. 

S9 


71 


23 


Per  ct. 
77 


19 


Per  ct. 

70 
62 

20 
30 

40 
45 

37 
50 

42 
63 

27 
59 


Per  ct. 

94 
91 

74 
76 

70 
66 

64 
61 

57 
65 

18 
37 


Per  ct. 
61 

85 

70 

83 

14 
41 

29 
56 

20 
54 


It  is  sho-RTi  that  the  horse  digests  com,  which  is  low  in  fiber,  as  well  as 
does  the  sheep.    On  the  other  hand,  it  digests  oats  and  meadow  hay,  which 


'Land.  Vers.   Stat.,   20,  1877;    21,  1878;   Landw.   Jahrb.,   8,   Sup.  I,  1879*    10 
1881;  12,  1884. 


284  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

contain  considerable  fiber,  less  completely.  Of  wheat  straw  the  horse 
digests  only  23  per  ct.,  while  the  sheep  digests  48  per  ct.  Both  animals 
digest  crude  protein  about  equally  well,  but  the  digestive  powers  of  the 
horse  are  markedly  lower  for  fiber  and  fat.  ( 85 ) 

446.  Influence  of  work  on  digestibility. — The  effect  of  working  a  horse 
immediately  after  eating  has  been  studied  by  Grandeau  and  LeClere,* 
Tangl,^  Colin,®  Scheunert^  and  others.  Their  investigations  show  that 
moderate  exercise,  even  immediately  after  the  horse  has  eaten,  tends  to 
increase  digestion  in  both  the  stomach  and  the  small  intestine,  and  also 
increases  the  rate  of  absorption  of  digested  nutrients.  Tho  the  rate  of 
protein  digestion  is  retarded  for  the  first  hour  after  eating,  when  the 
horse  is  exercised  immediately  after  the  meal,  by  the  end  of  the  second 
or  third  hour  even  more  protein  will  have  been  digested  than  had  the 
horse  remained  at  rest.  Contrary  to  some  statements,  exercise  does  not 
hasten  the  passage  of  food  from  the  stomach  into  the  small  intestine, 
but  apparently  retards  it.  Severe  labor  may,  however,  depress  digestion. 
Grandeau  and  LeClerc  found  that  hard  work  at  a  trot  lowered  the  di- 
gestibility of  the  protein  7  per  ct.  and  of  the  fiber  13  per  ct.,  compared 
with  the  amounts  digested  when  the  horse  was  allowed  to  rest  after  eat- 
ing. The  greater  depression  observed  in  the  case  of  the  crude  fiber  is 
doubtless  due  to  the  fact  that  this  nutrient  is  digested  mainly  in  the 
caecum  and  large  intestine  and  is  hurried  thru  these  organs  by  the  mo- 
tion of  the  horse  in  action. 

447.  True  value  of  feeds  for  work. — As  previously  shown  (78-80),  the 
true  value  of  different  feeds  for  work  is  not  based  merely  on  the  amount 
of  digestible  nutrients  they  contain,  for  a  varying  percentage  of  the 
available  energy  in  the  digestible  portion  of  the  feed  is  used  up  in  the 
work  of  mastication  and  digestion  and  thereby  lost  so  far  as  useful  me- 
chanical work  is  concerned.  By  subtracting  the  energy  thus  used  from 
the  available  energy  which  the  digestible  nutrients  of  any  feed  furnish, 
we  will  find  the  amount  of  net  nutrients  which  may  be  used  in  the  per- 
formance of  such  external  work  as  propelling  the  body,  carrying  a  burden, 
or  pulling  a  load.  We  should  remember,  however,  that  the  energy 
which  is  used  up  in  mastication  and  digestion  is  all  changed  into  heat, 
and  so  may  aid  in  keeping  the  body  warm. 

Zuntz  found^  that  the  1100-lb.  horse,  when  drawing  a  load  on  a  level 
road,  will  produce  about  864.4  ft.-tons  of  work  for  each  pound  of  net  nu- 
trients consumed  in  addition  to  the  food  required  for  maintenance.  The 
following  table  shows  the  amount  of  work  which  various  feeding  stuffs 
will  yield  according  to  Zuntz,  when  fed  to  the  horse  which  is  already  re- 
ceiving enough  food  for  maintenance  at  rest. 

*Ann.  Sci.  Agvon.,  1884,  Vol.  II,  p.  235. 
"  Pfluger's  Arch.  Physiol.,  63,  1896,  p.  545. 
» Traite  Physiol.  Comp.  Anim.,  1886,  p.  822. 
'  Pfliiger's  Arch.  Physiol.,  109,  1905,  p.  145-198. 
« Landw.  Jahrb.,  27,  1898,  Sup.  HI,  p.  431. 


FACTORS  INFLUENCING  THE  WORK  OF  THE  HORSE      285 


Possible  work  from  1  lb.  of 

various  feeds  when  fed  to  the  horse 

Feeding  stuff 

Dry 

matter 

Crude 
fiber 

Total 
digestible 
nutrients 

Nutrients 

required  for 

mastication 

and  digestion 

Net 
nutrients 
remaining 

Possible 
work  from 
1  lb.  of  feed 

Corn 

Per  cent 

87 
86 
86 
88 
87 
84 
25 
85 
84 
15 
86 

Per  cent 

1.7 

6.9 

5.9 

9.4 

10.3 

26.6 

1.0 

26.0 

30.2 

1.6 

42.0 

Lbs. 
0.785 
0.720 
0.687 
0.690 
0.615 
0.453 
0.226 
0.391 
0.407 
0.113 
0.181 

Lbs. 

0.082 
0.111 
0.102 
0.125 
0.124 
0.219 
0.027 
0.209 
0.239 
0.021 
0.297 

Lbs. 

0.703 
0.609 
0.586 
0.565 
0.491 
0.234 
0.199 
0.182 
0.168 
0.092 
—0.116 

Ft.-tons 
607.7 

526.4 
506  5 

Horse  bean 

Peas 

Linseed  cake. .  .  . 
Oats 

488.4 
424  4 

Alfalfa  hay 

Potatoes 

Meadow  hay. . .  . 

Clover  hay 

Carrots 

WTieat  straw  .  .  . 

202.3 
172.0 
157.3 
145.2 
79.5 
—100.3 

The  table  shows  that  after  supplying  the  horse  with  sufficient  feed  for 
maintenance,  each  additional  pound  of  corn  supplied,  up  to  the  capacity 
of  the  animal,  will  furnish  energy  sufficient  to  produce  607.7  ft.-tons  of 
external  work,  or  enough  to  raise  a  weight  of  one  ton  607.7  ft.  against 
the  pull  of  gravity.  Because  of  its  high  per  cent  of  digestible  nutrients 
and  its  low  content  of  fiber,  Indian  corn  is  the  most  potential  of  all  the 
given  feeds  for  the  production  of  work. 

Feeds  containing  much  fiber,  such  as  hay  and  straw,  furnish  corre- 
spondingly less  net  food  for  the  production  of  external  work.  The  table 
shows  that  the  work  of  masticating  and  digesting  wheat  straw  requires 
more  energy  than  the  straw  supplies.  Hence  the  table  shows  a  negative 
value  of  — 100.3  ft.-tons  for  1  lb.  of  wheat  straw.  As  has  been  stated 
before  (80),  the  energy  used  up  in  mastication  and  digestion  all  takes  the 
form  of  heat.  Therefore,  unless  the  total  work  of  digesting  a  ration  con- 
taining straw  produces  more  heat  than  is  needed  to  warm  the  body,  the 
straw  will  have  a  positive  value  for  the  production  of  the  heat  so  required, 
and  this  value  will  depend  upon  the  total  amount  of  digestible  nutrients 
it  furnishes.  On  the  other  hand,  if  more  energy  is  spent  in  masticating 
and  digesting  the  ration  than  is  needed  to  furnish  heat  to  maintain  the 
body  temperature,  then  the  energy  of  the  straw  will  be  wasted.  This 
helps  to  explain  why  a  larger  amount  of  straw  may  be  advantageously  fed 
to  idle  horses  than  to  those  at  work.  As  is  shown  later  (457) ,  even  in  the 
case  of  the  horse  at  hard  labor  a  certain  volume  or  bulk  is  necessary  in  the 
ration.  To  furnish  this  necessary  bulk  a  small  amount  of  straw  is  some- 
times used  in  place  of  other  roughage,  especially  in  Europe. 

448.  Maintenance  requirement  of  the  horse. — It  is  more  difficult  to  de- 
termine the  minimum  amount  of  nutrients  needed  to  maintain  the  weight 
of  a  horse  than  of  the  ox  or  sheep.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  any  excess 
of  nutrients  supplied  the  idle  horse  above  maintenance  will  not  usually  be 
wholly  stored  as  flesh  or  fat,  for  confined  horses,  even  those  of  quiet 
temperament,  dissipate  more  or  less  energy  thru  restlessness  and  moving 


286  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

about,  so  that  a  ration  which  barely  maintains  them  is  really  somewhat 
in  excess  of  the  theoretical  requirement. 

One  method  of  determining  the  maintenance  requirement  is  to  feed 
a  horse  at  rest  a  ration  insufficient  to  maintain  his  weight,  and  then  after 
a  time  gradually  increase  the  supply  of  nutrients  until  the  weight  is 
barely  maintained.  Using  this  method  Grandeau  and  LeClerc^  were  able 
to  maintain  the  weight  of  each  of  3  horses  getting  walking  exercise  for 
half  an  hour  daily  on  a  ration  of  17.6  lbs.  meadow  hay,  which  supplied 
6.1  lbs.  of  digestible  nutrients,  or  7  lbs.  per  1000  lbs.  live  weight. 

A  more  exact  method  is  to  give  a  horse  gradually  increasing  amounts  of 
a  given  feed,  during  successive  periods,  and  determine  in  each  period  the 
maximum  amount  of  work  the  animal  can  perform  on  the  allowance  and 
still  maintain  his  weight.  It  is  then  possible  to  compute,  by  difference,  the 
nutrients  required  for  the  performance  of  a  given  amount  of  work.  By 
subtracting  the  nutrients  expended  in  the  work  done  during  any  period 
from  the  total  nutrients  supplied  in  that  period,  the  actual  maintenance 
requirement  is  found. 

By  the  latter  method  Zuntz  and  his  colleagues"  found  that  to  maintain 
the  weight  of  the  1100-lb.  horse  and  keep  up  the  body  temperature  re- 
quired 7.06  lbs.  of  digestible  nutrients,^^  or  12.7  therms.  It  was  found  that 
the  larger  part  of  the  nutrients,  nearly  66  per  ct.,  were  required  merely 
as  fuel  to  maintain  the  temperature  of  the  body.  Indeed,  it  was  necessary 
to  supply  only  2.43  lbs.  of  net  nutrients  (or  4.4  therms  of  net  energy)  to 
cover  the  amount  used  up  in  the  internal  work  of  the  body  and  in  repair- 
ing the  body  tissues. 

This  conclusion  accords  with  the  general  experience,  that  idle  horses 
can  be  maintained  chiefly  on  such  feeds  as  hay,  corn  stover,  and  straw, 
which  furnish  relatively  little  net  energy  but  produce  a  large  amount  of 
heat  in  the  body  as  the  result  of  mastication  and  digestion.  If  the  rough- 
ages are  of  sufficiently  good  quality  the  animals  may  be  maintained  on 
such  feeds  alone.  As  roughages  are  usually  far  cheaper  sources  of  total 
available  energy  than  the  concentrates,  maintaining  idle  horses  on  such 
feeds  is  obviously  economical. 

449.  Protein  required  for  maintenance. — In  addition  to  supplying  sufff- 
cient  fuel  to  maintain  the  body  temperature  and  enough  net  nutrients 
for  the  internal  work  of  the  body,  as  has  been  previously  pointed  out 
(94),  the  nutrients  in  the  ration  must  include  a  certain  amount  of  di- 
gestible protein  to  make  good  the  small  daily  waste  of  nitrogenous 
tissues.  In  experiments  by  Grandeau  and  LeClerc,^^  3  horses  main- 
tained their  weight  for  4  or  5  months  on  a  ration  of  meadow  hay  fur- 
nishing an  average  of  0.54  lb.  of  digestible  protein  daily  per  1000  lbs. 
live  weight,  the  hay  of  course  containing  some  amids  beside  the  true  pro- 

»Warmgton,  London  Live  Stock  Jour.,  1894,  p.  9. 
"Land.  Jahrb.,  27,  1898,  Sup.  Ill,  pp.  422-426. 

"  Including  fat  x  2.4,  the  factor  used  by  Zuntz  as  the  relative  fuel  value  for  fat, 
compared  with  carbohydrates. 
"  Warington,  London  Live  Stock  Jour.,  1894,  p.  9. 


FACTORS  INFLUENCING  THE  WORK  OF  THE  HORSE     287 

tein.  One  of  the  horses  gained  5  lbs.  in  2  months  on  a  daily  allowance  of 
only  0.45  lb.  of  digestible  protein  per  1000  lbs.  live  weight.  In  another 
case  an  allowance  of  0.37  lb.  of  digestible  protein  daily  per  1000  lbs.  of 
live  weight  proved  insufficient  to  maintain  the  nitrogen  equilibrium.  Evi- 
dently the  minimum  protein  requirement  for  the  horse  ranges  from  0.4 
to  0.6  lb.  per  1000  lbs.  live  weight,  which  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  rest- 
ing ox  as  determined  by  Armsby. 

Most  authorities  maintain,  and  practical  experience  shows,  that  the 
health  of  animals  is  improved  when  they  are  fed  more  than  the  theo- 
retical minimum  of  protein.  In  view  of  this,  the  Armsby  standard  rec- 
ommends 1  lb.  of  digestible  protein  for  the  maintenance  of  the  1000-lb. 
horse  at  rest.  (172) 

450.  Nutrients  required  for  work. — ^We  have  considered  the  nutrients 
required  to  maintain  the  horse  at  rest  and  studied  the  value  of  typical 
feeding  stuffs  for  producing  external  work.  Let  us  next  determine  the 
amount  of  net  nutrients  which  must  be  fed  in  addition  to  the  maintenance 
requirement  when  the  horse  is  to  perform  various  kinds  of  work. 

The  work  which  the  horse  performs  usually  consists  of  a  more  or  less 
complex  combination  of  the  following  simple  types : 

(1)  Locomotion,  or  merely  traveling  along  a  level  course  with  no  load. 

(2)  Raising  the  body,  with  or  without  a  load,  against  the  force  of 
gravity  in  ascending  a  grade. 

(3)  Carrying  a  load. 

(4)  Draft,  or  hauling  a  load. 

In  the  case  of  a  horse  drawing  a  load  up  a  hill,  we  find  all  of  these  types 
combined.  The  horse  is  (1)  advancing,  and  at  the  same  time  (2)  raising 
his  body.  He  is  also  (3)  carrying  the  harness  and  (4)  hauling  the  load. 
When  he  descends  the  hill  he  will  even  perform  a  fifth  type  of  labor  in 
bracing  himself  so  as  not  to  be  forced  down  the  hill  too  rapidly. 

Zuntz^^  found  that  to  perfonn  these  different  types  of  work,  the  1100- 
Ib.  horse  carrying  a  44-lb.  harness  required  the  net  nutrients  shown 
below,  after  he  had  already  been  supplied  with  enough  feed  for  main- 
tenance at  rest: 

Net  nutrients  required  by  horse  for  various  kinds  of  work- 
Net  nutrients 
required 
Lbs. 
Traveling  without  load,  1  mile  on  the  level 

At  a  walking  speed  of  2  . 5  miles  per  hour 0 .  134 

At  a  walking  speed  of  3  . 5  miles  per  hour 0 .  169 

At  a  trotting  speed  of  6 .6  to  7 .6  miles  per  hour 0 .254 

Traveling  1  mUe  on  the  level  when  carrying  a  load  of  220  lbs.  at 

Walking  speed  of  3  .4  miles  per  hour 0 .210 

Trotting  speed  of  6  .9  miles  per  hour 0 .323 

Raising  his  body  100  feet 

In  climbing  incline  of  10 .7  per  cent 0 .060 

Lowering  body  100  ft.  on  a  road  with  a  5  per  cent  dip,  compared  with 

traveling  on  the  level,  saves 0 .025 

Draft  on  level  per  1000  ft. -tons,  not  including  locomotion  of  body 1 .157 

"  Landw.  Jahrb.,  27,  Sup.  III. 


288  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Could  all  the  work  done  by  a  horse  each  day  be  accurately  determined, 
it  would  be  possible  to  resolve  it  into  these  different  types,  so  that  the 
nutrients  required  for  its  production  might  be  calculated  and  a  suitable 
ration  computed.  However,  the  table  is  of  theoretical  rather  than  prac- 
tical interest,  for  the  work  of  most  horses  varies  greatly  from  day  to  day ; 
moreover  the  usual  work  is  complex  and  difficult  to  resolve  into  these 
simple  types.  Still,  these  figures  are  important  in  showing  the  influence 
of  various  factors  on  the  energy  expended  by  the  horse  in  the  work  he 
performs. 

451.  Influence  of  speed. — It  will  be  noted  in  the  table  that  26  per  ct. 
more  net  nutrients  are  required  when  the  horse  walks  a  mile  at  a  speed 
of  3.5  miles  per  hour  than  2.5  miles.  When  his  gait  is  hastened  to  a  trot, 
nearly  twice  as  much  food  is  required  per  mile  of  travel  as  at  the  slower 
walk.  Among  the  reasons  why  rapid  labor  generally  consumes  more 
power  than  slow  motion,  even  when  the  distance  traveled  and  the  actual 
work  done  are  the  same,  are  the  following :  When  a  horse  is  walking  at  a 
rapid  speed  the  work  of  the  heart  is  greatly  increased.  In  trotting  or 
galloping  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  body  is  much  greater  than  in  walking, 
and  therefore  a  smaller  part  of  the  energy  expended  is  available  for  on- 
ward movement.  The  temperature  also  rises,  and  much  heat  is  lost  by  the 
evaporation  of  water  thru  the  skin  and  lungs.  The  proportion  of  food 
producing  heat  is  thus  increased,  while  that  appearing  as  work  is  dimin- 
ished. 

Fourier^*  found  that  the  horse  was  at  its  best  for  drawing  loads  when 
moving  at  a  rate  of  2  to  2.5  miles  per  hour.  When  held  down  to  a  slower 
speed,  and  likewise  as  the  rate  of  speed  was  increased  beyond  this  figure, 
his  efficiency  decreased.  At  length,  when  a  speed  of  11.25  miles  per  hour 
was  reached,  less  than  one-tenth  the  maximum  amount  of  work  was  ac- 
complished. Grandeau^"  states  that  a  horse  walking  12.5  miles  per  day 
was  kept  in  condition  on  a  daily  allowance  of  19.4  lbs.  of  hay,  while  a  ra- 
tion of  24  lbs.  was  insufficient  when  the  same  distance  was  covered  at  a 
trot.  A  horse  hauling  a  load  12.5  miles  daily,  the  draft  performed  being 
equivalent  to  1943  ft.-tons,  was  sufficiently  nourished  by  a  ration  of  24.6 
lbs.  of  hay,  while  one  of  36.2  lbs. — all  the  horse  would  eat — was  not  enough 
to  maintain  its  weight  when  the  same  amount  of  work  was  done  at  a  trot. 

Where  it  is  necessary  to  develop  maximum  power  continuously  at  con- 
siderable speed,  the  number  of  horses  required  for  a  specific  work  must 
always  be  greatly  increased.  Thus  when  horses  were  used  on  mail- 
coaches,  even  on  the  admirable  highways  of  Great  Britian,  the  proprietors 
maintained  1  horse  per  mile  of  route  for  each  coach,  each  horse  traveling 
only  8  miles  and  working  an  hour  or  less  per  day  on  the  average,  4  horses 
drawing  the  loaded  coach  which  weighed  2  tons.  Draft  horses  moving  2.5 
miles  an  hour  are  expected  to  do  7  times  the  work  of  coach  horses  moving 
10  miles  per  hour. 

"  Thurston,  The  Animal  as  a  Machine  and  a  Prime  Motor,  p.  52. 

"Warington,  London  Live  Stock  Jour.,  1894,  p.  49. 


FACTORS  INFLUENCING  THE  WORK  OF  THE  HORSE      289 

With  running  horses,  the  requirement  of  speed  reduces  the  work  per- 
formed (carrying  the  rider)  to  the  smallest  amount  possible.  Low 
writes  :^®  * '  When  it  is  considered  that  an  ounce  of  additional  loading  to 
the  same  horse  may  make  the  difference  of  a  yard  or  more  in  half  a  mile 
of  running,  it  will  be  seen  how  greatly  the  weight  borne  may  affect  the 
issue  in  the  case  of  horses  of  equal  powers."  (145) 

452.  Locomotion  and  carrying  a  load. — The  preceding  table  shows  what 
experience  teaches — that  the  horse  requires  more  nutrients  to  travel  a 
mile  when  carrying  a  load  than  when  merely  moving  his  own  body.  We 
see  that  while  only  0.169  lb.  net  nutrients  are  required  in  walking  a  mile 
at  a  speed  of  3.5  miles  per  hour  with  no  load,  0.210  lb.  of  nutrients,  or 
over  24  per  ct.  more,  are  needed  when  a  load  of  220  lbs.  is  carried  at  about 
the  same  pace.  When  the  same  load  was  carried  at  a  trot  with  a  speed  of 
6.9  miles  per  hour  the  amount  of  nutrients  required  was  increased  by  over 
53  per  ct. 

Since  in  locomotion  the  body  of  the  horse  is  alternately  raised  and 
lowered,  it  is  difficult  to  measure  the  actual  amount  of  mechanical  work 
performed  in  order  to  compare  it  with  the  energy  expended.  Compu- 
tations by  Zuntz  indicate  that  about  35  per  ct.  of  the  total  energy  ex- 
pended by  the  horse  moving  on  the  level  is  actually  transformed  into  the 
external  work  of  advancing  his  body,  the  remainder  of  the  energy  pro- 
ducing no  external  work,  but  taking  the  form  of  heat. 

453.  Influence  of  grade. — The  table  further  brings  out  the  striking  fact 
that  for  every  100  ft.  the  horse  raises  his  body  in  ascending  an  incline  of 
10.7  per  ct.  (a  rise  of  10.7  ft.  in  100  ft.),  he  requires  0.06  lb.  of  net  nutri- 
ents in  addition  to  the  amount  required  on  a  level  course.  In  other 
words,  in  raising  his  body  200  ft.  in  going  up  a  grade  he  would  use  up 
almost  as  much  feed  as  in  traveling  a  mile  horizontally.  At  the  incline 
of  10.7  per  ct.  the  horse  was  about  as  efficient  in  converting  feed  into 
muscular  work  as  when  traveling  on  a  level  course,  about  34  per  ct.  of 
the  total  energy  expended  being  transformed  into  the  actual  work  of 
both  propelling  his  body  and  raising  it  against  the  force  of  gravity.  In 
climbing  a  hill  the  horse  does  much  more  work  in  traveling  a  mile  than 
when  going  on  a  level  course,  for  besides  propelling  his  body,  he  must 
raise  it  against  the  force  of  gravity.  Including  both  the  work  of  ascent 
and  the  work  of  locomotion,  Zuntz  found  that  in  ascending  the  grade  of 
10.7  per  ct.  at  a  speed  of  3.1  miles  per  hour  the  horse  expended  more  than 
3  times  as  much  energy  as  in  walking  the  same  distance  on  the  level  at  but 
a  slightly  faster  pace.  In  the  latter  case  he  was  merely  propelling  his 
body  and  not  raising  it  against  the  force  of  gravity.  At  the  steeper 
grade  of  18.1  ft.  in  100,  nearly  5  times  as  much  energy  was  expended  as 
when  moving  on  a  horizontal  course. 

In  going  down  a  gentle  incline,  owing  to  the  pull  of  gravity,  less  energy 
was  expended  than  in  moving  on  a  level  road,  resulting  in  a  saving  of 
nutrients,  such  saving  being  greatest  when  the  down  grade  was  about  5  ft. 
'"  The  Breeds  of  the  Domestic  Animals  of  the  British  Isles. 


290  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

in  100.  If  the  grade  was  steeper,  the  horse  expended  energy  in  bracing 
himself  to  check  too  rapid  progress.  When  the  downward  grade  reached 
10  ft.  in  100,  as  much  energy  was  expended  as  when  traveling  on  a  level, 
and  on  a  still  steeper  down  grade  the  amount  of  energy  expended  was 
greater  than  that  expended  on  the  level. 

The  saving  of  feed  by  the  proper  use  of  wagon  brakes  in  a  hilly  country 
is  evident  when  w^e  consider  the  energy  the  horse  spends  in  descending  a 
steep  hill.  Here  he  must  not  only  brace  himself  to  hold  back  his  own 
body,  but  must  also  struggle  to  hold  in  check  the  heavy  weight  of  the 
wagon. 

454.  Draft. — The  preceding  table  (450)  shows  that  after  deducting 
the  energy  necessary  for  merely  moving  the  body  on  a  level  course,  1.157 
lbs.  of  net  nutrients  were  required  by  the  horse  for  each  1000  ft.-tons  of 
draft  on  a  level  course.  The  horse  is  slightly  less  efficient  as  a  machine 
in  performing  draft  than  in  moving  his  body  along  a  level  course  or  in 
raising  it  against  the  force  of  gravity,  for  only  31  per  ct.  of  the  total 
energy  expended  was  actually  turned  into  draft.  In  drawing  a  load  up 
a  grade  of  only  8.5  ft.  in  100,  but  23  per  ct.  of  the  energy  expended  was 
actually  turned  into  work.  This  was  due  to  the  fact  that  when  perform- 
ing draft  up  that  grade  more  work  was  done  per  minute,  and  this  led  to 
an  increase  in  the  rapidity  of  breathing  and  the  over-exertion  of  certain 
groups  of  muscles,  with  the  result  that  more  energy  was  wasted  as  heat 
and  less  was  utilized  in  moving  the  load. 

455.  The  nutritive  ratio  for  work  animals. — We  have  seen  before  that 
under  normal  conditions  the  non-nitrogenous  nutrients — carbohydrates 
and  fats — furnish  the  energy  necessary  for  the  production  of  muscular 
work,  and  that  no  more  protein  tissue  is  usually  broken  down  during 
work  than  during  rest.  (140)  Hence,  as  Kellner'^^  points  out,  there  is  a 
great  similarity  between  the  nutrient  requirements  of  mature  working 
and  mature  fattening  animals.  After  growth  is  completed  and  the  pro- 
tein tissues  and  organs  of  the  body  have  reached  full  size,  both  working 
and  fattening  animals  need  only  so  much  crude  protein  in  their  food  in 
excess  of  maintenance  requirements  as  is  necessary  to  insure  complete 
digestion  of  the  ration.  The  remainder  of  the  nutrient  requirements, 
whether  for  producing  fat  with  the  ox  or  performing  work  with  the  horse, 
may  be  met  thru  a  sufficient  supply  of  carbohydrates  and  fat.  (143) 

Accordingly  it  is  not  necessary  and  is,  furthermore,  often  not  economi- 
cal to  furnish  as  much  digestible  protein  in  the  ration  as  stated  in  the 
Wolff-Lehmann  standard,  which  places  the  nutritive  ratio  at  1 :7.0  in 
the  case  of  light  work,  1 :6.2  for  medium  work,  and  1 :6.0  in  heavy  work. 

Grandeau  and  Alekan^*  found  that  when  horses  working  at  a  trot 
were  fed  rations  of  corn,  sugar,  and  oat  straw,  furnishing  but  little  crude 
protein  and  having  extremely  wide  ratios,  varying  from  1 :21  to  1 :28,  the 
ration  still  contained  sufficient  digestible  crude  protein  to  keep  them  in 
excellent  condition.     Kellner^^  found  that  horses  were  able  to  perform 

"  Ernahr.  landw.  Nutztiere,  1907,  p.  443.  ''  Landw.  Jahrb.,  a,  p.  665. 

"Ann.  Sci.  Agron.,  1901,  II,  p.  38. 


FACTORS  INFLUENCING  THE  WORK  OF  THE  HORSE     291 

hard  labor  without  deterioration  on  a  ration  having  a  nutritive  ratio  of 
1 :9.  Grandeau  fed  3  horses  during  a  whole  year,  sometimes  on  a  ration 
of  horse  beans  and  straw  having  a  nutritive  ratio  of  1 :3,  and  again  on  one 
of  Indian  corn  and  straw  having  a  ratio  of  1 :10.  While  on  these  rations 
the  horses  were  either  resting  in  the  stall,  exercising  at  a  walk  or  trot, 
working  on  a  sweep  at  a  walk  or  trot,  or  finally  working  before  the  car- 
riage. The  effect  of  the  rations  was  about  the  same  in  all  cases,  and  any 
difference  was  in  favor  of  the  corn-and-straw  ration  having  the  wider 
ratio.  These  and  other  experiments,  as  well  as  practical  experience,  show 
that  the  nutritive  ratio  for  work  horses  may  vary  widely  without  injury 
so  long  as  the  minimum  requirement  of  crude  protein  is  satisfied. 

We  should  remember,  however,  that  when  more  than  8  to  10  parts  of 
digestible  non-nitrogenous  nutrients  (carbohydrates  +  fat  X  2.25)  are 
supplied  to  one  part  of  digestible  protein,  the  digestibility  of  the  ration 
is  decreased.  (84)  Most  authorities  agree  also  that  a  supply  of  protein 
in  excess  of  the  actual  minimum  requirement  has  a  beneficial  stimulating 
influence  on  the  animal.  It  would,  therefore,  not  seem  advisable  to  feed 
to  horses  a  ration  having  a  wider  nutritive  ratio  than  1 :8  to  1 :10,  except 
possibly  under  unusual  conditions  when  protein-rich  roughages  or  con- 
centrates were  not  at  hand,  or  were  unusually  high  in  price. 

McCampbelP"'  of  the  Kansas  Station  studied  this  question  in  his  ex- 
periments at  Fort  Riley,  the  most  extensive  yet  carried  on  with  horses  in 
the  United  States.  From  trials  in  which  prairie  hay  and  corn  were  fed 
with  and  without  a  nitrogenous  supplement,  he  concludes  that  a  ration 
having  a  wider  nutritive  ratio  than  1 :8  is  inadvisable.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  employ  protein-rich  concentrates  to  secure  this  nutritive  ratio  when 
legume  hay  forms  the  larger  part  of  the  roughage  allowance. 

456.  Kation  for  the  work  horse. — We  have  seen  how  it  is  possible  to 
analyze  the  work  a  horse  does,  and  determine  the  amount  of  net  nutrients 
he  requires  for  each  type.  In  practice,  however,  in  only  a  few  instances 
is  it  possible  to  determine  the  nutrients  in  this  manner,  because  of  the 
complex  and  varying  nature  of  the  work.  We  must,  therefore,  use  some 
simpler  method  in  computing  a  ration  for  the  horse.  As  shoAvn  in  the  pre- 
ceding article,  the  Wolff-Lehmann  standard  advises  more  protein  than  is 
necessary,  and  is  hence  often  uneconomical.  Kellner-^  has  embodied  the 
findings  of  Zuntz  in  his  standards,  shown  in  the  following  table,  which 
states  the  amounts  of  digestible  protein  and  net  energy  required  by  the 
horse  at  light,  medium,  and  heavy  work  per  1000  lbs.  live  weight.  Altho 
such  a  classification  of  work  performed  is  somewhat  vague,  it  is  still 
helpful  in  practice.  Murray--  states  that  for  the  1000-lb.  horse,  light  work 
means  the  performance  of  from  250  to  500  ft.-tons  of  work  per  hour,  or- 
dinary work  500  to  750  ft.-tons,  and  heavy  work  750  to  1000  ft.-tons.  For 
the  convenience  of  American  readers,  the  requirements  of  net  energy,  as 
set  forth  by  Kellner,  have  been  converted  into  therms. 

^'Kan.  Bui.  186. 

"Ernahr.  landw.  Nutztiere,  1907,  p.  453. 

='='  Murray,  Chem.  of  Cattle  Feeding,  1914,  p.  153. 


292  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Requirements  of  horses  at  light,  medium,  and  heavy  work 

Required  per  1000  lbs.  live  weight 
Digestible  protein  Net  energy 

Lbs.  Therms 

Horse  at  light  work 1.0  9.8 

Horse  at  medium  work 1.4  12.4 

Horse  at  heavy  work 2 .0  16 .0 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  horse  at  heavy  work  is  given  twice  as  much 
protein  as  when  at  light  work,  while  the  net  energy  supply  is  increased  by 
only  about  63  per  ct.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  horse  at  severe  labor 
is  benefited  by  a  fairly  liberal  supply  of  protein.  The  requirements  of 
the  work  horse  as  determined  by  Zuntz  and  McCampbell  have  been  stated 
by  the  authors  in  terms  of  dry  matter,  digestible  crude  protein,  and  total 
digestible  nutrients,  and  are  given  in  Appendix  Table  V. 

457.  Severe  work. — The  more  severe  the  labor  which  the  horse  per- 
forms, the  larger  must  be  the  supply  of  net  nutrients.  Since  the  ration 
must  not  have  undue  bulk,  this  necessitates  a  large  proportion  of  concen- 
trates, high  in  net  energy  content.  On  the  other  hand,  the  more  severe 
the  labor  the  smaller  must  be  the  allowance  of  roughage,  for  coarse  feeds 
are  of  low  value  for  producing  work,  and  when  given  in  undue  amount 
hinder  breathing,  thru  the  distension  of  the  digestive  tract,  thus  placing 
an  increased  burden  on  the  already  hard-worked  animal.  However, 
some  roughage  must  be  supplied  even  during  severe  labor,  for,  as  is 
shown  elsewhere,  horses  fed  no  roughage  but  given  an  abundance  of  oats, 
which  are  rather  high  in  fiber,  soon  show  loss  of  appetite  and  impairment 
of  the  digestive  functions.  (107)  It  must  be  remembered  that  rich  feed, 
carelessly  administered,  brings  danger ;  hence  especial  care  must  be  used 
in  feeding  the  horse  at  severe  work. 

"Wolff  cites  the  intense  work  of  the  mail-coach  horses  on  the  route 
from  Plieningen  to  Stuttgart,  Germany.  Two  strongly  built,  spirited 
horses,  in  good  flesh,  drew  a  heavy  mail  coach,  often  carrying  8  passen- 
gers, up  and  down  the  mountain  road  35  miles  daily,  trotting  at  the  speed 
of  5.4  miles  per  hour.  They  were  fed  daily  22  to  24  lbs.  of  oats  mixed 
with  cut  straw,  and  hay  without  limit,  of  which  thej^  ate  very  little — often 
none  at  all.  Under  these  severe  conditions  these  horses  received  sufficient 
fiber  in  the  oats  and  cut  straw,  and  hence  instinctively  refused  hay. 

Formerly  the  German  army  horse  was  fed  only  11  lbs.  of  oats,  5.5  lbs. 
of  hay,  and  some  cut  straw  during  the  maneuvers,  when  often  traveling 
over  40  miles  a  day,  covering  about  equal  distances  at  the  walk,  trot,  and 
gallop.  It  is  not  surprising  that  on  this  ration,  containing  only  about  8.8 
lbs.  of  digestible  nutrients,  the  horses,  which  performed  about  11,900  ft.- 
tons  of  work  daily,  lost  heavily  in  weight,  and  that  many  were  unfitted 
for  further  military  service. 

458.  Variations  in  body  weight. — During  exercise  and  work  a  loss  in 
body  weight  occurs  due  to  the  heavier  oxidation  or  burning  of  the  nutri- 
tive fluids  of  the  body  and  to  the  largely  increased  evaporation  of  water. 
Grandeau  and  LeClerc-^  found  that  2  horses  lost  on  the  average  2.3  lbs. 

2"  Ann.  Sci.  Agron.,  1888,  II,  p.  276. 


FACTORS  INFLUENCING  THE  WORK  OF  THE  HORSE      293 

each  when  walked  for  148  minutes  without  drawing  a  load,  while  on  haul- 
ing a  load  at  a  trot  for  79  minutes  each  lost  9.3  lbs.  A  horse  performing 
a  certain  amount  of  work  at  a  trot  gave  off  20.6  lbs.  of  water  vapor,  nearly 
twice  as  much  as  when  doing  the  same  amount  of  work  at  a  walk,  and  over 
3  times  as  much  as  when  at  rest.  Such  losses  diminish  the  amount  of 
energy  available  for  the  production  of  work. 

Rueff-*  found,  after  making  corrections  for  food  and  droppings,  that 
farm  horses  at  medium  work  lost  7.7  lbs.  each  during  11  hours.  A  horse 
carrying  a  176-lb.  load  lost  11  lbs.  in  25  minutes  and  regained  only  1  lb. 
in  24  hours.  A  14-yr.-old  blind  stallion  ridden  90  minutes  by  a  166-lb. 
rider  lost  33  lbs.,  regaining  22  lbs.  the  following  day.  Von  Lutzow-^ 
found  that  20  draft  horses,  weighing  about  1750  lbs.,  each  lost  from  44  to 
122  lbs.  when  put  at  hard  work  for  2  weeks.  In  a  3-day  rest  period  only 
3  horses  regained  their  original  weight. 

Boussingault-*'  found  the  maximum  variation  in  the  weight  of  2  horses 
on  the  same  keep  and  care  during  15  days  to  be  25  and  28  lbs.  respectively. 
A  horse  put  on  the  scales  at  4  o'clock  after  fasting  weighed  1051  lbs.  one 
morning,  1060  lbs.  the  next  morning,  and  1038  lbs.  the  third  morning. 
This  shows  the  necessity  of  carrying  on  feeding  experiments  for  consider- 
able periods  and  with  several  animals  in  order  to  escape,  or  rather  lessen, 
the  errors  which  are  introduced  into  the  calculations  thru  accidental 
variations  in  the  weights  of  the  animals  studied. 


II.  Preparation  of  Feeding  Stuffs  for  the  Horse 

459.  Chaffed  hay. — In  large  establishments  chafBng  or  cutting  the  hay 
given  to  horses  is  usually  advisable,  because  the  cut  roughage  can 
then  be  accurately  administered  according  to  the  needs  of  each  animal, 
dust  can  be  allayed,  and  the  feeding  operations  more  systemized  and  ex- 
pedited. Horses  that  have  been  on  the  street  all  day  and  have  worked  to 
the  limit  may  be  given  meal  mixed  with  a  small  portion  of  the  moistened 
chaffed  hay,  some  of  the  nourishment  thus  being  passed  to  the  stomach 
more  quickly  than  is  possible  when  feeding  long  hay.  On  this  point 
Lavalard,-'^  summarizing  extensive  experience  with  omnibus  and  cab 
horses  in  Paris,  writes:  "For  the  past  4  or  5  years  we  have  chopped 
coarse  fodder,  using  a  ration  of  equal  parts  of  hay  and  straw,  and  have 
found  this  practice  the  most  economical  for  several  reasons :  Straw  may 
thus  be  made  to  form  an  integral  part  of  the  ration,  and  the  proportion 
of  hay  and  straw  may  be  accurately  regulated.  Furthermore,  horses 
waste  much  less  of  such  fodder.  .  .  .  The  feeding  of  chopped  fodder  has 
brought  about  a  considerable  saving  and  permitted  greater  uniformity 
than  was  previously  the  case  in  our  experiments. ' '  On  the  other  hand, 
having  in  mind  farm  horses,  Lindsey  of  the  Massachusetts  Station-^  'olds 
that  there  is  no  particular  advantage  in  cutting  hay.     (424) 

"'Von  Gohren,  Naturgesetze  d.  Futterung,  p.  370.     "  Expt.  Sta.  Rec,  12,  p.  12. 
^^Deut.  Landw.  Presse.,  36,  1909,  p.  285.  =«  Mass.  Bui.  99. 

2=  Ann.  Sci.  Agron.,  1884,  II,  p.  330;  Rural  Economy,  p.  397. 


294  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

460.  Cooked  feed. — The  custom  of  cooking  even  a  small  portion  of  the 
feed  given  to  horses  has  almost  ceased.  Johnstone,^^  who  had  the  practice 
thoroly  ingrained  into  his  nature  by  early  Scotch  experience,  out  of  his 
later  observations  writes :  ' '  Time  was  when  I  considered  the  feeding  of 
sloppy  stuff  a  necessity  in  properly  wintering  brood  mares,  but  experience 
has  shown  me  that  dry  food  is  best.  Therefore  I  prefer  uncooked  food.  .  . 
Time  was  when  I  believed  that  for  stallions  during  the  season  it  was 
an  excellent  plan  to  give  a  mash  of  boiled  barley  every  Wednesday  and 
Saturday  night.  .  .  .  The  experiments  have,  however,  shown  that  the  ad- 
dition of  this  material  to  a  horse 's  grain  ration  makes  no  appreciable  dif- 
ference in  the  manner  in  which  the  grain  is  digested."  (425-9) 

461.  Soaked  grain. — Wolff ^°  found  that  healthy  horses  with  good  teeth 
utilized  beans  and  corn  equally  well,  whether  fed  whole  and  dry  or  after 
having  been  soaked  in  water  for  24  hours,  care  being  taken  in  the  latter 
ease  to  guard  against  loss  of  nutrients.  Ear  corn  that  is  so  dry  and  flinty 
as  to  injure  the  horse's  mouth  should  be  soaked  or  ground.  Whole  wheat 
and  barley  should  always  be  soaked  if  they  cannot  be  ground,  or,  better, 
rolled.  (430) 

462.  Ground  grain. — Investigations  have  shown  that  when  horses  are 
fed  whole  oats  mixed  with  cut  straw  or  hay  the  percentage  of  kernels 
passing  thru  the  alimentary  tract  unmasticated  is  much  smaller  than 
when  the  whole  oats  are  fed  alone.  From  his  extensive  studies  with 
thousands  of  cab,  omnibus,  and  army  horses  in  France,  to  which  cut  straw 
or  hay  was  usually  fed,  Lavalard^^  concludes  that  the  advantages  gained 
by  grinding  oats  were  not  covered  by  the  expense.  In  some  of  the  experi- 
ments the  horses  showed  better  appetites  for  whole  than  for  ground  oats. 
Grisdale  of  the  Ottawa  Experimental  Farms^^  likewise  concludes  that 
where  oats  are  mixed  with  bran  and  cut  hay  there  is  no  advantage  in 
grinding  if  the  horses  have  good  teeth.  Whether  it  T^dll  pay  to  grind  oats 
when  not  fed  with  cut  roughage  will  depend  on  how  well  the  horse  masti- 
cates the  grain  and  on  the  expense  of  grinding.  A  profit  from  crushing 
oats  is  claimed  by  several  large  feed  stables.  As  shown  later  (475), 
thruout  the  corn  belt  corn  is  usually  fed  on  the  cob  or  as  shelled  corn, 
tho  some  authorities  recommend  the  use  of  corn-and-cob  meal  or  coarse- 
ly ground  corn  meal.  It  is  reasonable  to  hold  that  when  horses  are  hard 
worked  and  have  but  little  time  in  the  stable,  or  when  their  teeth  are 
poor,  it  is  well  to  grind  their  grain.  All  small,  hard  grains,  such  as 
wheat,  barley,  rye,  and  kafir,  should  always  be  ground  or,  better,  rolled. 


III.  Watering  the  Horse;  Salt 

463.  Time  for  watering. — On  theoretical  grounds  various  authorities 
have  advised  watering  the  horse  before  giving  him  grain,  to  prevent  pos- 
sible flushing  of  the  grain  out  of  the  stomach  into  the  small  intestine. 

^  The  Horse,  p.  77.  ''  Expt.  Sta.  Rec,  12,  p.  12. 

^Landw.  Jahrb.,  16,  1887,  Sup.  Ill,  p.  21.     "  Ottawa  Expt.  Farms  Rpt.,  1905. 


FACTORS  INFLUENCING  THE  WORK  OF  THE  HORSE     295 

TangP^  of  Budapest,  whose  investigations  concerning  the  time  of  water- 
ing horses  are  the  most  complete  of  any  recorded,  found  that  horses  may 
be  watered  before,  after,  or  during  meals  without  interfering  with  the 
digestion  or  the  absorption  of  the  food  they  eat.  All  methods  are  equally 
good,  tho  circumstances  may  favor  one  over  the  other.  A  horse  long  de- 
prived of  water,  or  having  undergone  severe  exertion,  should  be  watered 
before  getting  his  feed.  An  animal  accustomed  to  a  certain  order  of 
watering  should  not  be  changed  to  another  order,  for  such  change  di- 
minishes the  appetite.  Horses  drink  the  greatest  amount  of  water  when  it 
is  given  after  they  have  been  fed,  and  the  least  when  it  is  supplied  before 
they  are  fed.  In  some  cases  watering  before  feeding  somewhat  decreased 
the  appetite.  Tangl  shows  that  the  only  important  point  in  this  whole 
matter,  about  which  there  has  been  so  much  discussion  and  dogmatic  as- 
sertion, is  to  adopt  a  reasonable,  convenient  system  of  watering,  and  then 
rigidly  adhere  to  it.  It  is  dangerous  to  allow  a  horse  to  gorge  himself 
with  water  when  very  warm,  but  a  moderate  drink  taken  slowly  will  re- 
fresh him  without  harm  resulting. 

464.  Amount  of  water  consumed. — The  amount  of  water  which  horses 
will  drink  depends  upon  many  factors,  the  most  important  of  which  are 
the  individuality  of  the  animals,  the  temperature  of  the  air,  the  nature  of 
their  food,  and  the  amount  of  work  performed.  Grandeau  and  LeClerc^* 
found  that  2  Paris  cab  horses  when  drawing  a  load  at  a  walk  consumed 
16  per  ct.  more  water  than  when  walking  but  drawing  no  load.  On  trot- 
ting with  no  load  the  amount  was  increased  6  per  ct.,  and  on  drawing  a 
load  at  a  trot  85  per  ct.  over  that  consumed  when  walking  without  a  load. 

Merrill  of  the  Utah  Station^^  found  that  horses  fed  timothy  hay  drank 
79  lbs.  of  water  each  dail}^,  while  on  alfalfa  hay  they  drank  10  lbs.  more. 
One  of  2  horses  getting  alfalfa  hay  drank  21  lbs.  of  water  more  per  day 
than  the  other.  Morrow  of  the  Oklahoma  Station^*'  reports  that  during 
hot  weather  in  August  a  pair  of  farm  mules  drank  350  lbs.  of  water  in  1 
day — an  extremely  large  amount.  In  making  provisions  for  water,  from 
10  to  12  gallons,  or  100  lbs.,  daily  should  be  allowed  for  each  horse.  (103) 

465.  Salt. — The  horse  shows  great  fondness  for  salt,  and  for  his  well- 
being  it  should  be  regularly  supplied.  Horses  at  hard  work  require  more 
than  those  laboring  less  severely.  Roberts"'  states  that  4  horses  on  dry 
feed  ate  28  pounds  of  salt  in  56  days,  or  2  ounces  per  horse  daily. 


IV.    ]\IlSCELLANEOUS   FACTORS    INFLUENCING    EFFICIENCY    OF   HORSES 

466.  Exercise. — The  Arabs  have  a  saying,  ' '  Rest  and  fat  are  the  great- 
est enemies  of  the  horse."  The  horse  is  par  excellence  the  creature  of 
motion,  and  in  its  feeding  and  management  we  should  hold  this  point  ever 
in  view.    The  prudent  horseman  will  bear  in  mind  that  correlative  with 

"^Landw.  Vers.  Sta.,  57,  1902,  p.  329.         =^Okla.  Rpt.  1898. 

5" Ann.  Sci.  Agron.,  1888,  2,  p.  276.  "The  Horse,  1905,  p.  311. 

»  Utah  Bui.  77. 


296  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

liberal  feeding  there  must  be  hearty  exercise  or  severe  labor,  and  that 
these  conditions  may  be  happily  balanced.  As  soon  as  hard  labor  ceases, 
or  constant  and  vigorous  exercise  is  over,  it  will  be  found  absolutely 
necessary  to  reduce  the  allowance  of  food  if  the  proper  balance  is  to  be 
maintained.  The  idle  horse  should  be  limited  to  less  than  half  the  grain 
given  while  on  regular  duty,  and  in  some  instances  it  were  better  to  give 
none,  provided  the  roughage  supplied  be  of  good  quality. 

A  colt  fed  heavily  on  suitable  nutrients  will  grow  rapidly  and  develop 
good  bone  and  strong  muscle,  provided  at  all  times  there  be  a  proper 
balance  between  exercise  and  feed.  The  highly  fed  colt  should  be  out  of 
doors  from  8  to  10  hours  a  day,  and  should  move  several  miles  each  day 
either  in  the  field,  on  the  track,  or  both,  A  mature  horse  should  receive 
regular  exercise,  traveling  not  less  than  5  to  6  miles  daily,  to  maintain 
health. 

467.  The  stable. — Proper  ventilation  of  the  stable  is  most  important 
in  maintaining  the  health  of  the  stabled  horse.  Cool,  well-ventilated 
quarters  are  far  preferable  to  warm,  close  stables.  Captain  Hayes^^ 
states  that  in  some  large  city  stables  of  Russia  the  temperature  is  often 
kept  80°  F.  above  that  of  the  outside  air  in  winter.  Under  these  conditions 
trouble  from  influenza,  inflammation  of  the  eyes,  and  diseases  of  the  respi- 
ratory organs  are  common.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the  cavalry  remount 
stables,  roomy,  clean,  and  well-ventilated,  the  horses  keep  in  excellent 
health.  He  further  states  that  previous  to  1836,  the  mortality  of  horses 
in  the  French  army  was  enormous,  the  annual  loss  varying  from  180  to 
197  per  1000  animals.  Enlargement  of  the  stables  and  better  ventilation 
reduced  this  mortality  to  less  than  one-seventh  the  former  figures.  In 
all  cases  horses  should  be  protected  from  drafts,  and  judgment  must  be 
used  in  blanketing  them  in  extreme  weather. 

468.  Blanketing  and  clipping. — Horses  at  work  prove  more  efficient  and 
last  longer  when  reasonably  protected  against  sudden  changes  in  tempera- 
ture and  cold  rains.  It  is  important  to  blanket  the  horse  in  cold  weather 
whenever  his  work  ceases  and  he  is  forced  to  stand  in  the  cold  for  even 
a  short  time.  Stable  blankets  keep  the  coat  in  better  condition,  but  when 
they  are  used  it  is  especially  necessary  to  protect  the  horse  when  stand- 
ing idle  out  of  doors. 

The  heavy  coat  which  the  horse  grows  for  winter  protection  has  cer- 
tain disadvantages  with  the  work  animal  under  his  artificial  conditions. 
The  horse  with  a  long  coat  sweats  unduly  at  work  and  his  system  is 
thereby  enervated  and  relaxed,  rendering  him  especially  subject  to  colds. 
As  it  is  difficult  to  completely  dry  such  a  horse  after  a  day 's  work,  it  may 
often  be  advisable  to  clip  him  early  enough  in  the  fall  to  permit  the 
growth  of  a  lighter  coat  for  protection  before  severe  weather  begins. 
However,  he  should  not  be  fall  clipped  unless  he  is  carefully  protected 
from  cold  at  all  times  when  not  working.  Horses  are  often  clipped  in  the 
spring  after  the  shedding  process  has  begun,  but  before  the  new  coat  has 

^  Stable  Management  and  Exercise,  1900,  p.  198. 


FACTORS  INFLUENCING  THE  WORK  OF  THE  HORSE     297 

started,  thus,  it  is  claimed,  preventing  as  great  a  draft  on  the  animal's 
system  and  certainly  obviating  the  annoyance  of  the  shedding  coat,  es- 
pecially disagreeable  in  the  case  of  gray  horses. 

469.  Grooming:. — As  the  horse  at  severe  labor  gives  off  several  pounds 
of  perspiration  daily,  when  this  evaporates  considerable  solid  waste  ma- 
terial is  left  on  the  animal 's  coat.  Thoro  and  careful  grooming  is  neces- 
sary to  remove  such  body  waste  and  keep  the  pores  open  and  the  skin 
healthy.  Aside  from  the  better  appearance  which  results,  proper  groom- 
ing pays  in  the  greater  efficiency  of  the  hard-worked  animal.  It  is  best 
to  groom  the  work  horse  at  night  after  a  severe  day 's  work,  so  that  he  may 
rest  more  comfortably.  As  idle  horses  running  at  pasture  sweat  little, 
consume  green  grass  and  other  laxative  foods,  and  have  abundant  op- 
portunity to  roll,  grooming  is  unnecessary.  While  grooming  should  be 
thoro,  a  dull  currycomb  is  preferable  to  a  sharp  one,  and  a  brush  should 
be  used  on  the  tender  head  and  legs. 

470.  Care  of  teeth. — The  teeth  of  the  horse  often  wear  irregularly, 
especially  those  of  old  horses,  leaving  sharp  points  and  ragged  edges 
that  cause  pain,  prevent  proper  mastication  of  food,  and  in  extreme  cases 
actually  cause  starvation.  Many  horses  that  are  poor  in  flesh  and  wear 
staring  coats,  despite  a  reasonable  supply  of  food,  owe  their  condition 
to  poor  teeth  alone.  The  teeth  should  therefore  be  frequently  examined 
and  cared  for,  the  irregularities  being  removed  by  a  float  or  guarded 
rasp.  The  crowns,  or  caps,  of  the  first,  or  milk  teeth,  are  also  apt  to 
remain  too  long  in  the  young  horse 's  mouth,  causing  crooked  permanent 
teeth;  these  crowns  should  be  removed  with  forceps. 

471.  General  hints. — To  be  most  efficient  in  converting  the  energy  of 
his  feed  into  useful  work,  the  horse  must  labor  in  a  properly  fitting  har- 
ness. The  collar  needs  special  attention,  for  the  capacity  of  many  a  horse 
is  decreased  because  he  wears  an  ill-fitting  collar.  It  is  vitally  important 
that  his  feet  be  properly  shod,  so  that  the  weight  and  wear  are  evenly  dis- 
tributed on  the  joints  of  the  ankle.  The  other  mechanical  principles 
which  determine  the  efficiency  of  work,  such  as  the  correct  use  of  eveners, 
the  proper  adjustment  of  traces  and  of  line  of  draft,  the  distribution  of 
the  load  on  the  wagon,  and  the  influence  of  size  of  wheel,  width  of  tires, 
and  character  of  road  bed  must  all  be  given  due  consideration.  In  start- 
ing the  day  the  horse  should  be  gradually  warmed  to  his  work,  so  that  his 
collar  will  be  shaped  to  his  shoulders,  his  muscles  in  proper  trim,  his 
bowels  relieved,  and  breathing  and  heart  action  quickened  before  he  is 
put  to  extreme  exertion.  It  is  likewise  w^ell  to  cool  him  off  gradually  at 
the  end  of  a  trip  or  of  the  day's  work  before  returning  to  the  stable. 
That  he  may  rest  in  comfort,  his  stall  should  be  well  bedded. 

No  other  farm  animal  is  so  strongly  the  creature  of  habit  as  is  the  horse, 
and  in  no  way  is  he  more  so  than  in  the  matters  relating  to  food  and  its 
administration.  Sudden  changes  in  quantity  and  variety  should  be 
avoided.  A  quick  change  from  oats  to  corn  may  bring  on  colic,  but 
changing  from  corn  to  oats  is  less  dangerous.    An  abrupt  change  from  old 


298  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

to  new  hay  or  oats,  or  from  late  to  early  cut  hay,  is  hazardous.  Wilted 
grass  or  new  mown  hay  is  more  dangerous  than  fresh  grass.  Horses  are 
especially  susceptible  to  poisoning  thru  eating  moldy  grain  or  forage. 
(397)  Any  unusual  feeding  stuff,  such  as  silage,  roots,  apples,  etc., 
should  be  given  in  small  quantities  at  first,  and  changes  in  kind  and 
quantity  of  any  food  should  be  made  gradually.  It  is  best  to  mix  and 
feed  several  kinds  of  concentrates  together  rather  than  feed  them  sepa- 
rately. As  a  rule  some  hay  should  be  fed  at  the  same  time  the  concen- 
trates are  given,  in  order  to  distend  the  stomach  and  intestines  properly. 
As  is  shown  in  the  following  chapter  (492),  more  horses  are  injured  by 
gorging  on  hay  than  b}^  being  given  too  little. 

472.  Supervision  of  feeding. — In  stables  where  many  horses  are  main- 
tained, a  group  or  row  of  animals  should  remain  in  the  care  of  the  same 
attendant,  the  whole  establishment  being  under  the  watchful  supervision 
of  the  superintendent.  Wliile  we  can  estimate  quite  closely  the  amount 
of  food  to  be  given  a  hundred  or  a  thousand  horses,  there  should  always 
be  modifications  and  concessions  to  individual  members  of  the  establish- 
ment to  be  recognized  and  provided  for  by  the  guiding  mind, — one  horse 
should  have  a  little  more  than  the  regulation  allowance,  and  the  next  pos- 
sibly a  little  less,  the  object  being  to  keep  each  in  the  desired  condition. 
Usually  it  is  not  well  to  leave  the  feeding  of  horses  to  their  own  driver, 
for  he  has  likes  and  dislikes,  and  the  favorites  are  quite  certain  to  receive 
more  than  their  proper  allowance  of  grain,  while  the  others  suffer. 
A  watchful  superintendent  must  ever  be  on  the  alert  to  see  that  each  ani- 
mal secures  the  needed  provender. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

FEEDS  FOR  THE  HORSE 

I,  Carbonaceous  Concentrates 

At  any  point  of  observation  we  usually  find  the  common  ration  for  the 
horse  restricted  to  one  or  two  kinds  of  grain  and  the  same  limited  number 
of  roughages.  In  the  northern  Mississippi  Valley  states  the  ration  is 
quite  generally  confined  to  timothy  hay  and  oaLs.  In  the  South,  Indian 
corn  is  the  main  concentrate,  fed  with  dried  corn  leaves,  legume  hay,  and 
other  roughages.  Where  sugar  cane  is  grown,  blackstrap  molasses  is  an 
important  source  of  energy  for  work  animals.  On  the  Pacific  coast 
crushed  barley  is  the  common  grain,  with  hay  from  the  cereals.  Passing 
to  other  countries  we  find  an  interesting  array  of  articles  in  the  diet  of 
the  horse,  tho  usually  no  large  number  in  any  one  locality.  In  Europe 
various  oil  cakes  and  beans  often  form  part  of  the  concentrate  allowance. 
In  some  districts  stock  bread  is  commonly  employed.  Thruout  Arabia, 
Persia,  Egypt,  and  Algeria  the  only  grain  is  barley,  usually  mixed  with 
barley  or  wheat  straw  which  has  been  thoroly  broken  by  the  native 
threshing  machine.  In  northern  India  and  Bombay,  a  sort  of  pea,  called 
gram,  is  the  usual  food.  Bamboo  leaves  are  fed^  as  a  complete  substitute 
for  ordinary  grass  and  hay  in  the  hill  districts  of  eastern  Burmah.  In 
France,  Spain,  and  Italy,  besides  the  grasses,  the  leaves  of  limes  and  grape 
vines,  the  tops  of  acacia,  and  seeds  of  the  carob-tree  are  all  employed.  ' '  In 
some  sterile  countries,"  according  to  Loudon,-  "horses  are  forced  to  sub- 
sist on  dried  fish,  and  even  vegetable  mould.  In  parts  of  India,  salt, 
pepper,  and  other  spices  are  made  into  balls,  as  big  as  billiard  balls,  with 
flour  and  butter,  and  thrust  do^^Ti  the  animal 's  throat. ' ' 

With  this  brief  survey  of  some  of  the  foods  employed  in  the  nourish- 
ment of  the  horse,  let  us  consider  in  detail  the  feeding  stuffs  of  impor- 
tance in  the  United  States. 

473.  Oats. — No  other  grain  is  so  keenly  relished  by  horses  of  all  classes 
and  ages  and  so  prized  by  horsemen  as  the  oat,  the  standard  of  excellence 
wdth  which  other  concentrates  are  compared.  Oats  are  the  safest  of  all 
feeds  for  the  horse,  in  part  because  the  adherent  hull,  tho  of  low  nutri- 
tive value,  gives  such  bulk  that  not  enough  of  this  grain  can  be  eaten  at 
one  time  to  cause  serious  troubles  from  gorging,  and  so  there  is  little 
danger  from  possible  errors  in  measuring  the  grain  allowance.  (223)  On 
account  of  the  hulls  there  is,  likewise,  less  tendency  than  with  corn  for 
this  grain  to  pack  in  the  horse 's  stomach  where  there  is  much  less  churn- 
ing or  mixing  motion  than  with  the  ruminants.  (39) 

1  Hayes,  Stable  Management  and  Exercise. 

=  Encyclopedia  of  Agr.,  1886;  Article,  Feeding  of  Horses. 

299 


300  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

For  mature  horses  with  good  teeth  and  ample  time  for  masticating 
and  digesting  their  food,  it  will  hardly  pay  to  grind  or  crush  oats.  They 
should  be  thus  prepared,  however,  for  horses  with  poor  teeth,  for  foals, 
and  often  for  hard-worked  horses.  New  or  musty  oats  should  be 
avoided.  A  safe  rule  is  to  feed  1  quart  or  1  pound  of  oats  daily  for  each 
100  lbs.  of  horse — more  for  the  hard- worked  and  less  for  the  idle. 

Even  oats  do  not  always  form  a  perfect  concentrate,  for  Axe^  states 
that  the  strongest  advocates  of  this  feed  in  England  recognize  that  for 
hunters  and  for  other  horses  in  severe  weather  the  ration  is  improved  by 
the  addition  of  beans. 

474.  Substitutes  for  oats. — Because  of  their  universal  favor  and  the 
wide  demand  for  them,  oats  are  rarely  an  economical  grain  where  ex- 
pense must  be  considered.  Fortunately,  both  practical  and  scientific 
trials  alike  teach  that  other  single  grains  or  mixtures  of  concentrates  may 
be  substituted  for  oats  without  injury  to  the  condition,  wind,  endurance, 
or  even  the  spirit  of  the  horse. 

The  Arab  steed,  so  renowned  for  mettle  and  endurance,  is  fed  no  oats, 
but  chiefly  barley.  After  experiments  covering  35  years,  involving  the 
feeding  of  16,000  omnibus  horses  in  Paris  and  some  17,000  French  army 
horses,  Lavalard,^  the  great  French  authority  on  the  nutrition  of  the 
horse,  concluded  that  the  substitution  of  other  feeds  for  oats,  while  ef- 
fecting a  great  saving,  had  not  in  the  slightest  lowered  the  productive 
power  of  the  horses. 

The  entire  success  attained  with  grain  mixtures  containing  no  oats,  but 
properly  balanced  in  nutrients  and  having  the  requisite  bulk,  shows  that 
in  making  up  the  ration  for  the  horse,  just  as  with  other  animals,  the 
prices  of  the  various  available  feeds  should  always  be  considered.  The 
many  grains  and  by-products  which  may  be  successfully  fed  to  the  horse 
in  place  of  oats  are  discussed  in  the  following  articles.  From  these  studies 
and  a  knowledge  of  ruling  market  prices  for  feeds  each  feeder  may  deter- 
mine for  himself  the  most  economical  rations  to  employ. 

475.  Indian  corn. — Next  to  oats,  Indian  com  (maize)  is  the  common 
grain  for  horses  in  America,  being  most  largely  used  in  the  middle  and 
southern  portions  of  the  corn  belt  and  southward  in  the  cotton  states. 
Millions  of  horses  and  mules  on  American  farms  and  plantations  get 
their  strength  from  corn,  scarcely  knowing  the  taste  of  oats.  While  corn 
does  not  have  all  of  the  superlative  qualities  of  oats,  nevertheless,  because 
of  lower  cost  and  higher  feeding  value,  it  will  always  be  extensively  used 
in  this  country  wherever  large  numbers  of  horses  must  be  economically 
maintained.  (201) 

When  corn  forms  a  large  part  of  the  concentrate  allowance,  the  ration 
should  be  balanced  by  concentrates  or  roughages  rich  in  protein  and 
mineral  matter,  in  which  this  grain  is  deficient.  As  corn  is  a  heavy,  high- 
ly concentrated  feed,  care  must  also  be  exercised  in  limiting  the  amount 
fed  to  the  needs  of  the  animal.    To  neglect  of  these  principles  may  be  as- 

'•The  Horse,  etc.,  1907,  Vol.  8,  p.  347.        *  Expt.  Sta.  Rec,  12,  1900,  p.  13. 


FEEDS  FOR  THE  HORSE 


301 


cribed  the  unfavorable  results  that  sometimes  follow  the  feeding  of  this 
grain. 

In  all  cases  changes  from  oats  or  other  feeds  to  corn  should  be  brought 
about  gradually.  New  corn  may  produce  indigestion.  Ear  corn  is  safer 
to  feed  than  shelled  corn,  for  the  grain  keeps  best  on  the  cob  and  the 
horse  eats  corn  on  the  cob  more  slowly  and  chews  the  grain  more  com- 
pletely. Unfortunately  it  is  often  difficult  to  secure  good  ear  corn  in  the 
city,  due  to  its  bulk. 

Altho  thruout  the  corn  belt  the  grain  is  usually  fed  on  the  cob  or 
ghelled,  various  authorities^  recommend  grinding,  especially  for  hard- 
worked  horses.  Finely  ground  corn  meal  fed  alone,  however,  may  form 
an  adhesive  mass  in  the  stomach,  difficult  to  digest,  and  cause  colic.  If  it 
cannot  be  fed  on  the  cob  it  is  safer  to  grind  coarsely,  or  if  fine,  it  should 
be  mixed  with  chaffed  hay  or  straw.  The  Paris  Omnibus  Company^ 
found  it  advantageous  to  feed  corn-and-cob  meal,  holding  that  the  fiber 
of  the  cobs  made  the  ground  material  more  like  ground  oats  in  fiber  con- 
tent. In  experiments  at  the  North  Carolina  Station'^  with  3  teams  of 
mules  and  1  team  of  horses  Burkett  found  corn-and-cob  meal  as  valuable 
as  an  equal  weight  of  shelled  corn.  The  economy  of  grinding  corn  will 
depend  on  the  cost  and  trouble  involved ;  generally  it  will  not  pay.  (423) 

476.  Corn  with  carbonaceous  hay. — Since  a  ration  composed  of  corn  and 
carbonaceous  roughage,  as  timothy  or  prairie  hay,  is  deficient  in  protein, 
even  for  work  animals,  it  will  be  improved  by  the  addition  of  some 
nitrogenous  concentrate.  This  is  shown  by  the  following  results  secured 
by  McCampbell  at  the  Kansas  Station^  in  a  140-day  trial  with  artillery 
horses,  performing  more  severe  labor  than  the  average  farm  horse : 


Feeding  a  nitrogenous  supplement  with 

corn  and 

carbonaceous  hay 

Average  ration 

Initial 
weight 

Gain  or  loss 
in  weight 

Nutritive 
ratio 

Daily  cost  of 
feed  per  1,000 
lbs.  live  wt.* 

Lot  I,  76  horses 
Oats,  12  lbs. 

1,131 
1,181 

1,159 

Lbs. 

16.3 
—29.3 

3.9 

1  :7.9 
1  :  11.5 

1  :8.4 

Cents 

20  3 

Lot  II,  76  horses 
Shelled  corn,  12  lbs. 

17.5 

Lot  III,  22  horses 
Shelled  corn,  6  lbs. 
Wheat  bran,  3  lbs. 
Linseed  meal,  1  lb. 

16  7 

*  Oats,  $0 .  385  and  shelled  corn,  %0 .  55  per  bu. ;  wheat  bran,  $20 .  00,  linseed  meal,  $35 .  50,  and  prairie 
hay,  $12 .  50  per  ton. 

In  the  winter  when  the  weather  was  cold  and  the  work  moderate  there 
was  no  apparent  difference  between  the  horses  in  Lots  I  and  II.  However, 
as  the  weather  grew  warmer  and  the  work  more  severe,  the  corn-fed 
horses  began  to  lose  weight,  tho  their  endurance,  wind,  or  spirit  was  not 

^Stewart,  Feeding  Animals,  1886,  p.  384;  Burkett,  Farm  Stock,  1909,  p.  72. 

"  Centbl.  Agr.  Chem.,  1881,  p.  767.      '  N.  C.  Bui.  189.      *  Kan.  Bui.  186. 


302  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

injured.  The  well-balanced  ration  fed  Lot  III  was  fully  as  satisfactory 
as  the  oat  ration  and  more  economical  than  the  straight  corn  ration.  The 
objections  often  raised  against  corn — that  horses  fed  corn  lack  nerve  and 
action,  sweat  easily,  and  wear  out  earlier — are  doubtless  due  to  feeding 
an  excess  of  this  grain  or  failure  to  balance  the  ration  properly. 

Hooper  and  Anderson  of  the  Kentucky  Station"  report  that  corn  with 
timothy  and  oat  hay  maintained  mules,  working  on  an  average  6  hours  a 
day,  in  good  condition,  but  that  the  skin  and  hair  of  the  corn-fed  mules 
were  not  so  soft  and  glossy  as  with  those  fed  a  mixture  of  3  parts  corn,  1 
part  wheat  bran,  and  1  part  oil  meal. 

Beginning  in  1874,  the  Paris  Omnibus  Company,  employing  nearly 
10,000  horses  averaging  about  1200  lbs.  each,  conducted  extensive  feeding 
trials  with  Indian  corn.  Feeding  corn  exclusively  with  hay  from  the 
grasses  was  found  to  depress  the  spirits  of  the  horses,  and  accordingly  a 
mixture  of  6.6  lbs.  of  corn  and  12.1  lbs.  of  oats  was  adopted,  varying 
somewhat  with  different  horses.  Lavalard^**  states  that  thru  this  com- 
bination the  company  effected  a  saving  of  from  $200,000  to  $300,000 
yearly.  The  Paris  Cab  Company,  also  beginning  at  about  the  same  time 
to  feed  corn  in  place  of  oats,  had  such  satisfactory  results  that  it  almost 
entirely  ceased  feeding  oats. 

From  these  trials,  and  others  with  some  17,000  French  army  horses, 
Lavalard  writes:  "Experiments  have  demonstrated  that  corn  can  re- 
place oats  in  the  ration  of  both  army  and  cavalry  horses,  and  if  substi- 
tuted weight  for  weight,  it  increases  the  nutritive  value  of  the  ration. 
....  The  horses  fed  the  corn  ration  were  used  the  same  number  of 
hours  in  military  drill,  and  in  the  maneuvers  were  ridden  at  the  same 
gait  as  those  fed  oats,  and  it  was  practically  impossible  to  perceive  the 
least  difference  in  the  2  classes.  The  army  officers,  prejudiced  as  they 
naturally  M^ere,  were  forced  to  admit  that  all  the  horses  showed  the  same 
energy  and  vigor.  Careful  records  kept  show  that  sickness  and  mortality 
were  the  same  for  the  horses  on  the  2  rations. ' ' 

477.  Corn  and  legume  hay.— With  legume  hay,  which  supplies  the  lack- 
ing protein  and  ash,  for  roughage,  corn  may  be  successfully  fed  as  the 
only  concentrate  to  mature  horses  at  general  farm  work.  Carmichael 
fed  one  hoi-se  in  each  of  3  farm  teams  at  the  Ohio  Station"  shelled  corn, 
and  the  other  one  oats  with  mixed  clover  and  timothy  hay  for  roughage. 
The  trial  lasted  48  weeks,  with  the  following  results : 

Ear  corn  vs.  oats  with  mixed  clover  and  timothy  hay 


Gain  or 

Work 

Feed  cost 

Initial 

loss  in 

per 

Daily  cost 

per  hour 

Average  ration                    weight 
Lbs. 

weight 
Lbs. 

day 
Hrs. 

of  feed* 
Cents 

of  work* 
Cents 

Corn-fed  horses 

Ear  corn,  14.9  lbs. 

Mixedhay,  16.0  lbs....    1,525 

—3 

5.4 

15.0 

3.3 

Oat-fed  horses 

Oats,  14.8  lbs. 

Mixedhay,  17. 3  lbs....    1,424 

9 

5.3 

20.8 

4.5 

Corn,  $0.40,  and  oats,  $0.30  per  bu.;  hay  $8.00 

per  Ion. 

Ky.  Bui.  176,  1913.           ^"Expt.  Sta. 

Rec,  12,  ; 

1900,  p.  14, 

"  Obio  Bui.  195. 

FEEDS  FOR  THE  HORSE  303 

The  corn-fed  horses  received  about  the  same  weight  of  ear  corn,  in- 
cluding cob,  as  their  team  mates  did  of  oats,  and  ate  less  hay,  yet  they 
practically  maintained  their  weight.  Substituting  ear  corn  for  oats  re- 
sulted in  a  saving  of  over  one-fourth  in  cost  of  feed. 

Trowbridge  fed  one  mule  in  each  of  2  farm  teams  at  the  Missouri 
Station^-  shelled  corn  and  the  other  one  oats,  all  receiving  mixed  clover 
and  timothy  hay,  for  364  days,  when  the  rations  were  reversed  and  the 
feeding  continued  for  another  364-day  period.  The  mules  fed  corn  main- 
tained their  weight  slightly  better  than  those  fed  oats  and  at  21  per 
ct.  less  expense  for  feed,  with  oats  at  $0.40  and  shelled  corn  at  $0.50 
per  bushel.  Both  Carmichael  and  Trowbridge  report  that  the  corn-fed 
animals  endured  hard  work  during  hot  weather  as  well  as  those  fed  oats, 
and  that  the  corn  was  not  detrimental  to  health  or  spirit. 

478.  Barley. — This  grain  is  extensively  employed  for  horse  feeding 
in  Africa,  in  various  parts  of  the  Orient,  and  in  Europe.  In  this  country 
it  is  used  on  the  Pacific  coast,  especially  in  California.  Shepperd  of  the 
North  Dakota  Station^^  found  that  for  hard-worked  horses  barley  was 
not  quite  so  valuable,  pound  for  pound,  as  oats.  Lavalard  also  con- 
cludes from  20  years'  experience  that  to  replace  oats  a  slightly  greater 
quantity  of  barley  must  be  fed,  especially  when  rations  are  calculated 
as  closely  as  they  are  with  army  horses.  Where  the  horses'  teeth  are 
good  and  their  labor  not  severe,  barley  may  be  fed  whole,  but  it  is  usual- 
ly best  to  grind  or,  better,  roll  it.  Barley  meal  forms  a  pasty,  unpleas- 
ant mass  when  mixed  with  the  saliva  in  the  mouth.  This  can  be  largely 
avoided  by  crushing  the  grain  to  flattened  discs  between  iron  rollers. 
(226) 

479.  Wheat. — Altho  the  price  of  sound  wheat  usually  prohibits  its  use 
as  a  horse  feed,  that  which  has  been  frosted  or  otherwise  damaged,  if  not 
moldy,  may  be  fed  with  economy.  Wheat  should  preferably  be  rolled 
and  fed  in  moderate  amounts  only,  mixed  with  a  bulky  concentrate,  such 
as  bran,  or  vnth  chaffed  forage  to  avoid  digestive  troubles  and  skin 
eruptions."  (215) 

480.  Rye. — In  Germany,  according  to  Pott,^^  many  work  horses  are  fed 
2  to  6.6  lbs.  of  rye  per  day  in  combination  with  oats  or  other  concentrates, 
the  grain  preferably  being  rolled  or  bruised  and  mixed  with  cut  straw. 
The  change  to  rye  must  be  gradual  or  colic  may  result,  especially  if  the 
grain  is  not  well  mixed  with  cut  fodder.  The  bad  results  reported  with 
rye  are  probably  due  to  grain  of  poor  quality,  or  that  containing  impuri- 
ties. (232) 

481.  Kafir;  milo. — In  the  regions  where  they  flourish,  the  seeds  of  the 
various  sorghums  are  extensively  employed  for  horse  feeding,  tho  some- 
what less  valuable  than  corn.  Being  small  and  hard,  they  should  be 
ground  or  chopped,  and  if  possible  mixed  with  bran  or  middlings,  for 
they  tend  to  produce  constipation.     These  grains  may  also  be  fed  un- 

^  Mo.  Bui.  114.  *"  N.  D.  Bui.  45. 

"Shepperd,  N.  D.  Bui.  45;  Pott,  Handb.  Ernahr.  u.  Futter.,  II,  1907,  p.  445. 

"Handb.  Ernahr.  u.  Futter.,  11,  1907,  p.  449. 


304  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

threshed  in  the  heads  along  with  the  forage.  Morrow  of  the  Oklahoma 
Station^^  reports  the  successful  feeding  of  kafir  to  farm  mules  and  horses. 
(235-42) 

482.  Cane  molasses. — Thruout  the  sugar-cane  districts  cane  molasses  is 
often  the  most  economical  source  of  carbohydrates  for  work  animals. 
Dalrymple^'  of  the  Louisiana  Station,  collecting  data  from  47  Louisiana 
sugar  plantations  employing  over  5,000  work  animals,  chiefly  mules, 
found  that  an  average  of  9.5  lbs.  of  cane  molasses  was  fed  daily  to  each 
animal,  the  maximum  being  21  lbs.  The  molasses  was  usually  mixed 
with  corn  (ground  with  both  cob  and  husks),  other  concentrates,  or  cut 
hay,  but  was  sometimes  fed  separately  in  troughs  or  poured  on  uncut 
roughage.  The  ration  was  usually  balanced  with  legume  hay  or  cotton- 
seed meal.  Planters  held  that  the  use  of  molasses  reduced  digestive  dis- 
turbances and  improved  the  health  and  endurance  of  the  animals,  with 
a  saving  of  10  to  50  per  et.  in  cost  of  feed.  No  scouring,  such  as  would  be 
produced  by  large  quantities  of  beet  molasses,  was  noted.  Berns^^  re- 
ports improvement  in  the  condition  of  100  heavy  truck  horses  in  New 
York  on  feeding  1  quart  of  molasses  daily,  diluted  with  water  and  mixed 
with  grain  and  cut  hay.  Dalrymple  and  Berns  both  obtained  satisfactory 
results  on  feeding  molasses  to  driving  horses. 

Because  of  its  high  price  molasses  is  rarely  an  economical  source  of 
carbohydrates  in  the  northern  states,  tho  a  quart  or  more  a  day  may 
often  be  profitable  as  an  appetizer  or  tonic  with  horses  out  of  eondition.^^ 
(279) 

483.  Beet  molasses  and  molasses  mixtures. — Because  of  its  laxative  prop- 
erties, beet  molasses  must  be  fed  only  in  limited  amounts,  but  when  not 
given  in  excess,  it  has  given  satisfactory  results  and  is  well  liked  by 
horses.  (276)  It  may  be  thinned  with  warm  water  and  mixed  with 
cut  fodder  or  fed  in  such  mixtures  as  molasses-beet-pulp,  alfalmo,  etc. 
(280)  In  trials  with  130  hard- worked  horses  of  a  Budapest  transporta- 
tion company,  Weiser  and  Zaitschek-'^  obtained  entirely  satisfactory  re- 
sults for  months  with  a  ration,  per  1000  lbs.  live  weight,  of  4.1  lbs.  beet 
molasses  mixed  mth  5.6  lbs.  wheat  bran  and  fed  with  5.7  lbs.  corn  with 
an  unlimited  allowance  of  hay.  One  lb.  of  molasses  replaced  0.78  lb.  of 
corn.  When  the  molasses  was  increased  to  5.5  lbs.  per  1000  lbs.  live 
weight  no  injurious  effect  on  the  health  of  the  animals  was  observed,  but 
the  molasses-bran  mixture  proved  too  sticky  to  be  palatable.  Pott^^ 
mentions  the  successful  use  of  various  molasses  mixtures  and  cites  in- 
stances where  2  to  3  lbs.  of  peat-molasses  successfully  replaced  an  equal 
weight  of  grain. 

"  Okla.  Rpt.  1898. 

"La.  Bui.  86,  1906;  Breeder's  Gaz.,  48,  1905,  p.  277. 

i»  Amer.  Vet.  Rev.,  26,  1902,  pp.  615-623. 

"Lindsay,  Mass.  Bui.  118, 1907;  Gay,  Productive  Horse  Husbandry,  1914,  p.  238. 

=°Landw.  Jahrb.,  37,  1908,  pp.  138-149. 

"Handb.  Ernahr.  u.  Futter.,  Ill,  1909,  p.  336. 


FEEDS  FOR  THE  HORSE  305 

In  trials  with  15,000  horses  of  the  Paris  Omnibus  Company  Lavalard^^ 
fed  as  high  as  4.4  lbs.  of  peat-molasses  daily  with  fewer  digestive  disturb- 
ances than  on  a  ration  containing  no  molasses. 

Molasses  and  many  of  the  molasses  mixtures  on  the  market  are  car- 
bonaceous feeds,  deficient  in  protein,  and  at  the  high  prices  often  asked 
are  uneconomical  sources  of  carbohydrates. 

484.  Miscellaneous  carbonaceous  concentrates. — Sugar,  fed  in  small 
amounts,  has  been  recommended  for  horses.  On  feeding  one  lot  of  18 
artillery  horses  oats  and  prairie  hay  and  another  lot  the  same  ration, 
except  that  0.5  lb.  of  sugar  was  substituted  for  2  lbs.  of  oats,  MeCamp- 
belP^  of  the  Kansas  Station  found  that  the  sugar-fed  horses  sweat  more 
easily  than  the  others,  altho  showing  excellent  coats  of  hair  and  good 
appetites.  He  concludes  that  while  a  small  amount  of  sugar  may  be  fed 
as  a  conditioner,  it  is  not  an  economical  substitute  for  the  various  grains 
ordinarily  available.  (281) 

Rough  rice  is  an  economical  feed  for  horses  and  mules  in  the  southern 
states,  when  low  in  price  compared  Avith  other  cereals.  In  trials  with  2 
mules  at  the  Louisiana  Station  Dalrymple-*  gradually  substituted  rough 
rice  for  an  equal  weight  of  cracked  corn,  feeding  as  high  as  8  lbs.  per  day 
with  good  results.  (234) 

Dried  heet  pulp  is  often  refused  by  horses  when  fed  alone,  but  when 
mixed  T\ath  other  concentrates  may  well  be  used  as  a  portion  of  the  ra- 
tion. In  Hanover,  Germany,  5.5  to  6.6  lbs.  per  head  daily  are  often  fed 
to  work  horses.-^  (275) 


II.  Nitrogenous  Concentrates 

485.  Leguminous  seeds. — Like  the  horse  bean  and  other  varieties  of 
beans,  so  widely  fed  in  Europe,  the  field  pea  in  the  northern  states  and 
the  cowpea  and  soybean  farther  south  are  useful  in  supplementing  rations 
deficient  in  protein.  (256,  261-2)  At  the  North  Carolina  Station-*'  Bur- 
kett  obtained  satisfactory  results  in  feeding  cowpea  meal  as  one-third  to 
two-thirds  the  grain  allowance  for  mules  getting  corn-and-cob  meal  and 
meadow  or  oat  hay.  All  these  leguminous  seeds  should  be  ground,  and  on 
account  of  their  protein-rich  nature  should  not  be  fed  as  the  sole  concen- 
trate. Lavalard-^  states  that  when  beans  replace  oats  only  half  the 
quantity  should  be  used. 

486.  Wheat  bran. — Bran  is  one  of  the  most  useful  feeds  for  the  horse, 
because  of  its  bulky  nature  and  mild  laxative  properties.  (218)  If  not 
more  freely  provided,  its  use  once  a  week,  preferably  in  the  form  of  a 

^  Deutsche  Landw.  Tierzucht,  1902,  p.  986. 

=«  Kan.  Bui.  186,1912. 

"  La.  Bui.  122. 

=^Pott,  Handb.  Emahr.  u.  Futter.,  Ill,  1909,  p.  310. 

''  N.  C.  Bui.  189. 

^'Expt.  Sta.  Rec,  12, 1900,  p.  15. 


306  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

mash,  wet  or  steamed,  is  desirable  for  its  beneficial  action  on  the  alimen- 
tary tract.  As  the  immediate  effect  of  the  laxative  mash  is  somewhat 
weakening-^  it  should  be  given  at  night  and  preferably  before  a  day  of 
rest. 

When  low  in  price,  bran  may  profitably  be  fed  in  larger  amounts  as  a 
partial  substitute  for  oats.  Burkett  fed  2  1220-lb.  farm  work  horses  a 
ration  of  7  lbs.  of  oats  and  7  lbs.  of  corn  with  12  lbs.  of  timothy  hay  dur- 
ing the  summer  at  the  New  Hampshire  Station,^''  while  in  the  ration  of  2 
others  7  lbs.  of  bran  was  substituted  for  the  oats.  The  horses  fed  bran 
worked  on  the  average  0.7  hour  less  per  day  than  those  fed  oats  but  made 
an  average  gain  of  113  lbs.  during  26  weeks,  while  the  oat-fed  horses 
gained  only  28  lbs.  After  repeating  the  trial  during  the  winter  with  sub- 
stantially the  same  results,  Burkett  concludes  that  when  fed  in  this 
combination  bran  can  replace  an  equal  weight  of  oats.  As  bran  is  low  in 
lime,  when  heavy  allowances  of  bran  are  used  feeds  should  be  given  which 
are  high  in  lime,  or  lime  should  be  added  in  the  form  of  ground  lime- 
stone, etc.  (98)  After  years  of  experience  Shepperd  of  the  North  Dakota 
Station^*'  concludes  that  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  by  weight  of  bran  and 
shorts,  fed  with  prairie  hay,  is  equal  to  the  same  weight  of  oats  for  farm 
work  horses,  tho  not  quite  so  palatable.  Pott^^  holds  that  feeding  over  1 
lb.  of  bran  per  day  to  horses  worked  at  a  rapid  pace  tends  to  make  them 
indolent. 

487.  "Wheat  middlings;  shorts. — Tho  furnishing  more  nutriment  than 
bran,  middlings  or  shorts  are  not  as  desirable  for  the  horse,  because  of 
their  heavier  character.  When  fed  to  horses  they  should  be  mixed  with 
bulky  feed  and  given  in  relatively  small  amount,  as  they  tend  to  produce 
colic,  the  danger  being  great  with  some  horses.  (220) 

488.  Dried  brewers'  grains. — This  by-product  may  often  be  substituted 
for  oats  with  economy.  At  the  New  Jersey  Station^^  in  a  trial  with  4 
teams  of  1000-lb.  street  car  horses,  fed  a  ration  of  8  lbs.  oats,  2  lbs.  wheat 
bran,  4  lbs.  shelled  corn,  and  6  lbs.  hay,  Voorhees  substituted  an  equal 
weight  of  dried  brewers'  grains  for  the  oats  in  the  ration  of  one  horse  in 
each  team.  The  change  produced  no  ill  effects  on  the  horses,  which  trav- 
eled not  less  than  24  miles  per  day.  The  conclusion  was  reached  that 
pound  for  pound  good  quality  dried  brewers'  grains  were  fully  equal  to 
oats.  Voorhees  reports^^  that  a  gardener  living  near  the  Station,  guided 
by  its  teachings,  successfully  fed  a  ration  of  dried  brewers'  grains,  corn, 
and  hay  to  8  animals,  with  a  saving  in  yearly  feed  bills  of  about  $150 
over  the  previous  cost.  Not  being  particularly  palatable,  dried  brewers' 
grains  should  be  mixed  with  other  concentrates.  Hooper  and  Anderson^* 
of  the  Kentucky  Station  report  the  grains  somewhat  constipating  for 
horses  and  mules.  (228) 

=«  Burkett,  Farm  Stock,  1909,  p.  73.  ''  N.  J.  Rpt.  1892. 

^''N.  H.  Bui.  82.  "'  N.  J.  Rpt.  1893. 

=°N.  D.  Bui.  45.  =^  Ky.  Bui.  176. 

"'  Handb.  Ernahr.  u.  Futter.,  Ill,  1909,  p.  159. 


FEEDS  FOR  THE  HORSE  307 

489.  Linseed  oil  meal  or  cake. — Linseed  meal,  with  its  high  protein  con- 
tent and  its  tonic  and  somewhat  laxative  properties,  is  an  excellent 
nitrogenous  supplement  for  the  horse.  McCampbell  of  the  Kansas  Sta- 
tion^^  compared  the  value  of  linseed  meal  and  wheat  bran  in  a  110-day 
trial  in  which  1170-lb.  artillery  horses  were  fed  a  ration  of  12  lbs.  prairie 
hay,  4  lbs.  oats,  6  lbs.  corn,  and  either  linseed  meal  or  wheat  bran,  as 
shown  in  the  table : 

Linseed  meal  vs.  wheat  hran  for  liorses 

Daily  cost  per 
Av.  loss  in  wt.  1,000  lbs. 

Daily  supplement  allowance  per  head  live  wt. 

Lbs.  Cents 

Lot  I,  77  horses,  Linseed  meal,  1  lb 2.5  17 .0 

Lot  II,  75  horses,  ^Yhe2ii  bran,  4  lbs 6.7  18 .8 

In  this  trial  1  lb.  of  linseed  meal  was  as  effective  in  balancing  the  ra- 
tion as  4  lbs.  of  bran,  for  the  horses  in  Lot  I  lost  slightly  less  in  weight 
than  those  in  Lot  II  and  showed  better  coats  of  hair,  indicating  a  thriftier 
condition.  The  endurance  and  spirit  of  both  lots  were  entirely  satis- 
factory. With  linseed  meal  at  $35.50  and  bran  at  $20.00  per  ton,  the  sub- 
stitution of  the  meal  lowered  the  feed  bill  about  10  per  ct. 

In  a  trial  at  the  Iowa  Station^^  with  3  teams  of  farm  horses  Kennedy, 
Robbins,  and  Kildee  found  a  mixture  of  1  part  oil  meal  and  10  parts 
shelled  corn,  fed  with  timothy  hay,  too  laxative  for  horses  at  hard  work  in 
summer.  A  mixture  of  1  part  oil  meal,  4  parts  oats  and  12  parts  corn, 
proved  as  satisfactory  as  one  of  6  parts  oats  and  4  parts  corn.  Substi- 
tuting oil  meal  for  a  large  part  of  the  oats  saved  1.6  cents  in  daily  cost 
of  feed.  Altho  Pott^^  reports  the  satisfactory  use  with  work  horses  of 
3  to  4  lbs.  of  linseed  cake  in  combination  with  other  feeds,  not  over  1 
to  1.5  lbs.  per  head  daily  should  ordinarily  be  given.  A  pound  or  less  a 
day  of  linseed  meal  is  a  helpful  conditioner  for  run-down  horses  with 
rough  coats,  and  is  excellent  in  spring  to  hasten  shedding  of  the  hair  and 
as  a  laxative  with  constipated  animals.  In  fitting  horses  for  show  or  sale 
it  gives  bloom  and  finish.  (254) 

490.  Cottonseed  meal. — ^While  it  is  not  safe  to  feed  cottonseed  meal  in 
large  amounts  to  horses  or  mules,  good  results  are  secured  when  this  feed 
is  properly  used.  Being  a  heavy  concentrate,  not  particularly  relished  by 
these  animals,  it  should  be  mixed  with  some  well-liked  bulky  feed.  At  the 
North  Carolina  Station^^  Curtis  found  it  impracticable  to  feed  mules  on 
cottonseed  meal  and  ear  corn.  Altho  fairly  satisfactory,  a  mixture  of  1 
part  cottonseed  meal  with  6  parts  shelled  corn  was  less  relished  than  1 
part  of  meal  with  3  of  corn-and-cob  meal,  the  remaining  corn  being  fed 
on  the  cob.  The  meal  may  also  be  mixed  with  whole  or  crushed  oats,  dried 
brewers '  grains,  or  cut  hay.  It  is  claimed  by  some  that  crushed  or  ground 
unhusked  corn  gives  excellent  results  as  a  basal  feed  when  using  cotton- 

^Kan.  Bui.  186.  "Handb.  Ernahr.  u.  Futter.,  Ill,  1909,  p.  25. 

»'  Iowa  Bui.  109.  ^  N.  C.  Buls.  215,  216. 


308  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

seed  meal.  Burkett^'*  suggests  sprinkling  the  meal  on  silage,  or  on  hay 
or  stover  moistened  previous  to  feeding.  Louisiana  planters  attribute 
their  success  in  feeding  cottonseed  meal  largely  to  the  fact  that  they 
mix  it  with  blackstrap  molasses. 

Curtis  states  that  the  meal  fed  daily  should  rarely  exceed  2  lbs.  per  ani- 
mal, a  safe  rule  being  0.2  lb.  for  every  100  lbs.  live  weight  of  animal. 
For  work  horses  the  cottonseed  meal  fed  should  not  exceed  15  or,  better, 
10  per  ct.  of  the  total  ration  by  weight.  Horses  should  be  started  on 
cottonseed  meal  gradually,  not  over  one-fourth  lb.  being  given  at  each 
feed  for  the  first  2  or  3  weeks.  "When  the  maximum  amount  of  meal  is 
fed  it  should  be  distributed  equally  in  the  3  daily  feeds.  Against  the 
claim  that  work  stock  fed  on  cottonseed  meal  suffer  from  short  wind  and 
weak  eyes,  Curtis  reports  that  trials  covering  3  years  showed  no  such 
harmful  effects.  Judge  Henry  C.  Hammond  of  Augusta,  Georgia,*"  re- 
ports that  for  5  years  he  fed  10  pleasure  and  work  horses  each  1  lb.  of 
cottonseed  meal  daily  without  a  single  sick  animal  or  one  not  ready  for 
work,  due,  he  holds,  to  the  fact  that  the  meal  was  always  mixed  with  some 
light  concentrate. 

In  a  154-day  test  at  the  Iowa  Station*^  with  3  work  teams  fed  timothy 
hay,  6  per  ct.  of  cottonseed  meal  proved  as  effective  as  8  per  ct.  of  linseed 
meal  in  balancing  a  grain  mixture  of  15  per  ct.  oats  and  the  remainder 
corn.  Burkett*-  found  a  ration  of  cottonseed  meal,  corn,  and  corn  stover 
satisfactory  in  winter  for  horses  and  mules  doing  moderate  work.  Like 
linseed  meal,  cottonseed  meal  is  useful  in  conditioning  horses  and  im- 
proving their  coats.*^  (246-50) 

491.  Miscellaneous  nitrogenous  concentrates. — Oil  cakes  and  meals  from 
sunflower  seed,  rape  seed,  peanut,  cocoanut,  sesame,  etc.,  are  fed  to  horses 
in  different  parts  of  Europe  in  quantities  of  2.2  to  4.4  lbs.  per  horse  daily 
with  good  results.**  The  French  war  department*^  found  cocoanut  meal 
equal  to  the  same  weight  of  oats  for  army  horses.  (258-60) 

Gluten  meal  was  found  by  Kennedy,  Eobbins,  and  Kildee  at  the  Iowa 
Station*^  to  be  rather  unpalatable  when  1  part  was  fed  with  8  of  corn 
meal,  altho  this  mixture  fed  with  timothy  hay  maintained  the  weight  of 
farm  horses  as  well  as  a  mixture  of  1  part  linseed  meal  and  15  of 
corn.  (211) 

Dried  distillers'  grains  fed  by  Lindsey*^  at  the  Massachusetts  Station 
as  one-fourth  of  the  concentrate  allowance  to  horses  gave  excellent  results. 
Fed  by  Plumb*^  at  the  Indiana  Station  as  one-third  of  the  grain  allow- 
ance, these  proved  fairly  satisfactory  with  some  horses,  but  unpalatable  to 
others.  (282) 

=»N.  C.  Bui.  189. 

""Pamphlet  "Cottonseed  Meal  for  Horses  and  Mules";  private  correspondence. 

"  Iowa  Bui.  109. 

«N.  C.  Bui.  189. 

« Curtis,  N.  C.  Bui.  215,  1911;  Pott,  Handb.  Ernahr.  u.  Futter.,  Ill,  1909,  p.  110. 

""Kellner,  Emahr.  Landw.  Nutztiere,  1907,  p.  456. 

«Milcli  Zeit.,  1883,  p.  517.     "Iowa  Bui.  109.     "Mass.  Bui.  99.     ^' Ind.  Bui.  97. 


FEEDS  FOR  THE  HORSE  309 

Tankage  and  hlood  meal  were  found  by  Burkett  at  the  North  Carolina 
Station*"  to  be  useful  for  run-down,  thin  horses,  1  to  2  lbs.  of  tankage  or 
1  lb.  of  blood  meal  being  employed.  Pott^*^  states  that  blood  meal  has 
given  excellent  results  in  horse  feeding.  La  Querriere^^  states  that  boiled 
meat  meal  mixed  with  hay  and  straw  is  excellent  for  horses.  The  Arabs 
feed  their  horses  camel 's  flesh  mixed  with  other  feed  in  the  form  of  cakes. 
(270) 

III.  Carbonaceous  Roughages 

492.  Excess  of  roughage  injurious. — We  have  seen  previously  that 
horses  can  not  live  on  concentrates  alone,  even  on  oats  with  their  straw- 
like hulls.  (107)  An  excess  of  roughage,  on  the  other  hand,  is  also  in- 
jurious. When  we  recall  that  the  stomach  of  the  horse  has  a  capacity 
of  only  19  quarts  (35),  while  the  4  stomachs  of  a  cow  may  hold  267 
quarts,  it  is  evident  that  the  horse  at  hard  work  cannot  well  derive  most 
of  its  nourishment  from  roughage.  Thru  carelessness  or  mistaken  kind- 
ness the  mangers  are  often  kept  filled  with  hay,  especially  in  the  case  of 
farm  horses.  The  horse  then  gorges  himself  on  this  provender,  with  a 
staring  coat,  labored  breathing,  and  quick  tiring  as  the  least  serious,  tho 
probably  the  most  noticeable  results.  For  this  animal  there  should 
always  be  a  definite,  limited  daily  allowance  of  hay,  given  mostly  at  night 
when  there  is  ample  time  for  its  mastication  and  digestion.  Many  di- 
gestive disturbances  are  caused  by  forcing  the  horse  to  work  with  his  stom- 
ach distended  by  coarse  feed.  More  horses  are  injured  by  feeding  too 
much  than  too  little  hay.  On  feeding  1  horse  in  each  of  2  teams  doing 
ordinary  farm  work  all  the  timothy  hay  they  would  eat,  in  addition  to 
oats,  while  the  others  were  given  about  two-thirds  as  much  hay,  Clark^- 
at  the  Montana  Station  found  that  those  fed  the  smaller  amount  had  more 
life  and  sweat  less.  In  another  trial  a  horse  receiving  7.5  lbs.  of  grain 
daily  was  allowed  all  the  early  cut  timothy  hay  it  wished,  and  ate  so 
much  that  it  failed  to  gain  in  weight,  had  a  staring  coat,  and  lacked  life 
and  vigor. 

493.  Timothy  hay. — Altho  not  rich  in  digestible  nutrients,  timothy  hay 
is  the  standard  roughage  for  the  horse  thruout  the  northeastern  United 
States.  The  freedom  from  dust  of  good  timothy  hay  commends  it  as  a 
horse  feed,  and  it  is  an  excellent  roughage  for  animals  whose  sustenance 
comes  mostly  from  concentrates.  While  timothy  cut  too  green  makes 
"washy"  hay,  it  should  not  be  allowed  to  stand  until  it  becomes  woody 
and  indigestible.  A  reasonable  allowance  of  timothy  hay  is  1  lb.  daily  per 
100  lbs.  of  animal.  So  far  as  possible  the  other  roughages  here  considered 
will  be  compared  with  timothy  hay  as  the  standard.   (312) 

494.  Cereal  hay. — On  the  Pacific  coast,  especially  in  California,  the 
cereal  hays — barley,  wild  oat,  wheat,  etc. — are  extensively  employed  as 
roughages  for  horses.  The  excellence  of  the  speed  horse  and  the  endur- 
ance of  the  work  horse  of  the  coast  region  attest  the  merits  of  these  feeds. 

*'  N.  C.  Bui.  189.  "  Milchzeitung,  1881,  p.  753. 

^"Handb.  Ernahr.  u.  Fuller.,  Ill,  1909,  p.  515.         "Mont.  Bui.  95,  1913. 


310  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

In  some  cases  where  racing  horses  have  been  sent  to  the  East  cereal  hay 
was  forwarded  with  them  for  their  nourishment.  Thruout  the  Rocky- 
Mountain  region  oat  hay  is  of  considerable  importance.  Cereal  hay  may 
often  be  advantageously  employed  for  horse  feeding  in  the  eastern  United 
States.  At  the  North  Carolina  Station^^  Burkett  found  that  hay  from 
oats  cut  in  the  milk  stage  compared  favorably  with  clover  and  cowpea  hay 
for  horses.  (318) 

495.  Prairie  hay. — Thruout  the  western  states  prairie  hay  from  the 
wild  grasses  forms  an  excellent  roughage  for  the  horse.  From  trials 
lasting  110  to  140  days  A\dth  453  artillery  horses,  McCampbelP*  of  the 
Kansas  Station  concludes  that  timothy  hay  is  slightly  more  valuable  than 
prairie  hay,  since  the  horses  fed  timothy  maintained  their  weight  rather 
better  than  those  fed  prairie  hay.  However,  he  holds  that  when  timothy 
hay  costs  10  per  ct.  more  than  good  prairie  hay,  the  latter  is  more  eco- 
nomical. (325) 

496.  Brome  hay. — This  hay,  common  to  the  northern  plains  region, 
proved  fully  equal  to  timothy  in  a  trial  at  the  North  Dakota  Station  in 
which  Shepperd^^  fed  1  horse  in  each  of  2  work  teams  brome  hay  and  oats, 
while  their  team  mates  received  timothy  and  oats,  as  the  following  shows : 

Brome  vs.  timothy  hay  for  horses 

.  ..  Daily  gain  in  weight        Daily  work 

Average  ration  ^  Lba.  Hours 

Lot  I,  Brome  hay,  22 .2  lbs.     Oats,  14 .5  lbs 0 .77  5.2 

Lot  II,  Timothy  hay,  21 .9  lbs.     Oats,  14 .5  lbs 0 .42  5.2 

The  horses  getting  brome  hay  gained  slightly  more  in  weight  than  those 
fed  timothy.  (316) 

497.  Southern  hays. — To  determine  the  value  of  Johnson  grass,  Ber- 
muda, and  lespedeza  hay  compared  with  timothy  or  alfalfa  hay  Lloyd  of 
the  Mississippi  Station^*'  conducted  trials  with  5  lots  of  4  to  5  gromng  2- 
to  3-yr.-old  mules  for  89  days,  the  animals  being  fed  under  shelter  and 
allowed  the  freedom  of  a  yard.  The  mules  in  each  lot  were  given  a  grain 
allowance  of  2  lbs.  oats,  4  lbs.  corn-and-cob  meal,  and  0.5  lb.  cottonseed 
meal,  with  hay  as  shown  in  the  table : 

Comparison  of  southern  hays 

Av.  daily  Feed  per  100  lbs.  gain  Cost  per  lb. 

Average  allowance  of  hay                                 gain  Concentrates  Hay  „eain 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Cents* 

Lot  I,  Johnson  grass  hay,  11.3  lbs.. .         0 .44  1,558  2,520  36 

Lot  II,  Bermuda  hay,  11.3  lbs 0 .43  1,607  2,601  37 

Lot  III,  Timothy  hay,  11 .3  lbs 0 .44  1,573  2,545  48 

Lot  /y,  Lespedeza  hay,  11 .3  lbs. .  .  .         0 .67  1,038  1,680  27 

Lot  V,  AlfaKa  hay,  11 .3  lbs 0  .86  812  1,313  21 

*  Johnson  grass  and  Bermuda  hay  $11,  timothy  hay  $20,  and  lespedeza  and  alfalfa  hay  $15  per  ton. 

This  trial  shows  that  hay  from  Johnson  or  Bermuda  grass  is  as  valu- 
able for  horses  or  mules  as  timothy  hay.  (320-1)     Lespedeza  and  alfalfa 
^  N.  C.  Bui.  189.  "  N.  D.  Bui.  45. 

64  j5;an.  Bui.  186.  ^^  Information  to  the  authors. 


FEEDS  FOR  THE  HORSE  311 

hay  are  of  still  higher  value  for  growing  animals  on  account  of  their  rich- 
ness in  protein  and  ash.  With  lespedeza  and  alfalfa  hay  at  $15  per  ton 
and  Johnson  grass  and  Bermuda  hay  at  $11,  the  legume  hays  produced 
gains  at  a  considerably  lower  cost. 

498.  Millet  hay. — Hay  from  Hungarian  grass,  Japanese  millet,  etc., 
may  often  be  advantageously  fed  to  horses,  provided  the  allowance  is 
Limited.  Hinebauch  of  the  North  Dakota  Station^'  found  that,  fed  ex- 
clusively to  horses  for  long  periods,  millet  hay  caused  increased  action  of 
the  kidneys,  lameness  and  swelling  of  the  joints,  infusion  of  the  blood  into 
the  joints  and  finally  destruction  of  the  texture  of  the  bones,  which  were 
rendered  soft  and  less  tenacious  so  that  movements  of  the  animal  would 
sometimes  cause  the  ligaments  and  muscles  to  be  torn  from  them.  Since 
the  millets  are  among  the  oldest  and  most  ^videly  gro^\Ti  of  all  agricultural 
plants,  it  is  but  fair  to  hold  that  good  millet  hay,  fed  in  moderation,  or 
with  other  roughage  and  always  with  some  concentrate,  should  prove 
satisfactory  and  produce  no  unfavorable  effects.  (317) 

499.  Sorghum  hay. — Forage  from  the  sweet  sorghums,  when  properly 
cured,  is  superior  to  corn  forage  for  horses.  It  usually  deteriorates  rapid- 
ly in  value  after  midwinter  unless  well  cured  and  kept  in  a  dry  place. 
Moldy,  decaying  sorghum  forage  is  especially  dangerous  to  horses.  Kafir, 
tho  not  quite  so  palatable  as  the  sweet  sorghums,  is  extensively  and  profit- 
ably used  for  horse  feeding  over  a  large  region  in  the  southwestern 
states.  The  Oklahoma  Station^®  found  kafir  stover  equal  to  corn  stover  in 
feeding  value.  (308) 

500.  Com  fodder  and  corn  stover. — Thickly  grown  fodder  com  and  corn 
stover,  when  properly  cured  and  cared  for,  are  among  the  best  of  rough- 
ages for  the  horse.  Corn  leaves  are  usually  quite  free  from  dust,  palat- 
able, and  full  of  nutriment.  For  stallions,  brood  mares,  idle  horses,  and 
growing  colts  good  corn  forage  is  usually  a  most  economical  and  helpful 
substitute  for  timothy  hay.  "When  the  yield  of  fodder  corn  and  its  feeding 
value  are  compared  with  that  of  the  timothy  hay  from  a  like  area,  the  use- 
fulness and  economy  of  this  much  neglected  forage  is  apparent.  The 
cured  corn  plant  should  be  much  more  generally  used  in  America  for 
horse  feeding  than  it  now  is.  (294-7) 

That  the  entire  roughage  fed  farm  horses  during  the  winter  when  at 
light  work  may  advantageously  consist  of  corn  stover  is  shown  in  a  trial 
by  Burkett  at  the  New  Hampshire  Station^^  with  2  lots  each  of  two  1225- 
Ib.  farm  horses  fed  the  following  rations  for  73  days  from  January  to 
April. 

Corn  stover  vs.  timothy  Jiay  for  horses 

Average    Av.  work 
Average  ration  gain         per  day 

Lbs.  Hours 

Lot    I,  Corn  stover,  12  lbs.      Com,  7  lbs.     Oats  or  bran,  7  lbs. .  .       3         3  .4 
Lot  II,  Timothy  hay,  12  lbs.     Com,  7  lbs.     Oats  or  bran,  7  lbs. .  .      18        3.3 

'•  N.  D.  Bui.  26.  ^  Okla.  Rpt.  1899.  »  N.  H.  Bui.  82. 


312  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Since  the  stover-fed  horses  did  a  little  more  work  than  the  others  and 
gained  but  slightly  less,  cut  corn  stover  may  be  regarded  as  equal  to  tim- 
othy hay  in  this  trial.  With  timothy  hay  usually  selling  for  2  to  4  times 
as  much  as  stover,  the  great  economy  of  the  latter  is  apparent. 

501.  Straw. — Straw  contains  much  fiber  and  its  mastication  and  diges- 
tion by  the  horse  call  for  a  large  amount  of  energy,  which  appears  as  heat, 
thereby  warming  the  body  tho  not  producing  useful  work.  (78-80)  Be- 
cause of  this,  horses  doing  little  or  no  work  in  winter  and  having  ample 
time  for  chewing  and  digesting  their  feed  may  often  be  profitably  win- 
tered largely  on  bright  straw.  Many  horses  are  fed  costly  hay  in  winter 
when  straw,  corn  fodder,  or  corn  stover  would  prove  satisfactory  and 
much  cheaper.  In  Europe  nearly  all  rations  for  horses  contain  straw, 
those  hardest  worked  receiving  the  least.  In  feeding  value  the  straws 
rank  in  the  following  order :  oat,  barley,  wheat,  rye,  the  last-named  hav- 
ing but  slight  value.  Farm  horses  should  not  be  wintered  in  the  barn- 
yard on  straw  and  com  stover  only,  without  any  grain,  for  they  will  not 
be  in  condition  to  endure  the  severe  labor  upon  the  sudden  opening  up  of 
M^ork  in  the  spring.  (328-9) 

502.  Corn  stover  and  straw  reduce  feed  bills. — The  saving  which  may  be 
made  thru  the  use  of  such  cheap  roughages  as  corn  stover  and  straw  in 
place  of  a  large  part  of  the  timothy  hay,  and  of  substitutes  for  oats  is  well 
illustrated  in  a  trial  by  Norton  at  the  Michigan  Station*"'  in  which  2  lots, 
each  of  6  farm  horses  doing  moderate  work,  were  fed  the  following 
rations  for  10  weeks  in  winter :  Lot  I  was  fed  exclusively  on  high-priced 
timothy  hay  and  oats  (with  a  light  feed  of  bran  once  a  week),  while  in 
the  ration  fed  Lot  II  shredded  corn  stover  and  oat  straw  were  substituted 
for  a  large  part  of  the  timothy  hay,  and  roots,  ear  corn,  and  a  mixture  of 
equal  parts  of  bran,  dried  beet  pulp,  and  linseed  oil  cake  for  most  of 
the  oats. 

Lessening  cost  of  feed  by  use  of  corn  stover  and  straw 

Amount  fed        Cost  of  feed 
Feeding  stuff  Price  per  ton  per  day  per  day 

Dollars  Pounds  Cents 

Lot  I 

Timothy 12 .00  20 .4 

Oats 31.00  11.0                29.6 

Lot  II 

Shredded  corn  stover 4 .00  8.6 

Oat  straw 5.00  4.3 

Timothy  hay 12 .00  4.2 

Carrots 3.00  5.4 

Ear  corn 20.00  4.2 

Oats 31.00  3.1 

Feed  mixture 21.00  2.6                17.7 

During  the  trial  the  horses  in  Lot  I,  fed  the  ration  of  timothy  hay  and 
oats,  costing  29.6  cents  a  day,  each  lost  an  average  of  11  lbs.  in  weight. 

o"  Mich.  Bui.  254. 


FEEDS  FOR  THE  HORSE  313 

On  the  other  hand  those  getting  the  cheaper  but  well-balanced  ration 
gained  14  lbs.  each  at  a  feed  cost  of  17.7  cents  per  day — a  saving  of  40 
per  ct. 

503.  Carbonaceous  roughages  require  supplement. — It  should  be  remem- 
bered that  hay  from  the  grasses,  corn  fodder,  corn  stover,  sorghum  and 
kafir  forages,  and  straw  are  all  low  in  protein.  Therefore,  when  these 
roughages  are  used  exclusively,  protein-rich  concentrates  should  be  fed 
to  balance  the  ration.  This  fact,  which  has  already  been  brought  out 
(476),  is  also  shown  in  other  trials  by  McCampbelP^  in  which  horses  fed 
corn  and  prairie  hay  only  did  not  thrive  as  well  as  others  fed  corn  and 
oats,  or  corn,  bran,  and  linseed  meal  with  the  prairie  hay. 


IV.  Legume  Hat 

504.  Legume  hay. — Properly  cured  hay  from  the  legumes  is  usually 
more  palatable  to  horses  than  other  roughage ;  hence  if  they  are  allowed  to 
eat  at  will,  there  is  even  greater  danger  of  their  consuming  an  excess  than 
with  hay  from  the  grasses.  Numerous  experiments  show  that  to  maintain 
the  weight  of  horses  it  is  not  necessary  to  feed  as  great  a  weight  of  the 
legume  hays,  which  are  more  like  concentrates  in  their  nature.  These 
protein-rich  hays  are  admirably  suited  to  balance  corn  or  other  concen- 
trates low  in  protein.  As  the  legumes  are  more  difficult  to  cure  than  the 
grasses,  there  is  more  danger  of  hay  from  them  being  loaded  wdth  dust  or 
otherwise  damaged  in  quality.  The  prejudice  against  legume  hay  for 
horse  feeding,  so  frequently  encountered,  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that 
these  rich  roughages  have  been  given  in  excess  or  that  hay  of  poor  quality 
has  been  used. 

505.  Clover  hay. — Because  clover  hay  is  often  carelessly  made  and  load- 
ed 'with  dust,  thereby  tending  to  produce  heaves,  it  is  disliked  by  many 
horsemen,  particularly  for  feeding  roadsters.  This  objection,  however, 
should  not  apply  to  clean,  properly-cured  clover  hay.  Roberts^^  suggests 
that  for  driving  horses  clover  hay  be  mixed  with  bright  straw  and  the  mass 
dampened;  this  forms  a  satisfactory  roughage  for  all  but  fast  drivers. 
Gay  advises  the  use  of  mixed  clover  and  timothy  hay  instead  of  clover 
alone. *'^  For  horses  at  ordinary  farm  work,  clover  is  often  used  as  the  sole 
roughage.  Terry,®*  the  conservative,  reliable  farmer-writer,  kept  a  me- 
dium-weight farm  work  team  for  a  number  of  years  in  prime  condition 
solely  on  well-made  clover  hay.  To  compare  the  value  of  clover  and  tim- 
othy hay,  Obrechf^  fed  1  horse  in  each  of  6  teams  of  1400-lb.  farm 
horses  at  the  Illinois  Station  clover  hay  with  the  grain  allowance  shown 
on  the  next  page,  while  its  team  mate  was  fed  timothy  hay  with  the  same 
grain  allowance.  After  196  days  the  rations  were  reversed  and  the  trial 
continued  for  20  weeks. 

«  Kan.  Bui.  186.  "  Our  Farming,  p.  137. 

•=  The  Horse,  p.  282.  •»  111.  Bui.  150. 

*^  Productive  Horse  Husbandry,  1914,  p.  240. 


314  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Clover  vs.  timothy  hay  for  horses 

Gain  in     Daily 
Average  ration  weight       work 

Lbs.        Hours 

Clover-fed  horses 

Corn,  6.9  lbs.  Oats,  7.3  lbs. 

Oil  meal,  0.46  lb.     Bran,  0.61  lb. 

Clover  hay,  15.6  lbs 15.5         7.3 

Timothy-fed  horses 
Corn,  6  .8  lbs.  Oats,  7 .2  lbs. 

Oil  meal,  0.53  lb.     Bran,    0.60  1b. 

Timothy  hay,  15.6  lbs 3.0        7.3 

Altho  most  of  the  teamsters  were  prejudiced  in  favor  of  timothy  hay 
at  the  beginning,  they  later  reported  that  they  could  observe  no  difference 
in  the  spirit  of  the  horses  or  their  ability  to  endure  hot  weather.  The 
hoi'ses  fed  clover  hay  had  glossier  coats  and  their  bowels  were  looser,  but 
not  objectionably  so  for  doing  hard  work.  (347) 

"Wilcox  and  Smith^''  state  that  second-crop  clover  hay  is  frequently 
accused  of  causing  slobbering.  The  reason  is  unknown,  but  some  horse- 
men state  that  the  addition  of  bran  or  apples  to  the  ration  tends  to 
prevent  the  trouble. 

506.  Alfalfa  hay. — Because  it  is  cheap  and  abundant  this  legume  hay 
furnishes  the  sole  roughage  for  horses  upon  tens  of  thousands  of  farms 
and  ranches  in  the  West.  With  the  increasing  culture  of  alfalfa  in  other 
sections  of  the  country  more  and  more  alfalfa  hay  is  likewise  being  fed  to 
horses  in  these  districts.  It  is  therefore  important  to  learn  the  conditions 
essential  to  its  successful  use.  When  the  horse  is  allowed  to  gorge  on  al- 
falfa hay,  in  addition  to  having  his  stomach  over-distended  with  the  bulky 
feed  he  receives  an  excess  of  highly  nitrogenous  material.  This  must  be 
excreted  thru  the  kidneys,  overworking  them,  and  even,  according  to  Mc- 
Campbell,*'^  leading  to  a  chronic  inflammatory  condition  if  excessive  feed- 
ing is  long  continued.  The  alfalfa  allowance  for  horses  should  therefore 
be  limited,  McCampbell  advising  that  those  at  work  receive  not  more  than 
1.2  lbs.  per  100  lbs.  live  weight.  The  hay  should  be  free  from  dust,  mold, 
and  smut,  and  should  not  be  cut  until  quite  mature,  for  hay  from  early- 
cut  alfalfa,  as  commonly  advised  for  cattle,  is  too  ' '  washy ' '  for  horses. 

In  view  of  the  prejudice  among  liverymen  and  owners  of  driving  horses 
against  alfalfa,  a  140-day  trial  was  conducted  by  McCampbelP^  with  ar- 
tillery horses,  doing  more  hard  work  than  the  average  farm  team  thruout 
the  year,  a  considerable  portion  at  a  trot  and  no  small  amount  at  a  gallop. 
The  horses  in  Lot  I  were  fed  alfalfa  hay  with  2  lbs.  oats  and  8  lbs.  corn, 
while  those  in  Lots  II  and  III  received  prairie  or  timothy  hay,  with  half 
as  much  corn  and  4  times  as  much  oats. 

«=  Farmer's  Cyclopedia  of  Live  Stock,  1908,  p.  323. 
*'  Kan.  Bui.  186. 
«'  Kan.  Bui.  186. 


FEEDS  FOR  THE  HORSE  315 

Alfalfa  vs.  prairie  and  timothy  hay  for  horses 

Ay.  gain  or  Daily  cost  of  feed 

Initial  loss  per  Nutritive  per  1,000  lbs. 

Average  ration  weight  head  ratio  live  wt  * 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Cents' 

Lot  I,  17  horses 
Alfalfa  hay,  10  lbs. 
Shelled  corn,  8  lbs. 

Oats,  2  lbs 1,163  25.6  1:5.8  12.95 

Lot  II,  74  horses 
Prairie  hay,  14  lbs. 
Corn,  4  lbs. 

Oats,  8  lbs 1,185  —12 .9  1:8.9  18 .86 

Lot  III,  76  horses 
Timothy  hay,  14  lbs. 
Corn,  4  lbs. 
Oats,  8  lbs 1,159  —7.7  1:9.0  19.21 

♦Alfalfa  hay,  $10;  prairie  and  timothy  hay,  $12.50  per  ton.  Corn  $0.55  and 
oats  $0,385  per  bu. 

The  alfalfa-fed  horses  in  Lot  I,  getting  16  per  et.  less  grain  and  28  per 
ct.  less  hay  than  the  others,  showed  no  shortness  of  wind,  softness,  lack  of 
endurance,  or  excessive  urination.  They  gained  over  25  lbs.  each  during 
the  trial,  while  those  fed  timothy  or  prairie  hay  lost  in  weight. 

Obrecht  found  at  the  Illinois  Station*^**  that  farm  horses  fed  alfalfa  hay 
when  doing  hard  work  maintained  their  weight  on  20  to  22  per  ct.  less 
grain  than  others  fed  timothy  hay.  Similar  favorable  results  with  alfalfa 
hay  are  reported  by  Merrill""  (Utah  Station),  Faville'^  (Wyoming  Sta- 
tion), and  Gramlich'-  (Nebraska  Station).  (339) 

At  the  Utah  Station  alfalfa  formed  the  sole  roughage  for  all  the  work 
and  driving  horses  for  12  years,  except  during  brief  periods  when  they 
were  on  other  experimental  fodders.  During  all  that  time  not  a  horse  was 
lost  either  directly  or  indirectly  from  alfalfa  feeding.  It  was  found  that 
horses  fed  timothy  hay  voided  an  average  of  16  lbs.  each  of  urine  daily, 
and  those  on  alfalfa  27  lbs.,  early-cut  alfalfa  hay  causing  a  greater  ex- 
cretion than  late-cut.  This  increased  excretion  of  urine  did  not  seem  to 
injure  the  horses  in  any  way. 

In  the  West  alfalfa  hay,  often  with  straw  in  unlimited  amount,  is  a 
common  maintenance  ration  for  idle  horses.  Merrill  found  20  lbs.  of 
alfalfa  hay  sufficient  to  maintain  a  1400-lb.  horse  when  not  working,  while 
Emery^^  at  the  Wyoming  Station  found  that  13.8  lbs.  of  alfalfa  hay  and 
2.25  lbs.  of  oat  straw  would  maintain  a  1000-lb.  idle  horse. 

507.  Alfalfa  meal. — To  compare  the  value  of  alfalfa  meal  and  bran  Mc- 
CampbelF*  fed  2  lots  of  1170-lb.  artillery  horses  as  shown  in  the  table 
for  110  days.  The  data  for  a  third  lot  of  similar  horses  fed  for  140  days 
on  uncut  alfalfa  hay  are  included  for  comparison. 

«»in.  Bui.  150.  "  Nebr.  Exten.  Bui.  28. 

"  Utah  Bui.  77.  ''  Wyo.  Rpt.  12. 

"  Wyo.  Bui.  98.  '*  Kan.  Bui.  186. 


316  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Alfalfa  meal  compared  with  wheat  hran  and  alfalfa  hay 

Daily  cost  of  feed 
Gain  or  loss         per  1,000  lbs. 
Average  ration  in  weight  live  wt.* 

Lbs.  Cents 

Alfalfa  meal,  152  horses 
Oats,  4  lbs. 
Corn,  6  lbs. 
Alfalfa  meal,  4  lbs. 

Prairie  or  timothy  hay,  14  lbs —2.6  17 .96 

Wheat  bran,  151  horses 
Oats,  4  lbs. 
Corn,  6  lbs. 
Bran,  4  lbs. 

Prairie  or  timothy  hay,  14  lbs —0.3  18 .78 

Alfalfa  hay,  17  horses 
Oats,  2  lbs. 
Corn,  8  lbs. 

Alfalfa  hay,  10  lbs +25 .6  12 .95 

*Alfalfa  meal,  $14;  alfalfa  hay,  $10;  timothy  or  prairie  hay,  $12.50,  and  bran 
$20  per  ton.    Corn  $0.55  and  oats  $0,385  per  bu. 

For  maintaining  the  weight  of  the  horses  a  pound  of  alfalfa  meal  was 
practically  equal  to  a  pound  of  wheat  bran,  when  fed  in  a  ration  contain- 
ing 10  lbs.  of  corn  and  oats.  McCampbell  states,  however,  that  alfalfa 
meal  is  dusty  and  disagreeable  to  handle.  If  fed  dry  this  dust  irritates 
the  air  passages  of  the  horse  and  may  cause  serious  trouble.  This  objec- 
tion may  be  overcome  by  wetting  the  meal,  which  should  be  done  immedi- 
ately before  feeding  to  avoid  souring  or  molding,  but  this  involves  con- 
siderable time  and  inconvenience,  especially  in  winter. 

When  uncut  alfalfa  hay  constituted  the  sole  roughage  the  horses  main- 
tained their  weights  better,  altho  receiving  less  grain  and  hay,  and  the 
ration  was  less  expensive.  McCampbell  states  that  when  good  quality  hay 
is  properly  fed,  little,  if  any,  is  wasted,  and  concludes  that  alfalfa  meal  is 
neither  desirable  nor  economical  when  good  alfalfa  hay  is  obtainable. 

508.  Cowpea  hay. — In  a  feeding  trial  at  the  North  Carolina  Station 
Burkett"  found  that  cowpea  hay  combined  with  corn-and-cob  meal  made 
a  satisfactory  work  ration,  and  that  cowpea  hay  with  a  reasonable  quan- 
tity of  corn  could  be  substituted  for  bran  and  oats.  (357) 

V.  Pasture  and  Other  Succulent  Feed 
For  horses  receiving  but  little  exercise  succulent  feeds  are  especially 
beneficial  on  account  of  their  "cooling"  and  laxative  effect.    A  limited 
amount  of  succulent  feed  is  often  employed  thruout  the  year  in  Europe 
for  work  horses  and  even  for  drivers. 

509.  Pasture. — Horses  at  pasture  not  only  obtain  succulent  feed,  but 
must  exercise  to  secure  it.  Good  pasture  will  maintain  idle  horses  satis- 
factorily ;  for  those  at  hard  work  pasture  without  grain  is  insufficient.  Not 
only  do  the  various  tame  and  wild  grasses  furnish  pasture  for  horses,  but 

"N.  C.  Bui.  189. 


FEEDS  FOR  THE  HORSE  317 

as  these  animals  are  not  subject  to  bloat,  they  may  graze  the  legumes  as 
well.  City  horses  are  often  turned  on  pasture  so  that  their  feet  may  re- 
cover from  the  ill  effects  of  hard  pavements. 

510.  Corn  silage.— Until  the  past  few  years  little  corn  silage  has  been 
fed  to  hoi-ses  and  mules,  but  it  is  now  being  fed  with  success  on  a  large 
number  of  farms.  It  is  preferable  not  to  feed  it  as  the  sole  roughage, 
rather  using  it  as  a  partial  substitute  for  hay.  Nourse  of  the  Virginia 
Station^**  fed  6  mules  and  2  horses  during  winter  on  hay,  corn,  and  from 
50  to  200  lbs.  of  corn  silage  per  head  weekly.  The  conclusion  was  that 
corn  silage  is  a  good  roughage  for  horses  when  combined  with  hay,  corn 
stover,  and  grain.  Nourse  holds  that  most  of  the  troubles  caused  by  feed- 
ing silage  to  horses  come  from  not  gradually  accustoming  the  animals  to 
this  feed,  from  feeding  too  heavily,  and  from  not  realizing  that  silage 
often  contains  much  corn.  In  trials  at  the  North  Carolina  Station"  Bur- 
kett  found  that  2  lbs.  of  silage  replaced  1  lb.  of  clover  or  oat  hay  when  fed 
in  properly  balanced  rations  to  horses  or  mules.  As  shown  in  the  follow- 
ing chapter  (533),  corn  silage  may  be  satisfactorily  emploj^ed  in  fleshing 
horses  for  market.  Trowbridge  of  the  Missouri  Station^^  states  that  ac- 
cording to  successful  horsemen,  good  legume  hay  and  corn  silage  is  a 
satisfactory  ration  for  wintering  mature  in-foal  mares.  He  points 
out  that  horses  at  hard  work  cannot  be  expected  to  consume  heavy  allow- 
ances of  silage,  on  account  of  its  bulky  nature.  Pearson'''  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Pennsylvania,  investigating  an  outbreak  where  5  horses  suddenly 
died,  found  that  moldy  silage  had  been  fed.  On  feeding  half  a  bushel  of 
the  moldy  silage  paralysis  of  the  throat  occurred,  followed  by  death. 
When  water  which  had  percolated  thru  this  moldy  silage  was  given  to  a 
horse  it  likewise  proved  fatal.  Wing®<*  reports  the  death  of  8  horses  from 
eating  waste  silage  thrown  into  yards  from  racks  where  lambs  were  being 
fed.  In  view  of  such  remotely  possible  troubles,  silage  should  be  fed  to 
horses  only  where  intelligent  supervision  insures  the  use  of  good  material 
given  in  moderation  to  animals  gradually  accustomed  thereto.  (411) 

511.  Roots;  tubers;  fruits. — The  only  importance  of  roots  for  horse 
feeding  in  most  sections  of  this  country  is  as  an  aid  to  digestion,  for  the 
cereals  generally  furnish  nutriment  at  lower  cost.  (365)  Carrots,  es- 
pecially relished  by  horses,  are  great  favorites  with  horsemen  when  cost 
of  keep  is  not  considered.  Thej^  are  most  helpful  when  it  is  necessary  to 
carry  horses  along  in  high  condition,  as  in  stallion  importing  establish- 
ments. (372)  Parsnips  rank  next  in  value.  (373)  In  his  extensive 
studies  of  roots  for  the  horse  Boussingault  found^^  that  it  required  400 
lbs.  of  rutabagas  (swedes)  or  somewhat  over  350  lbs.  of  carrots  to  re- 
place 100  lbs.  of  good  meadow  hay.  (370) 

Boussingault  found  that  artichokes  were  eaten  greedily  and  with  good 
results  by  horses,  about  275  lbs.  of  the  tubers  replacing  100  lbs.  of  hay. 

•"Va.  Bui.  80.  "'Expt.  Sta.  Rec,  12,  p.  886. 

"N.  C.  Bui.  189.  ^"Breeder's  Gaz.,  45,  1904,  p.  568. 

'^Mo.  Cir.  72.  "Rural  Economy,  p.  400. 


318  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

(375)  Potatoes,  according  to  Pott,^^  may  be  fed  raw  or  cooked  in  amounts 
as  high  as  17.5  lbs.  per  day  along  with  suitable  dry  feed.  Larger  quanti- 
ties sometimes  cause  digestive  disturbances.  Boussingault  states  that  280 
lbs.  of  cooked  potatoes  mixed  with  cut  straw  replaced  100  lbs  of  hay.  (374) 
As  horses  are  usually  fond  of  fresh  fruit  it  may  sometimes  be  profitably 
fed  in  moderate  allowance  when  there  is  no  market  for  it.  Dried  fruits, 
slightly  injured  and  thereby  unsalable,  have  been  successfully  fed  to 
horses.  (384) 

512.  Wet  beet  pulp. — ^Wet  beet  pulp  is  unsuited  for  work  horses,  ac- 
cording to  Pott,^^  altho  it  may  be  fed  to  idle  horses  at  the  rate  of  22  to  44 
lbs.  per  head  daily.  Larger  quantities  are  said  to  be  injurious.  Clark®*  of 
the  Utah  Station  reports  that  colts  were  allowed  constant  access  to  pulp 
at  a  sugar  beet  factory  for  several  years  without  trouble  arising.  He  fed 
as  much  as  20  lbs.  of  fermented  pulp  daily  to  work  horses  without  injury, 
altho  in  later  trials  horses  took  to  the  pulp  reluctantly  and  their  appetite 
gradually  decreased. 

VI.  Cost  of  Keep 

513.  Feed  consumed  yearly. — Only  a  limited  amount  of  data  are  avail- 
able relating  to  the  total  annual  feed  consumption  of  horses.  During  2 
years  Burkett  at  the  New  Hampshire  Station^^  recorded  all  feed  eaten, 
water  drank,  and  hours  of  work  performed  by  5  farm  horses,  averaging 
1,230  lbs.  They  worked  on  the  average  2,146  hours  a  year,  or  about  7 
hours  for  each  working  day — a  large  aggregate  for  farm  horses.  The  fol- 
lowing table  shows  the  amount  and  cost  of  the  feed  consumed  annually 
per  horse : 

Feed  consumed  annually  hy  the  Jwrse 

Yearly  consumption        Cost  of 
per  horse  feed 

Lbs.  Dollars 

Concentrates 

Oats,  36  cents  per  bu 1,004  11 .30 

Corn,  S16  per  ton 2,557  20 .46 

Wheat  bran,  $17  per  ton 1,071  9  .  10 

Gluten  feed,  $18  per  ton 153  1 .38 

Linseed  meal,  $28  per  ton 144  2 .02 

Cottonseed  meal,  $26  per  ton 23                   .29 

Total  concentrates 4,952  44 .55 

Roughages 

Timothy  hay,  $16  per  ton 3,654  29 .23 

Corn  stover,  $5  per  ton 219                   .55 

Total  roughages 3,873  29 .78 

Total  feed 8,825  74.33 

Water  drank 27,992 

Each  horse  consumed  4,952  lbs.  of  concentrates  and  3,873  lbs.  of  rough- 
age per  year,  or  about  13.6  lbs.  of  concentrates  and  10.6  lbs.  of  roughage 
per  day.    The  water  drank  averaged  nearly  80  lbs.  per  head  daily.    "With 

8=Handb.  Ernahr.  u.  Futter.,  II,  1907,  p.  368.  ^'Utah  Bui.  101. 

«=Handb.  Ernahr.  u.  Futter.,  Ill,  1909,  p.  299.  ''N.  H.  Bui.  82. 


FEEDS  FOR  THE  HORSE  319 

feeds  at  the  prices  given,  the  keep  of  each  horse  cost  $74.33  per  year,  or 
3.4  cents  for  each  hour  of  work. 

Grisdale  of  the  Ottawa  Experimental  Farms^*'  reports  that  each  of  the 
19  station  horses  consumed  during  a  year  an  average  of  6,225  lbs.  of  meal 
or  grain  and  5,500  lbs.  of  hay.  The  average  cost  of  feed  per  horse  was 
$99.80  per  year,  or  27.3  cents  per  day.  It  may  therefore  be  held  that  a 
1200  to  1400-lb.  work  horse  will  consume  from  2.5  to  3  tons  of  concen- 
trates— grain,  meal,  etc. — and  from  2  to  3  tons  of  roughage — hay,  straw, 
etc. — annually. 

«^ Ottawa  Expt.  Farms,  Rpt.  1902. 


CHAPTER  XX 

FEEDING  AND  CARING  FOR  THE  HORSE 

With  the  brief  bill  of  fare  usually  adopted  for  the  horse  the  adminis- 
tration of  feed  would  seem  a  simple  matter.  It  is,  however,  far  from  such. 
Given  two  grooms  with  similar  conditions  as  to  horses  to  be  cared  for, 
work  performed,  and  feed  bins  to  draw  from,  widely  different  results  are 
shown.  In  one  case  the  team  emerges  from  the  stable  with  an  action  and 
style  which  at  once  announce  it  in  the  best  of  condition.  In  the  other 
the  lagging  step,  dull  eye,  and  rough  coat  tell  better  than  words  the  lack 
of  judgment  in  feeding  and  management.  The  unsatisfactory  condition 
has  not  necessarily  been  brought  about  by  any  saving  at  the  feed  bin 
and  hay  mow.  Indeed,  the  poorer  groom  usually  makes  the  more  fre- 
quent requests  for  supplies.  The  indescribable  qualities  which,  rightly 
commingled,  mark  the  good  feeder,  cannot  be  acquired  from  lectures  or 
books,  but  must,  in  a  large  measure,  be  born  in  the  horseman.  Study  and 
observation  will  add  to  the  ability  of  the  alert  feeder,  but  all  that  may  be 
written  will  not  make  an  adept  of  one  who  does  not  take  to  the  work 
naturally. 

No  one  can  study  the  practices  of  successful  horsemen  without  being 
strongly  impressed  with  the  fact  that  there  are  several  ways  of  reaching 
the  desired  end  of  high  finish  and  fine  action  with  the  horse.  The  skill  of 
the  ''artist"  horse  feeder  enters,  along  with  the  food  he  supplies,  into 
the  very  life  of  the  creature  he  manages.  If  the  reader  finds  the  counsel 
here  given  on  feed  and  management  not  entirely  to  his  satisfaction,  let 
him  remember  that  we  have  chosen  a  rational  and  generally  applicable 
course,  conceding  that  good  results  may  also  be  obtained  by  following 
other  systems. 

I.  The  Brood  Mare,  Foal,,  and  Growing  Horse 

514.  Feed  and  care  of  brood  mare. — It  has  been  estimated  that  only  60 
per  ct.  of  the  mares  that  are  bred  each  year  produce  living  colts.^  Yet 
the  greater  part  of  this  enormous  loss  can  be  prevented  by  proper  feed, 
care,  and  management  of  the  brood  mare.  Idleness,  the  bane  of  horse 
breeding,  should  be  avoided.  (Ill)  Working  mares  are  more  certain  of 
bringing  good  foals  than  idle  ones,  but  judgment  must  always  be  used 
in  working  them.  Pulling  too  hard,  backing  heavy  loads,  wading  thru 
deep  mud,  or  other  over-exertion  must  be  avoided.  When  not  working, 
the  mare  should  be  turned  out  daily  for  exercise.    As  foaling  time  ap- 

'  McCampbell,  Kan.  Bui.  186. 


FEEDING  AND  CARING  FOR  THE  HORSE  321 

proaches,  the  work  should  be  lightened,  and  preferably  discontinued  3 
days  to  a  week  before  foaling,  altho  in  many  instances  mares  have  been 
worked  up  to  the  day  of  foaling  without  harm.-  When  laid  off,  she  should 
not  stand  in  the  stall  without  exercise.  A  roomy,  well-lighted,  well- 
ventilated  box  stall  with  wide  doorway  and  ample  bedding  is  none  too 
good  at  such  times.  Mares  heavy  in  foal  are  apt  to  be  cross  and  quarrel- 
some, but  they  should  always  be  handled  gently. 

The  feeding  of  the  working  brood  mare  is  easier  than  that  of  the  idle 
one.  The  essentials  are  a  well-balanced  ration  of  good  feeds,  containing  a 
liberal  supply  of  protein,  lime,  and  phosphorus.  An  abundance  of  these 
is  especially  needed  by  immature  pregnant  mares  and  pregnant  mares 
which  are  suckling  foals,  since  in  addition  to  the  demand  from  the  de- 
veloping fetus  there  is  the  draft  for  the  growing  body  of  the  mother  in 
the  one  case,  and  for  milk  secretion  in  the  other.  (113, 120,  150)  All  feeds 
should  be  free  from  dust,  mold,  or  decay,  which  might  cause  abortion. 
Mares  used  only  for  breeding  purposes  do  well  without  grain  when  on 
nutritious  pasture.  With  insufficient  pasture  and  in  winter  some  grain 
should  be  given.  The  feed  should  not  be  concentrated  in  character,  but 
should  have  considerable  bulk  or  volume.  The  bowels  should  be  kept  act- 
ive thru  a  proper  combination  of  such  feeds  as  bran,  linseed  meal, 
roots,  etc. 

515.  Gestation  period  and  foaling  time. — The  average  period  of  gesta- 
tion for  the  mare  is  about  11  months,  or  340  days,  tho  it  may  vary  quite 
widely.  William  Russell  Allen  of  Allen  Farm,^  Pittsfield,  Massachusetts, 
from  records  of  1,071  foals  produced  by  trotting  mares  during  15  years, 
found  the  maximum  gestation  period  373,  the  minimum  319,  and  the 
average  340  days.  A  wider  range  was  observed  by  Tessier,*  who  reports 
that  the  shortest  gestation  period  of  582  mares  was  287,  the  longest  419, 
and  the  average,  330  days. 

Only  the  quick-maturing  draft  filly  should  under  any  circumstances  be 
bred  as  a  2-year-old ;  all  others  when  past  3  years.  If  the  desire  is  to 
improve  the  strain  of  horses,  one  should  not  attempt  to  breed  even  the 
draft  filly  at  2  years  of  age,  but  when  market  draft  horses  are  wanted  it 
may  prove  economical  and  will  not  injure  the  filly  to  any  noticeable  de- 
gree if  she  is  well-grown  for  her  age  and  is  properly  fed  and  cared  for. 

Shortly  before  foaling  the  grain  allowance  should  be  decreased  and 
laxative  food  more  freely  used,  since  it  is  advisable  to  keep  the  bowels 
somewhat  loose  rather  than  otherwise.  When  wax  forms  on  the  mare's 
teats,  or  dugs,  the  foal  may  be  expected  in  3  to  4  days.  To  avoid  infection 
which  may  cause  navel  and  joint  disease,  the  stall  should  be  thoroly  dis- 
infected before  the  foal  is  born.  Alexander^  advises  removing  all  litter, 
scraping  the  floor,  and  scrubbing  it  and  the  walls  with  a  good  disinfect- 
ant. The  ceiling  should  be  cleaned,  and  freshly  made  whitewash,  to  each 
gallon  of  which  has  been  added  one-third  pound  of  chlorid  of  lime,  applied 

-  Harper,  Management  and  Breeding  of  Horses,  p.  284. 

^  Catalog,  1905.  '  Farmers'  Cyc,  Johnson,  p.  562.  °  Wis.  Cir.  13. 


322  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

to  both  walls  and  ceiling.  The  floor  should  be  covered  with  fresh,  clean 
straw,  as  free  as  possible  from  chaff  and  dust,  and  all  manure  removed 
as  soon  as  dropped. 

As  foaling  time  approaches,  the  mare  should  be  watched  so  as  to  render 
assistance,  if  necessary,  yet  she  must  not  know  that  anyone  is  on  guard, 
for  often  a  mare  will  not  give  birth  to  her  foal  when  persons  are  present, 
if  she  can  delay  it.  The  mare  should  be  given  a  half  bucket  of  water  be- 
fore foaling,  and  when  on  her  feet  again  she  will  need  a  drink  of  water 
or,  better,  of  gruel  made  from  half  a  pound  of  fine  oatmeal  in  half  a  bucket 
of  lukewarm  water.  A  light  feed  of  bran  is  good  for  the  first  meal,  and 
this  may  be  followed  by  oats,  or  by  equal  parts,  by  bulk,  of  corn  and  bran. 
After  foaling  the  mare  should  be  confined  for  a  few  days,  her  ration  being- 
simple  and  not  too  abundant.  With  favorable  conditions,  after  4  or  5  days 
she  may  be  turned  to  pasture,  and  in  about  2  weeks,  or  even  before  if 
work  is  urgent  and  the  mare  has  fully  recovered,  she  may  go  back  to  light 
work,  for  a  part  of  the  day  at  least. 

516.  Fall  foaling. — Altho  the  natural  and  customary  foaling  time  is  in 
the  spring,  where  the  mare  must  do  a  hard  season's  work  or  when  she 
does  not  get  in  foal  from  spring  service  she  may  be  bred  to  foal  in  the  fall. 

517.  The  foal. — It  is  of  the  highest  importance  in  horse  rearing  that  the 
foal  start  life  in  full  health  and  vigor,  and  to  this  end  it  should,  im- 
mediately after  birth,  take  a  good  draft  of  the  colostrum,  or  first  milk,  of 
the  dam,  which  possesses  regulating  properties  that  tend  to  relieve  the 
alimentary  tract  of  fecal  matter  collected  therein  before  birth.  (115)  If 
this  result  is  not  accomplished  naturally,  a  gentle  purgative  of  castor  oil 
or  a  rectal  injection  is  necessarj^  On  account  of  the  great  danger  from 
navel  and  joint  disease  the  navel  cord  should  receive  attention  immedi- 
ately after  birth,  and  the  stump  be  carefully  disinfected.  To  prevent 
germ  infection  of  the  intestinal  tract  of  the  foal,  which  causes  scours,  it 
is  well  to  wash  the  udder  of  the  mare  with  a  lukewarm  2  per  ct.  solution 
of  coal-tar  disinfectant  and  then  rinse  it  off  with  warm  water  before  al- 
lowing the  foal  its  first  meal.  The  tail  and  hind  parts  of  the  mare  should 
likewise  be  washed  once  a  day  for  the  first  week. 

Some  dams,  more  frequently  those  with  their  fii*st  foal  and  those  too 
hard-worked,  fail  to  supply  the  proper  amount  of  nourishment,  and  the 
young  languish.  In  such  cases  the  mare  should  be  provided  with  food 
which  will  stimulate  the  milk  flow.  Good  pasture  grass  is,  of  course,  the 
best,  but  in  its  absence  concentrates  should  be  given  in  the  shape  of  oats, 
rolled  barley,  wheat  bran,  etc.,  with  an  equal  weight  of  corn.  Sometimes 
the  foal  suffers  from  an  over-supply  of  nourishment,  or  because  the  milk 
is  too  rich,  and  the  indigestion  resulting  may  terminate  in  diarrhea.  In 
such  cases  the  dam's  ration  should  be  reduced  and  some  of  her  milk 
drawn,  remembering  always  that  the  last  portion  carries  the  most  fat, 
which  is  usually  the  disturbing  element. 

518.  Weight  and  gains  of  foals. — Allen®  found  from  the  records  for 
1,071  trotting-bred  foals  that  the  weight  of  the  fillies  at  birth  ranged  from 

« Allen  Farm  Catalog,  1905. 


FEEDING  AND  CARING  FOR  THE  HORSE  323 

74  to  144  lbs.,  averaging  109  lbs.,  while  the  males  weighed  from  66  to  152 
lbs.,  averaging  111  lbs.  The  average  birth  weight  was  110  lbs.  During 
the  first  year  they  gained  534  lbs.,  or  nearly  5  times  their  birth  weight. 
For  the  second  year  the  average  gain  was  264  lbs.,  the  third,  118  lbs.,  and 
the  fourth,  76  lbs.,  bringing  the  total  at  the  end  of  4  full  years  up  to  1,102 
lbs.  These  colts  made  more  than  half  their  growth  during  the  first  year 
of  their  life. 

Data  on  the  gains  of  35  draft  colts,  from  high-grade  or  pure-bred  mares 
averaging  1,700  lbs.  and  sired  by  stallions  averaging  nearly  2,000  lbs., 
have  been  compiled  by  the  Breeder's  Gazette.'^  The  birth  weights  of  the 
foals  were  not  reported,  but  the  weights  and  gains  after  the  first  month 
were  as  follows : 

Weights  and  gains  of  draft  foals  from  hirtli  to  two  years 

Period  Wt.  at  end    Daily  gain  Period  Wt.  at  end    Daily  gain 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Birth— 1  mo 345  ...  6—7  months.  .  890  2 .0 

1—2  months 465  4 .0  7—8  months.  .  960  2 .3 

2—3  months 570  3.5  8—10  months.  .  1,085  2.1 

3—4  months 675  3.5  10—12  months.  .  1,170  1 .4 

4—5  months 760  2.8  12—18  months.  .  1,445  1 .5 

5—6  months 830  2 .3  18—24  months.  .  1,590  0.8 

These  colts  were  well  fed  with  the  intention  of  making  them  as  large  as 
their  parents.  Some  were  given  grain  and  cow's  milk  before  weaning, 
while  others  had  only  hay  and  good  pasture  until  after  weaning.  The 
figures  show  that  at  12  months  a  well-fed  draft  colt  weighs  more  than  half 
as  much,  and  at  24  months  about  three-fourths  as  much  as  at  maturity. 
The  daily  gains  were  by  far  the  largest  before  weaning  and  gradually  de- 
creased as  the  colts  matured.  If  the  foal  is  to  reach  full  development  it 
must  not  be  stunted  during  the  first  year  of  its  life. 

519.  Feeding  the  foal. — By  placing  the  feed  box  low,  when  3  or  4  weeks 
old  the  foal  will  begin  nibbling  from  the  mother's  supply  and  will  soon 
acquire  a  taste  for  grain.  The  earlier  the  foals  so  learn  to  eat,  the  more 
independent  they  become,  and  the  mare  will  then  be  able  to  do  more  work. 
Crushed  oats  or  oatmeal,  with  bran,  are  excellent  feeds,  as  is  a  mixture  of 
4  parts  of  crushed  corn,  3  of  bran,  and  1  of  linseed  meal.  Colts  should  be 
given  good  clover,  alfalfa,  or  other  legume  hay  as  soon  as  they  vnll  eat  it, 
and  all  the  clean,  pure  water  they  want.  "Watchfulness  should  always 
detect  the  first  appearance  of  ailment.  Diarrhea  brought  on  by  over- 
feeding or  exposure  must  be  checked  by  giving  parched  flour,  rice-meal 
gruel,  or  boiled  milk ;  and  constipation,  the  other  common  evil,  may  be 
relieved  by  castor  oil  and  injections  of  warm  water,  flaxseed  tea,  sweet 
oil,  etc.,  administered  preferably  with  a  fountain  syringe  having  a  small 
hard  rubber  nozzle.  Harm  may  be  done  by  injecting  a  large  quantity  of 
strong  soapy  warm  water  with  an  ordinary  ' '  horse ' '  syringe.  In  all  cases 
of  derangement  the  food  for  both  dam  and  foal  should  at  once  be  lessened, 
since  nothing  aids  nature  more  at  such  times  than  reducing  the  work  of 
the  digestive  tract. 

^Breeder's  Gaz.,  59,  1911,  p.  1223. 


324  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

When  the  mare  is  worked,  the  colt  should  be  left  in  a  cool,  dark  stall 
during  the  day,  where  he  will  be  safe  and  not  be  bothered  by  flies,  rather 
than  allowed  to  follow  the  darn  about  the  field.  The  mare  should  be 
brought  to  the  barn  to  suckle  the  colt  in  the  middle  of  the  forenoon  and 
afternoon.  The  colt  should  not  be  allowed  to  drain  the  udder  when  burst- 
ing full  of  hot  milk,  as  indigestion  and  scours  are  apt  to  follow.  Allow  the 
mare  to  cool  off,  and  perhaps  draw  some  of  the  milk  by  hand  before  turn- 
ing her  into  the  stall  with  the  foal.  Brood  mares  at  work  and  nursing 
strong  foals  should  be  heavily  fed  to  sustain  a  good  milk  flow.  If  the 
mare  is  worked  during  the  day  it  is  well  to  turn  both  dam  and  foal 
onto  grass  pasture  at  night,  and  in  addition  feed  a  liberal  allowance  of 
grain.  (150) 

Wlien  dams  and  foals  are  running  at  pasture,  a  creep  should  be  con- 
structed whereby  the  foals  can  have  access  to  a  separate  supply  of  grain. 
Build  a  pen  in  the  pasture  near  where  the  horses  are  inclined  to  loiter, 
making  it  so  high  that  the  mares  will  not  try  to  jump  it,  and  with  suf- 
ficient space  from  the  ground  to  the  bottom  rail  to  allow  the  foals  to  pass 
under.  Put  in  a  handy  gate  or  bars,  then  an  ample  feed  trough.  After 
the  mares  and  foals  have  eaten  together  within  the  pen  a  few  times,  the 
foals  will  visit  the  place  regularly  after  their  dams  are  shut  out.  To  in- 
duce the  dams  to  loiter  about,  it  is  well  to  keep  a  large  lump  of  rock  salt 
near  by  and  occasionally  give  a  feed  of  oats  at  the  pen.  If  files  torture  the 
foal,  it  is  better  to  keep  the  mare  and  foal  in  a  darkened  stall  during  the 
day  and  turn  to  pasture  only  at  night. 

520.  Mare's  milk. — Mare 's  milk  is  white  or  bluish  in  color  with  an  aro- 
matic, sweetish,  slightly  bitter  taste.  As  the  following  table®  shows,  it  is 
more  watery  than  average  cow's  milk,  and  while  it  contains  more  sugar, 
it  is  decidedly  poorer  in  casein,  albumin,  and  ash.  (115) 

Composition  of  mare's  and  cow's  milk 


Number  of 
anabases 

Water 
Per  ct. 

Casein    and 
Per  ct. 

Fat 
Per  ct. 

Sugar 
Per  ct. 

Ash 
Per  ct. 

Specific 
gravity 

Mare's  milk. 

.  .      72 

90.58 

2.05 

1.14 

5.87 

0.36 

1 .0347 

Cow's  milk. . 

..  705 

87.27 

3.39 

3.68 

4.94 

0.72 

1.0313 

According  to  Fleishmann,'*  Tartarian  mares  sometimes  remain  in  milk 
for  2  years,  producing  440  to  490  lbs.  of  milk  annually  beyond  the  require- 
ments of  their  foals.  Vieth^*'  reports  that  good  Russian  milking  mares, 
when  milked  5  times  a  day,  as  is  the  practice,  yield  4  to  5  quarts  of  milk 
daily. 

The  foal  may  be  taught  to  drink  cow's  milk  by  pouring  it  upon  meal. 
The  young  thing  readily  eats  the  moistened  feed,  and  by  tipping  the  pan 
it  soon  learns  to  drink  the  milk.    At  the  Iowa  Station"  Wilson  and  Curtiss 

«K6iiig,  Chem.  Nahr.  u.  Genuss-mittel,  1904,  II,  pp.  602,  663. 

»Lehrb.  Milchwirtschaft,  1901,  p.  65. 

^"Landw.  Vers.  Stat.,  31,  1885,  p.  354. 

"  Iowa  Bui.  18. 


FEEDING  AND  CARING  FOR  THE  HORSE  325 

successfully  fed  whole  milk,  and  later  separator  skim  milk  to  imported 
Percheron,  Shire,  and  French-Coach  weanling  fillies  shortly  after  their 
arrival  from  abroad  and  while  out  of  condition.  In  changing  from  whole 
to  separator  skim  milk  the  amount  was  reduced  for  a  day  or  two  to  pre- 
vent scouring.  Ten  lbs.  of  separator  skim  milk  was  found  equal  to  1  lb. 
of  grain.  Grattan^-  reports  favorably  on  the  use  of  skim  milk  for  foals, 
even  when  the  milk  is  sour  or  lobbered.  MacNeilage^^  objects  to  the  use  of 
cow's  milk  for  foals,  claiming  "no  better  means  of  manufacturing  wind- 
suckers  was  ever  devised,  and  it  is  rare  that  yearlings  so  brought  out 
count  for  much  as  2-year-olds  and  3-year-olds" — a  timely  warning 
against  the  too  free  use  of  this  food. 

521.  Raising  the  orphan. — If  the  mare  dies  or  has  no  milk  the  foal  may, 
with  proper  care,  be  raised  on  cow's  milk.  (265-6)  Choose  the  milk  from 
a  fresh  cow,  if  possible,  and  preferably  from  one  giving  milk  low  in  fat. 
To  a  tablespoonful  of  sugar  add  warm  water  to  dissolve,  then  3  to  5  table- 
spoonfuls  of  lime  water,  which  tends  to  correct  digestive  troubles,  and 
enough  fresh  milk  to  make  a  pint.  Feed  about  one-fourth  pint  every  hour 
for  the  first  few  days,  always  warming  to  blood  heat.  A  satisfactory 
method  of  feeding  the  foal  is  to  use  an  ordinary  nursing  bottle  with  a 
large  nipple,  tho,  as  Johnstone^*  suggests,  an  old  teapot  may  be  used,  over 
the  spout  of  which  the  thumb  of  an  old  kid  glove,  pierced  with  holes  by  a 
darning  needle,  has  been  tied.  Whatever  utensil  is  used,  it  should  be 
thoroly  cleansed  and  scalded  before  each  meal.  Such  feeding  means  much 
bother,  but  many  foals  have  been  killed  by  neglect  of  these  important  de^ 
tails.  As  the  foal  grows,  the  amount  of  milk  may  be  gradually  increased, 
the  period  between  feedings  lengthened,  and  whole  milk  substituted. 
After  a  few  days  6  feedings  a  day  will  suffice  and  later  only  4.  At  3  to  4 
weeks  of  age  the  use  of  sugar  may  be  stopped  but  it  is  well  to  continue  the 
lime  water.  In  5  or  6  weeks  sweet  skim  milk  may  be  gradually  substi- 
tuted for  whole  milk,  and  after  3  months  the  colt  may  be  given  all  it  will 
drink  3  times  a  day.  If  allowed  to  suck  the  attendant's  fingers  the  foal 
will  soon  learn  to  drink  from  a  pail.  The  bowels  should  move  freely,  but 
if  scours  occur  at  any  time  Alexander^^  advises  giving  2  to  4  tablespoon- 
fuls  of  a  mixture  of  sweet  oil  and  pure  castor  oil  shaken  up  in  milk,  and 
stopping  the  feeding  of  milk  for  2  or  3  meals,  allowing  instead  only 
sweetened  warm  water  with  lime  water  added.  At  the  earliest  possible 
age  the  foal  should  be  fed  solid  food,  such  as  oat  meal,  crushed  oats,  corn, 
bran,  and  a  little  oil  meal  and  legume  hay.  For  exercise  let  the  orphan 
run  in  a  lot  or  grass  paddock. 

522.  Weaning. — At  from  4  to  6  months  of  age,  depending  on  conditions, 
the  foal  should  be  weaned.  Wlien  the  mare  is  bred  soon  after  foaling,  or 
if  for  any  reason  the  dam  and  foal  are  not  doing  well,  it  is  best  to  wean 
comparatively  early.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  mother  has  a  good  milk 
flow,  and  her  services  are  not  needed,  the  foal  may  well  be  allowed  to 

"  Breeder's  Gaz.,  6,  1884,  p.  796.  "  The  Horse  Book. 

«  Trans.  Highl.  and  Agrl.  Soc,  1890,  p.  152.  '=  Wis.  Cir.  13. 


326  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

suckle  6  months.  If  the  foal  has  been  fed  increasing  quantities  of  grain 
as  it  developed,  the  weaning  process  will  not  be  difficult,  for  the  quantity 
of  milk  consumed  will  have  been  gradually  decreased.  Complete  separa- 
tion will  then  cause  little,  if  any,  setback  to  either  dam  or  foal.  In  part- 
ing the  dam  and  foal,  keep  them  well  separated,  else  all  must  be  done  over 
again.  Weanlings  should  be  placed  in  quarters  where  they  can  not  in- 
jure themselves  while  fretting  for  their  mothers.  At  such  time  the  grain 
ration  of  the  mare  should  be  reduced  till  she  is  dried  off.  When  the  udder 
becomes  so  full  as  to  cause  uneasiness,  part,  but  not  all,  of  the  milk  should 
be  drawn. 

The  education  of  the  colt  should  not  be  postponed  until  it  is  sought  to 

break ' '  him  as  a  3-year-old,  and  then  attempt  to  bring  the  independent 
animal  under  man's  guidance  all  at  once.  The  young  foal  should  be 
taught  to  lead  at  the  halter,  stand  tied  in  the  stall,  and  display  proper 
stable  manners. 

523.  After  weaning. — ^We  have  seen  that  the  foal  makes  more  than  half 
its  entire  growth  during  the  first  year,  and  that  if  stunted  during  this 
time  it  will  never  fully  recover.  (518)  Good  bone  and  muscle  are  of  prime 
importance  with  the  horse,  and  feeds  which  tend  to  produce  these  should 
be  chosen.  (118-20)  Nothing  is  superior  to  bluegrass  or  other  good  pas- 
ture and  oats.  Among  the  concentrates,  wheat  bran,  cottonseed  meal, 
linseed  meal,  buckwheat  middlings,  wheat  middlings,  soybeans,  cowpeas, 
and  Canada  field  peas  are  rich  in  nitrogenous  matter,  which  goes  to  build 
muscle,  and  in  phosphorus,  a  prime  requisite  of  the  skeleton.  All  the 
legume  hays — alfalfa,  clover,  cowpea,  etc. — are  rich  in  lime,  the  principal 
mineral  component  of  the  bones.  A  combination  of  such  concentrates 
and  roughages  as  these  should  furnish  abundant  bone-  and  muscle-build- 
ing material.  When  properly  balanced  by  nitrogenous  feeds,  com,  bar- 
ley, kafir,  milo,  or  emmer  may  be  used  as  part  of  the  ration.  When  fed 
large  amounts  of  alfalfa  hay,  colts  will  relish  a  little  timothy  or  prairie 
hay,  straw,  or  corn  fodder  occasionally.  If  maximum  growth  is  desired 
it  will  be  necessary  to  feed  some  grain  even  on  good  pasture.  The  young 
horse  which  is  not  developing  the  proper  skeleton  may  be  fed  substances 
especially  rich  in  phosphorus  and  lime,  such  as  2  or  3  ounces  daily  of 
tankage  containing  ground  bone,  or  1  ounce  daily  of  ground  bone,  ground 
rock  phosphate  (floats),  or  precipitated  calcium  phosphate.  These  rec- 
ommendations are  based  on  the  results  obtained  with  other  farm  ani- 
mals. Unfortunately  there  are  no  definite  experiments  with  horses  to 
guide  us  at  this  time. 

In  the  case  of  high-grade  and  pure-bred  draft  foals  it  is  especially 
necessary  that  the  supply  of  feed  be  liberal,  for  the  price  of  the  draft 
horse  depends  largely  on  the  size  attained.  Cochel  and  Severson^*'  fed 
a  lot  of  10  draft  colts  during  2  winters  and  the  intervening  summer  as 
shown  in  the  following  table.  The  grain  fed  during  most  of  the  trial  was 
a  mixture  of  5  or  6  parts  of  shelled  corn,  3  of  oats,  2  of  bran,  and  1  of  lin- 
1"  Penn.  Bui.  122. 


FEEDING  AND  CARING  FOR  THE  HORSE  327 

seed  meal.     On  account  of  limited  pasture  an  unusually  large  allowance 
of  grain  was  necessary  during  the  summer. 

Feed  eaten  and  gains  made  hy  draft  foals 

Average  ration  Total  gain  Daily  gain 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

First  winter,  168  days 
Grain  mixture,  5  .8  lbs. 

Hay  10 .6-13. 1  lbs.;  or  corn  silage  8 .2  lbs.  and  hay 

7.4  lbs 244  1.45 

Summer,  196  days 
Grain,  6.7  lbs. 
Hav,  6.0  lbs. 

Pasture 264  1 .34 

Second  winter,  168  days 
Grain,  9.2  lbs. 

Hay,  17.1  lbs 219  1.30 

In  this  trial  no  effort  was  made  to  secure  extreme  weight,  the  colts  be- 
ing merely  kept  in  good  growing  condition.  It  will  be  noted  that  the 
gains  gradually  decreased  as  the  colts  approached  maturity.  The  aver- 
age cost  of  feed  was  $53.97  per  head  for  the  first  year  after  weaning,  or 
$92.96  during  the  entire  18  months. 

524.  Substitutes  for  oats. — To  determine  the  value  of  a  mixture  of  14 
parts  corn,  5  of  bran,  and  1  of  linseed  meal  as  a  substitute  for  oats,  Mc- 
CampbelP^  of  the  Kansas  Station  fed  2  lots  of  high-grade  draft  colts  as 
shown  below  for  an  entire  year,  beginning  in  January  of  their  first  year. 
The  cost  figure  includes  feed,  labor,  and  veterinary  service  for  a  year. 

Siihstitutes  for  oats  in  feeding  colts 

Feed  per  colt  during  year  Total  gain       Daily  gain     Cost  per  colt 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Dollars 

Lot  I,  8  colts 
Oats,  2,820  lbs. 

Alfalfa  hay,  2,625  lbs. 
Corn  stover,  528  lbs. 
Straw,  183  lbs. 

Pasture  during  summer 459  1 .27  68 .78 

Lot  II,  10  colts 

Grain  mixture,  2,828  lbs. 
Alfalfa  hay,  2,625  lbs. 
Com  stover,  528  lbs. 
Straw,  183  lbs. 
Pasture  during  summer 496  1 .38  62 .22 

The  colts  in  Lot  II  made  larger  gains  and  at  a  lower  cost,  showing  that 
the  grain  mixture  used  was  entirely  satisfactory  as  a  substitute  for  oats, 
as  well  as  less  expensive.  (474)  During  the  summer  it  was  necessary  to 
feed  more  grain  than  usual  on  account  of  scant  pasture. 

That  colts  may  make  fair  gains  when  fed  no  grain  after  the  first  winter 
is  shown  in  a  trial  by  Synder^®  of  the  North  Platte  Station,  Nebraska,  in 
which  3  lots  of  foals  were  fed  for  3  years  after  weaning.  The  colts  were 
fed  as  shown  in  the  table,  all  receiving  grain  during  the  first  winter  only, 
when  4  lbs.  per  head  daily  was  fed. 
"  Information  to  the  authors.  '"  Nebr.  Bui.  130. 


328  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Rearing  colts  with  hut  little  grain 

Average  gain  Final  wt. 
Lbs.  Lbs. 

Alfalfa  hay  in  winter,  alfalfa  pasture  in  summer 678  1 ,268 

Alfalfa  hay  in  winter,  native  pasture  in  summer 611  1,228 

Prairie  and  sorghum  hay  in  winter,  native  pasture  in 

summer 540  1,158 

The  colts  fed  alfalfa  hay  in  winter  and  grazed  on  alfalfa  pasture  in 
summer  made  the  largest  gains.  Snyder  concludes  that  with  plenty  of 
native  pasture  available,  it  did  not  pay  under  his  conditions  to  pasture 
the  alfalfa  in  summer.  However,  it  paid  to  feed  alfalfa  hay  in  winter 
rather  than  prairie  and  sorghum  hay.  (506) 

525.  Forcing  draft  foals. — During  2  winters  Fuller^®  fed  a  total  of  11 
pure-bred  draft  foals  at  the  Wisconsin  Station  for  periods  ranging  from 
140  to  223  days  all  they  would  eat  of  a  mixture  of  ground  oats  60,  corn 
meal  15,  bran  10,  and  cut  alfalfa  hay  15  per  ct.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
first  trial  uncut  alfalfa  hay  was  offered  in  addition,  but  very  little  was 
consumed.  The  foals  ate  on  the  average  16.5  lbs.  a  day  of  this  mixture  and 
made  gains  averaging  2.1  lbs.  per  day.  On  this  ration  they  weighed 
from  1000  to  1200  lbs.  at  the  age  of  a  year,  with  an  estimated  cost  of 
$51.66  for  feed  for  the  entire  year.  Such  heavy  feeding  of  grain  as  this 
will  usually  prove  profitable  only  in  the  case  of  high-grade  or  pure-bred 
foals. 

526.  Cost  of  raising  horses. — The  average  total  cost  of  raising  colts  on 
farms  to  the  age  of  3  years,  according  to  estimates  received  from  over 
10,000  farmers  in  various  sections  of  the  United  States  by  the  Bureau  of 
Statistics,  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,-"  is  $104.06.  If  we 
deduct  the  value  of  the  work  done  by  the  average  colt  before  his  third 
year,  the  net  cost  is  $96.54,  or  70.9  per  ct.  of  the  estimated  selling  price, 
$136.17.  The  cost  in  different  states  varied  from  $69.50  for  New  Mexico 
and  $71.59  for  Wyoming,  to  $149.98  for  Connecticut  and  $156.60  for 
Rhode  Island.    The  average  cost  is  distributed  as  follows : 

Cost  of  raising  colts  to  3  years  of  age 

First  year      Second  year     Third  year      Total  cost 
Dollars  Dollars  Dollars  Dollars 

Service  fee 12 .95  ....  ....  12 .95 

Time  lost  by  brood  mare 10 .06  10 .06 

Breaking  to  halter 2 .22  ....  ....  2 .22 

Care  and  shelter 4.98  5.36  6.35  16.69 

Cost  of  grain  fed 4.98  7.14  9.56  21.68 

Cost  of  hay  fed 4.14  6.61  8.48  19.23 

Cost  of  pasture 2.56  5.41  6.21  14.18 

Veterinary  and  miscellaneous ....  ....  ....  7 .05 

$104.06 

It  is  shown  that  about  54  per  ct.  of  the  total  cost  of  raising  the  3-year- 
old  was  for  feed  and  16  per  ct.  for  care  and  shelter. 
"  Wis.  Bui.  240.  '"  Gay,  Productive  Horse  Husbandry. 


FEEDING  AND  CARING  FOR  THE  HORSE  329 

II.  The  Stallion 

527.  Importance  of  exercise.— In  the  care  of  the  stallion  nothing  so  vital 
to  his  well  being  is  more  generally  neglected  than  proper  exercise.  (Ill) 
Often  his  time  is  spent  in  idleness,  in  a  poorly-ventilated  box  stall,  away 
from  his  kind.  Under  such  conditions  it  is  no  wonder  that  he  may  con- 
tract vices,  become  unruly  or  even  vicious,  and  get  only  a  small  per  cent  of 
colts.  The  best  exercise  is  honest  work,  and  there  is  no  better  advertise- 
ment of  a  stallion  than  letting  him  be  seen  at  work  on  the  farm  or  road. 
Even  during  the  breeding  season  a  half  day's  work  each  day  is  benefi- 
cial. Manifestly,  judgment  must  be  used  in  accustoming  "soft"  stallions 
to  continued  hard  work.  "When  real  work  is  impossible  he  should  be 
exercised  on  the  road  each  day.  The  draft  horse  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances should  travel  at  least  5  miles  a  day,  while  the  light  horse  may  jog 
and  trot  6  miles  or  more. 

528.  Feeding  the  stallion. — The  ration  of  the  stallion  should  consist  of 
first  class,  wholesome  feeds,  supplying  ample  protein  and  mineral  matter 
for  thrift  and  vigor.  The  choice  of  feeding  stuffs  will  depend  on  the 
particular  locality,  the  same  principles  applying  as  in  the  case  of  the 
work  horse.  A  few  combinations  given  by  McCampbell-^  as  satisfactory 
in  practice  may  prove  suggestive. 

1.  Oats ;  timothy  or  prairie  hay. 

2.  Oats,  4 ;  corn,  6 ;  and  bran,  3  parts  by  weight ;  timothy  or  prairie 
hay. 

3.  Oats,  4 ;  corn,  6 ;  linseed  meal,  1  part ;  timothy  or  prairie  hay. 

4.  Corn,  7 ;  bran,  3  ;  linseed  meal,  1  part ;  timothy  or  prairie  hay. 

5.  Corn ;  alfalfa  hay  1/3  and  prairie  hay  2/3. 

No  specific  directions  can  be  given  as  to  the  total  amount  of  feed  re- 
quired, since  this  depends  on  the  exercise  the  animal  gets  and  whether  he 
is  a  "hard"  or  "easy"  keeper.  A  safe  rule  is  to  keep  the  stallion  in 
good  flesh,  but  not  "hog  fat,"  for  this  will  injure  his  breeding  powers. 
Most  horsemen  advise  that  in  the  breeding  season  he  be  kept  gaining  just 
a  bit,  rather  than  allowed  to  run  down  in  flesh.  While  some  recommend 
feeding  3  times  a  day,  4  is  preferred  by  others.  In  either  case  no  more 
should  be  fed  than  will  be  promptly  cleaned  up. 

529.  General  hints. — On  the  care  of  the  stallion  Sanders^-  writes, 
"Anything  that  adds  to  the  health,  strength,  and  vigor  of  the  horse  will 
increase  his  virility  or  sexual  power,  simply  because  the  sexual  organs 
will  partake  of  the  general  tone  of  the  system ;  and  on  the  contrary,  what- 
ever tends  to  impair  the  health  and  vigor  of  the  general  system  will  have 
a  deleterious  effect  upon  the  sexual  organs."  The  stall  should  be  kept 
clean,  well  lighted,  and  well  ventilated.  As  a  horse  likes  companionship, 
it  is  well  to  have  the  stallion 's  stall  near  those  of  other  horses.  He  should 
be  regularly  and  thoroly  groomed  and  frequent  attention  should  be  given 
his  feet.    The  idea  that  drugs,  nostrums,  or  stock  foods  are  necessary  to 

-'  Kan.  Bui.  186.  "  Horse  Breeding,  pp.  144-146. 


330  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

increase  the  ability  of  the  horse  to  get  foals  is  sheer  nonsense.  The  moat 
successful  grooms  utilize  only  good  food,  carefully  and  regularly  ad- 
ministered. 

It  is  important  to  conserve  the  energies  of  the  stallion  by  regulation  of 
the  services,  as  many  horses  are  otherwise  injured.  No  definite  rule  can, 
however,  be  given,  as  the  number  of  mares  that  can  be  bred  will  depend 
on  many  factors. 


III.  Work  Horse  and  Mule  ;  Fattening  and  Fitting  Draft  Horses 

530.  The  work  horse. — Under  favorable  conditions  the  regularity  in 
work,  feeding,  and  rest  brings  comfort  and  long  years  of  usefulness  to 
the  work  horse.  The  general  principles  which  govern  the  production  of 
work  by  the  horse,  the  factors  influencing  his  efficiency  as  a  machine  for 
work,  and  the  various  feeds  employed  for  his  maintenance  have  been  dis- 
cussed in  detail  in  the  preceding  chapters.  The  ration  to  be  fed  will  de- 
pend upon  the  size  of  the  animal  and  the  nature  and  severity  of  the 
work,  as  has  been  shown  before.  (450-6)  As  a  rule  from  10  to  18  lbs.  of 
concentrates  should  be  fed  daily,  the  total  allowance  of  grain  and  hay 
ranging  from  2  to  3  lbs.  per  100  lbs.  of  horse.  The  ratio  of  concentrates 
to  roughage  will  be  governed  by  the  severity  of  the  work.  (457)  The 
morning  meal  should  be  comparatively  light,  and  mostly  grain.  From 
half  to  two-thirds  of  the  concentrates  should  be  fed  with  a  peck  of  mois- 
tened chaffed  hay  at  this  time.  The  mid-day  meal  is  sometimes  omitted, 
especially  with  horses  on  the  street  all  day,  tho  most  horsemen  hold  that 
some  grain  should  be  given  then.  Most  of  the  roughage  should  be  fed  at 
night.  (492)  On  idle  days  the  concentrate  allowance  should  always  be 
decreased.  There  is  no  more  common  error  in  the  management  of  horses 
than  on  this  point.  Girard^^  found  that  when  hard-worked  horses  getting 
19  quarts  of  oats  with  14  lbs.  of  hay  and  straw  without  limit  were  stopped 
from  work  for  3  days  and  fed  the  same  ration,  paralysis,  resulting  in 
death,  would  often  occur.  By  reducing  the  ration  during  idle  days  to  6 
quarts  of  oats  at  noon  and  6  quarts  of  bran  mash  both  night  and  morning, 
with  roughage  as  before,  the  trouble  ceased. 

On  coming  to  the  stable  at  noon,  the  work  horse  should  have  a  drink 
of  fresh,  cool  water,  care  being  taken,  if  he  is  warm,  that  he  does  not 
drink  too  rapidly  or  too  much.  Before  going  to  work  he  should  be  water- 
ed again.  (463-4)  The  harness  should  be  removed  so  he  can  eat  his  meal 
in  comfort  and  rest  easily.  If  possible,  an  hour  should  be  given  for  the 
mid-day  meal.  When  the  horse  comes  in  after  the  day's  labor,  after 
giving  him  a  drink,  unharness  at  once,  and  when  the  sweat  has  dried 
brush  him  w^ell.  (468-70) 

Many  rations  successfully  fed  to  work  horses  have  been  given  and  dis- 
cussed in  Chapter  XIX,  but  it  will  also  be  suggestive  to  study  the  fol- 
lowing rations  which  have  been  employed  with  good  results  in  different 
parts  of  the  country. 

=^Langworthy,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Office  of  Expt.  Sta.,  Bui.  125. 


FEEDING  AND  CARING  FOR  THE  HORSE 

Rations  for  various  classes  of  work  horses  * 


331 


Omnibus  horses 

Paris,  France,  wt.  1240  lbs. 
Com,  10.8  lbs. 
Oats,  8.1  lbs. 

Hay,  8.7  lbs. 

Straw,  8.2  lbs. 

Fire  company  horses 

Boston,  Mass.,  wt.  I4OO  lbs. 
Ground  grain,  9  .4  lbs. 
Hay,  18.0  lbs. 

Chicago,  III,  wt.  1350  lbs. 
Oats,  4.0  lbs. 
Hay,  15.0  lbs. 

St.  Louis,  Mo.,  wt.  1350  lbs. 
Oats,  10.0  lbs. 
Bran,  2.5  lbs. 
Hay,  7  .0  lbs. 

New  York,  N.  Y.,  wt.  1350  lbs. 
Oats,  12  .0  lbs. 
Hay,  9.0  lbs. 

Express  horses 

Richmond,  Va.,  summer,  ivt.  I4OO  lbs. 
Com,  4.7  lbs. 
Oats,  5.3  lbs. 
Bran,  0.8  1b. 
Com  meal,  4.2  lbs. 
Hay,  15.0  lbs. 

Richmond,  Va.,  winter,  wt.  I4OO  lbs. 
Corn,  4.4  lbs. 
Oats,  7.5  lbs. 
Bran,  0.8  1b. 
Com  meal,  0.2  1b. 
Hay,  16.0  lbs. 

Jersey  City,  N.  J.,  xot.  1325  lbs. 
Corn,  2.0  lbs. 
Oats,  19  .0  lbs. 
Bran,  1 .5  lbs. 
Hay,  9.5  lbs. 

Boston,  Mass.,  wt.  1325  lbs. 
Com,  12.0  lbs. 
Oats,  5.3  lbs. 
Hay,  20.0  lbs. 

Cab  horses 

New  York,  N.  Y.,  wt.  1200  lbs. 
Oats,  14.0  lbs. 
Hay,  10.0  lbs. 

Washington,  D.  C,  wt.  1200  lbs. 
Oats,  10.0  lbs. 
Corn,  5  .0  lbs. 
Hay,  23.0  lbs. 

*  Collected  by  Langworthy  and  preserved  in  "A  Digest  of  Recent  Experiments 
on  Horse  Feeding,"  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  1903,  Office  Expt.  Sta.,  Bui.  125. 


Cab  horses,  cont. 
San  Francisco,  Cal.,  wt.  1350  lbs. 
Oats,  8.0  lbs. 
Hay,  16.0  lbs. 

Horses  at  severe  work 
Chicago,  III,  daily,  ivt.  1500  lbs. 
Oats,  7.5  lbs. 
Hay,  20.0  lbs. 

Chicago,  III,  holiday,  wt.  1500  lbs. 
Oats,  2.0  lbs. 
Bran,  2.5  lbs. 
Oil  meal,  0.2  1b. 
Hay,  20.0  lbs. 

South  Omaha,  Nebr.,  v)t.  1500  lbs. 
Oats,  15.0  lbs. 
Hay,  12.0  lbs. 

New  York.  N.  Y.,  ivt.  1600  lbs. 
Oats,  23.0  lbs. 
Hay,  12.0  lbs. 

Washington,  D.  C,  summer,  wt.  1600  lbs. 
Oats,  19.0  lbs. 
Hay,  13.0  lbs. 

Washington,  D.  C,  uinter,  wt.  1600  lbs. 
Oats,  12.5  lbs. 
Com,  6.8  lbs. 
Mixture — bran  2,   com  meal   1.6,   cut 

hay  4  parts — 4  lbs. 

Hay,  10.0  lbs. 

Farm  horses,  Stations 

New  Hampshire,  wt.  1235  lbs. 
Bran,  2.0  lbs. 
Corn,  6  .0  lbs. 
Gluten  meal,  6  .0  lbs. 
Hay,  10.0  lbs. 

Massachusetts,  wt.  1100  lbs. 
Oats,  3.3  lbs. 
Crushed  corn,  2 .7  lbs. 
Provender,  6.0  lbs. 
Wheat  bran,  2.0  lbs. 
Hay,  18.0  lbs. 


New  Jersey,  wt.  1150  lbs. 
Corn  meal,  6.3  lbs. 
Dried  brewers'  grains,  6 .2  lbs. 
Hay,  8.0  lbs. 

Utah,  wt.  1120  lbs. 
Bran  and  shorts  (1:1),  12.6  lbs. 
AlfaKahay,  16.0  lbs. 

Utah.  lot.  1230  lbs. 
Oats,  12.0  lbs. 

Timothy  hav,  13.0  lbs. 


332  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

531.  Wintering  the  farm  horse. — It  has  already  been  shown  that  the 
farm  horse  when  idle  during  the  winter  may  be  economically  wintered 
wholly,  or  in  part,  on  roughages.  (448)  Rather  than  keep  the  idle  horse 
too  closely  confined  at  such  times  it  is  preferable  to  turn  him  out  daily 
into  a  lot,  protected  from  the  wind.  (466)  At  shedding  time,  feed  some 
grain  even  if  the  horses  are  idle.  Light  grain  feeding,  together  with 
light  work,  should  begin  a  few  weeks  before  the  spring  work  starts,  for 
horses  are  soft  after  a  winter  of  idleness. 

532.  The  mule. — It  is  often  stated  that  mules  require  less  feed  than 
horses  to  do  a  given  amount  of  work.  Riley"*  concludes,  from  long  expe- 
rience with  thousands  of  army  mules,  that  there  is  no  foundation  for  this 
statement.  At  3  years  of  age,  when  shedding  his  milk  teeth,  the  mule  is 
especially  susceptible  to  digestive  disorders.  However,  he  is  an  excellent 
feeder,  as  a  rule  being  more  sensible  in  eating  and  less  likely  to  gorge 
himself  with  feed  than  the  horse,  and  hence  less  subject  to  colic  or  foun- 
der. Indeed,  mules  are  often  fed  at  troughs,  like  cattle,  and  allowed  to 
eat  all  they  desire.  The  mule  is  not  fastidious  in  his  taste  and  consumes 
roughages  which  the  horse  will  refuse.  He  also  endures  hot  weather 
better,  and  because  of  the  peculiar  shape  of  the  foot  and  its  thick,  strong 
wall  and  sole  is  less  subject  than  the  horse  to  foot  lameness.  However, 
the  lack  of  weight  and  the  small  size  of  his  foot  somewhat  unfit  the  mule 
for  heavy  draft  in  the  city,  as  he  does  not  get  a  good  hold  on  the  pave- 
ments. 

Tho  the  mule  will  endure  more  neglect  than  the  horse,  good  care  and 
feed  will  prove  profitable.  For  feeding  the  mule  the  same  feeds  are 
available  as  in  the  case  of  the  horse,  and  the  same  principles  apply  in 
suiting  the  feed  to  the  size  of  the  animal  and  the  severity  of  the  work 
performed. 

533.  Feeds  for  fattening  horses. — As  the  markets  demand  draft 
horses  in  high  flesh,  in  certain  districts  their  fattening  has  become  an 
important  industry.  The  horses  are  usually  purchased  in  the  fall  after 
farm  work  is  over  and  gradually  accustomed  to  a  heavy  grain  ration, 
getting  all  they  will  clean  up  when  on  full  feed.  At  this  time  some  of  the 
heaviest  feeders  will  consume  nearly  twice  as  much  as  when  at  hard  work, 
or  about  2  lbs.  of  grain  for  every  100  lbs.  live  weight.  The  feeds  utilized 
are  usually  corn,  oats,  and  clover  or  alfalfa  hay. 

With  3  expert  horse  dealers  for  counsel,  Obrecht-^  fattened  13  eastern 
"chunks"  at  the  Illinois  Station  to  determine  the  relative  value  of  corn 
and  oats  and  of  clover  and  timothy  hay,  obtaining  the  results  shown  in 
the  following  table,  in  the  test  which  lasted  84  days.  Lot  I  was  fed  a  mix- 
ture of  corn,  wheat  bran,  and  oats  and  Lot  II  a  mixture  of  corn,  oats, 
bran,  and  oil  meal,  both  being  fed  clover  hay.  Lot  III  was  fed  the  same 
concentrate  mixture  as  Lot  II,  but  with  timothy  hay. 

2*  Farmer's  Cyclopedia  of  Live  Stock,  1908,  p.  346. 
^  111.  Bui.  141. 


FEEDING  AND  CARING  FOR  THE  HORSE 


333 


Rations  for  fleshing  horses  for 

market 

Daily  gain 

Total  gain 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Cost  of  1 
lb.  gain  * 

Value  of  1 

Average  ration 

Concentrates 

Hay 

lb.  gain  * 

Lot  I,  5  horses 
Corn,  17.7  lbs. 
■Wheat  bran,  2.4  lbs. 
Oil  meal,  0.4  1b. 

Clover  hay,  13.9  lbs. 

Lbs. 

2.3 

Lbs. 

192 

Lbs. 
894 

.... 

607 

Cents 

13.9 

Cents 
26.6 

Lot  II,  4  horses 
Corn,  8.6  lbs. 
Oats,  8.6  lbs. 
Wheat  bran,  2.4  lbs. 
OU  meal,  0.41b. 

Clover  hay,  13.7  lbs. 

3.0 

250 

674 

461 

12.4 

19.5 

Lot  III,  4  horses 
Corn,  8.4  lbs. 
Oats,  8.3  lbs. 
Wheat  bran,  2.6  lbs. 
Oil  meal,  0.4  lb. 

Timothy    hay,     14.7 
lbs 

1.9 

158 

1,046 

781 

20.0 

22.2 

*Corn  SO .65  and  oats  S0.55  per  bu.;  bran  S26.00,  oil  meal  $32.00,  clover  hay  $11.00,  and  timothy 
hay  $12.00  per  ton. 

Clover  hay  proved  much  superior  to  timothy  hay,  the  horses  in  Lot 
II,  fed  clover,  making  58  per  ct.  larger  gains  than  those  in  Lot  III,  fed 
timothy,  and  at  a  lower  cost.  Even  when  fed  with  clover  hay  and  wheat 
bran  and  oil  meal,  oats  and  corn  produced  larger  gains  than  corn  alone. 
In  a  second  trial  3  parts  corn  and  1  part  oats  proved  more  economical 
than  half  corn  and  half  oats,  when  fed  with  clover  hay.  When  much  bran 
was  fed  with  clover  hay  the  combination  proved  too  laxative.  It  will  be 
noted  that  these  fattening  horses  required  about  the  same  amount  of 
feed  as  fattening  cattle  for  a  given  gain  in  weight.     (Chapter  XXVII.) 

The  value  of  corn  silage  and  of  cottonseed  meal  for  fattening  horses  is 
shown  in  the  following  trial  by  CocheP^  at  the  Pennsylvania  Station  in 
which  1455-lb.  light  draft  horses,  or  chunks,  were  fed  for  84  days. 

Corn  silage  and  cottonseed  meal  for  fattening  horses 

Daily  gain     Cost  of  100  lbs.  gain* 


Average  ration 


Lbs. 


Dollars 


Lot  I 

Cottonseed  meal,  1 .4  lbs. 
Shelled  com,  12.3  lbs. 
Corn  silage,  16.9  lbs. 

Mixed  hay,  10 .5  lbs 

Lot  II 

Cottonseed  meal,  1 .5  lbs. 
Shelled  corn,  13  . 1  lbs. 

Mixed  hay,  18 .1  lbs 

Lot  III 

Oats,  8.0  lbs. 
Shelled  com,  9  .2  lbs. 

Mixed  hay,  17  .7  lbs 

*Corn  $0 .  50  and  oats  $0 .  35  per  bu. ;  cottonseed  meal  $32,  mixed  hay  $12,  and  corn  silage  $2 .  50  per  ton. 

'"  Penn.  Bui.  117. 


1.59 


1.78 


1.64 


13.40 


13.90 


17. 


334  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Lot  I,  getting  silage,  consumed  slightly  less  grain,  and  made  some- 
what cheaper  tho  slightly  smaller  daily  gains  than  Lot  II.  The  silage- 
fed  horses  were  sleeker  and  better  finished  than  those  in  either  of  the 
other  lots.  Cottonseed  meal  and  corn  produced  larger  and  more  eco- 
nomical gains,  and  better  finish  than  oats  and  corn.  For  a  few  days  it 
was  necessary  to  substitute  linseed  meal  for  the  cottonseed  meal  with 
some  of  the  horses  which  at  first  refused  the  latter. 

Gramlich-^  reports  that  many  Nebraska  feeders  have  obtained  exceed- 
ingly satisfactory  results  in  feeding  alfalfa  hay  to  horses  that  were  being 
fattened. 

534.  Hints  on  fleshing  horses. — Formerly  fattening  horses  were  usually 
confined  to  stalls  and  not  exercised,  as  larger  gains  are  then  made. 
Obrecht  found  that  horses  getting  no  exercise  gained  24  per  ct.  more 
than  those  walking  2.8  miles  daily.  Those  in  single  stalls  gained  8  per 
ct.  more  than  others  in  box  stalls,  which  had  more  opportunity  to  move 
about.  If  exercise  is  begun  a  few  days  before  horses  are  marketed,  a 
slight  physic  should  be  given  to  get  the  muscles  in  trim  and  the  grain  al- 
lowance cut  in  half  to  avoid  digestive  trouble,  later  again  being  gradu- 
ally increased  to  the  former  amount.  "When  clover  or  alfalfa  hay  is  fed,  a 
bran  mash  twice  a  week  is  usually  all  that  is  necessary  to  keep  the  legs 
of  these  idle  horses  from  becoming  stocked.  In  some  cases  it  is  advantage- 
ous to  give  a  dose  of  Glauber  or  Epsom  salts  twice  a  week. 

During  the  last  few  years  many  feeders  are  following  the  more  natural 
plan  of  allowing  the  fattening  horses  to  exercise  at  will  in  paddocks. 

Altho  some  feed  the  horses  5  or  6  times  a  day,  others  secure  just  as  good 
results  with  3  feeds.  Water  should  be  supplied  freely  at  least  twice  a  day. 
Usually  no  feed  is  administered  between  5  or  6  o'clock  at  night  and  6 
the  next  morning.  Grooming  and  blanketing  aid  in  producing  a  soft, 
shining  coat  which  increases  the  selling  price.  (468-9)  It  is  important  to 
keep  mangers  and  feed  boxes  clean,  and  to  see  that  the  teeth  and  feet  of 
the  animals  are  in  good  condition.  (470-1)  With  such  feeding  and  care, 
surprising  gains  are  sometimes  made.  Craig  and  BretelP^  report  that  one 
horse  gained  5.5  lbs.  per  day  for  50  days.  Gramlich""  states  that  one 
feeder  reports  a  daily  gain  of  4  lbs.  each  on  150  head  fed  for  2  months. 
While  it  is  recognized  that  horses  must  be  thus  fed  to  top  the  market,  such 
rapid  and  excessive  fattening  is  of  little  benefit  and  may  even  be  injur- 
ious. When  put  to  hard  work  the  horses  quickly  lose  most  of  the  soft 
flesh  acquired  by  such  forcing. 

On  fattening  horses,  CocheP**  writes :  ' '  The  cost  of  gains  is  not  the  only 
factor  which  determines  the  profit  or  loss  from  the  operation.  Market 
values  fluctuate  quite  widely  during  the  time  necessary  for  feeding,  hence 
there  may  be  considerable  profit  or  loss  due  entirely  to  this  factor.  Horses 
that  are  kept  in  idleness  are  quite  apt  to  become  blemished  or  injured  on 
account  of  playfulness  in  the  stable.  The  risk  of  sickness  is  greater  than 
with  cattle,  sheep,  and  hogs.    Many  horses  are  unable  to  stand  a  long 

*'  Nebr.  Exten.  Bui.  28,  1914.  ''  Nebr.  Exten.  Bui.  28,  1914. 

^  Breeder's  Gaz.,  35,  1899,  p.  781.  '"  Penn.  Bui.  117. 


FEEDING  AND  CARING  FOR  THE  HORSE  335 

period  of  forced  feeding  because  of  constitutional  weakness.  Good  judg- 
ment in  buying  and  selling  is  necessary.  All  other  conditions  being  equal, 
a  close  study  of  the  selection  of  rations  and  methods  of  feeding  will  deter- 
mine the  success  or  failure  of  those  who  finish  horses  for  market. ' ' 

535.  Fitting  for  shows. — All  show  horses  should  be  in  good  flesh,  draft 
classes  especially.  The  advice  above  given  for  fattening  horses  will  apply 
to  fitting  draft  horses  for  show,  except  that  they  must  be  exercised  daily 
to  keep  their  muscles  in  good  trim.  All  show  horses  should  be  carefully 
fed,  groomed,  and  exercised  to  bring  them  into  proper  "bloom."  Train- 
ing also  counts  for  much  in  the  show  ring. 


IV.  Feed  and  Care  of  the  Light  Horse 

536.  Feeding  the  carriage  and  saddle  horse. — Style  and  action  are  pri- 
mary requisites  with  these  horses,  economy  of  feeding  standing  second. 
Good  drivers  in  this  country  still  assert  that  the  oat-fed  horse  exhibits 
mettle  as  from  no  other  feed.  Tho  oats  easily  excel  any  other  single  grain 
or  concentrate,  there  are  numerous  instances  in  which  a  properly  com- 
bined concentrate  mixture  has  given  just  as  good  results,  as  is  shown  in 
the  preceding  chapter.  From  8  to  10  lbs.  of  oats  or  their  equivalent,  di- 
vided into  3  feeds,  should  suffice  for  concentrates,  the  evening  meal  being 
the  largest.  In  case  the  horse  is  at  all  constipated,  a  bran  mash  should  be 
given.  The  hay  is  usually  fed  long,  for  the  carriage  horse  has  ample  time 
for  his  meals.  From  10  to  12  lbs.  of  hay  is  a  liberal  allowance,  bringing 
the  total  ration  within  20  or  22  lbs.  The  carriage  horse  must  be  trim  in 
body,  and  so  cannot  consume  much  bulky  food,  yet  we  should  not  forget 
that  the  ration  must  have  volume  in  order  that  the  digestive  functions 
proceed  normally.  (107)  With  this  class  of  horses  the  feeder  must  also 
guard  against  undue  feeding  of  laxative  foods,  such  as  clover  and  alfalfa 
hay,  or  bran.  Carriage  horses  are  usually  overfed  and  exercised  irregu- 
larly or  too  little,  and  mainly  for  these  reasons  their  period  of  satisfactory 
service  is  often  brief.  (466)  On  days  when  they  are  not  driven,  oats 
should  be  fed  only  at  noon,  with  a  bran  mash  morning  and  evening,  no 
difference  being  made  in  the  quantity  of  roughage  fed. 

537.  Feeding  the  trotter. — The  single  requisite  of  speed  makes  the 
carrying  of  every  pound  of  useless  body  weight,  and  more  especially  of 
feed,  a  serious  matter  in  the  management  of  the  trotting  horse.  There  is 
also  to  be  considered  the  effect  of  the  food  on  the  character  of  the  muscles 
formed  from  it,  and  especially  on  the  nerve  and  mettle  of  the  horse.  All 
horsemen  agree  in  regarding  oats  as  the  one  grain  suitable  for  animals 
where  speed  is  sought  regardless  of  cost  of  food.  While  this  opinion  pre- 
vails in  this  country,  we  should  remember  that  the  Arab  horse  usually 
subsists  upon  barley. 

For  information  on  feeding  the  trotter  we  can  draw  from  no  better 
source  than  Hiram  Woodruff,^^  whose  advice  is  here  condensed. 

After  weaning,  trotting  bred  colts  should  be  fed  about  2  lbs.  of  oats  per 
"  The  Trotting  Horse  of  America,  pp.  90-105. 


336  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

day  with  an  unlimited  allowance  of  hay.  As  the  colt  grows  older  the 
amount  of  oats  should  be  increased  to  4  lbs.  for  the  yearling,  6  lbs.  for  the 
2-yr.-old  before  training,  and  8  to  12  lbs.  for  the  colt  2  to  3  years  old  in 
training,  an  unlimited  allowance  of  hay  being  given  all  this  time. 

When  going  into  winter  quarters,  the  feed  of  the  trotter  should  be  re- 
duced fully  one-half  in  order  to  prevent  fattening.  A  few  carrots  may  be 
given  and  a  bran  mash  occasionally,  with  good  clean,  sweet  hay.  Horses 
whose  legs  must  undergo  blistering  or  firing  should  have  more  cooling 
feed,  as  mashes  and  carrots,  with  less  oats,  in  order  to  reduce  the  tendency 
to  feverish,  inflammatory  symptoms.  Care  must  be  taken  not  to  permit 
the  animal  to  get  flabby  or  washy  by  too  much  soft  food  while  undergoing 
treatment.  Horses  turned  out  to  the  field  should  be  fed  oats  twice  a  day, 
for  the  exposure  to  the  severity  of  the  weather  increases  the  need  of  heat- 
giving  food.  In  the  spring  when  shedding,  bran  mashes  are  in  order  to 
keep  the  bowels  open,  but  not  flax  seed  or  linseed  meal,  which  have  a  ten- 
dency to  relax  the  system  too  suddenly  and  to  cause  the  old  hair  to  come 
away  before  the  new  coat  is  well  started. 

"With  the  beginning  of  the  season  the  feed  should  be  increased  to  8  to  10 
lbs.  of  oats  daily,  in  which  case  the  horse  wants  less  hay,  but  may  still  have 
all  he  will  clean  up  unless  he  is  a  glutton.  It  is  necessary  to  muzzle  some 
horses  to  prevent  their  eating  the  bedding,  long  before  the  time  for  the 
race.  No  carrots  or  corn  should  now  be  given,  unless  it  is  necessary  to 
induce  a  light  feeder  to  eat  his  oats  by  mixing  a  handful  of  corn  with 
them. 

During  the  jogging  and  after  preparation,  a  bran  mash  about  once  a 
week,  depending  on  the  condition  of  the  horse's  bowels,  will  be  proper. 
The  trainer  must  never  relax  his  vigilant  observation,  or  let  his  judgment 
sleep.  During  the  fast  work,  preparatory  to  the  coming  trial,  the  horse 
will  be  put  upon  his  largest  allowance  of  strong  food.  Some  will  not  eat 
more  than  8  or  10  lbs.  of  oats  a  day ;  and  it  is  necessary  that  such  light 
feeders  be  not  over  worked.  A  good  feeder  ought  to  have  about  12  to  13 
lbs.  of  oats  with  a  fair  amount,  say  6  to  8  lbs.,  of  hay.  Some  will  eat  16 
lbs.  of  oats  a  day.  Splan^-  states  that  the  famous  trotter  Rarus  consumed 
15  lbs.  per  day  in  the  hottest  part  of  summer.  Woodruff,  however,  holds 
that  any  amount  over  13  lbs.  does  more  harm  than  good. 

538.  Army  horses. — Oats,  hay,  and  straw  are  the  standard  feeds  used 
for  army  horses  by  the  great  nations,  since  they  best  fill  the  follomng 
rigid  requirements :  All  provender  for  such  purposes  must  not  only  be 
palatable  and  safe,  but  also  widely  known  articles  of  trade,  easily  collec- 
tible in  vast  quantities,  readily  inspected,  and  generally  uniform  in 
quality ;  moreover,  they  must  not  be  subject  to  excessive  waste  or  dete- 
rioration during  storage  and  transportation. 

In  the  United  States  army  the  daily  allowance  of  grain  is  12  lbs.  per 
head  for  horses  weighing  1,050  to  1,125  lbs.,  and  9  lbs.  for  mules  averag- 
ing about  1,025  lbs.    Under  unusual  exposure,  3  lbs.  of  additional  grain 

^  Life  with  the  Trotters. 


FEEDING  AND  CARING  FOR  THE  HORSE  337 

daily  may  be  issued.  The  standard  allowance  of  hay  for  both  horses  and 
mules  is  14  lbs.,  with  100  lbs.  of  straw  for  bedding  per  month. 

In  Great  Britain  the  ration  is  12  lbs.  of  hay  and  10  to  12  lbs.  of  oats. 
Eight  lbs.  of  straw  per  day  is  fed  horses  when  at  the  garrison.  In  the 
French  army  a  smaller  allowance  of  hay,  6.6  to  8.5  lbs.,  is  given  with  an 
allowance  of  oats  ranging  from  10.4  lbs.  for  light  horses  in  time  of  peace 
to  14.7  lbs.  for  the  heavier  horses  in  war  time.  The  German  army  uses 
cut  straw  generally  in  the  ration,  the  roughage  ranging  from  7.8  lbs. 
straw  and  5.6  lbs.  hay  in  the  garrison  to  only  3.9  lbs.  straw  and  3.3  lbs. 
hay  when  in  the  field.  The  allowance  of  oats  ranges  from  9.5  lbs.  on  a 
light  ration  in  the  garrison  to  12.6  lbs.  on  a  heavy  ration  in  the  field.^^ 

With  the  army  horse  it  is  often  necessary  to  use  substitutes  for  the  regu- 
lation concentrates  and  roughages.  General  Carter^*  writes  that  oats, 
corn,  bran,  and  sometimes  barley,  especially  in  the  southwestern  states, 
form  the  concentrate  allowance  for  the  horses  of  the  United  States  army. 
Palay,  or  unhulled  rice,  was  the  main  reliance  of  the  cavalry  horses  in  the 
Philippine  Islands  during  the  early  days  of  the  insurrection.  Pott^^  men- 
tions that  a  stock  bread,  made  of  coarsely  ground  oats,  peas,  barley,  and 
linseed,  with  a  little  salt  added,  was  employed  by  the  Russian  cavalry 
during  war  time.  The  kind  of  hay  fed  Avill  vary  according  to  the  district. 
Carter  writes  that  besides  the  common  cultivated  grasses,  there  have 
been  accepted  at  various  times  in  the  United  States  army,  hay  from  gram- 
ma grass,  bunch  grass,  and  other  wild  western  grasses,  various  reed  grass- 
es, wild  oats,  and  "pulled"  corn  fodder. 

^  Langworthy,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Office  of  Expt.  Sta.,  Bui.  125. 
"Horses,  Saddles,  and  Bridles,  1902,  pp.  357-379. 
^Handb.  Ernahr.  u.  Futter.,  I,  1907,  p.  329. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  DAIRY  HUSBANDRY 
I.  The  Dairy  Cow  as  a  Producer  of  Human  Food 

Tho  the  use  of  milk  and  dairy  products  for  food  dates  back  to  antiq- 
uity, dairy  farming  as  now  practiced  is  of  recent  origin.  In  the  early 
days  cows  freshened  in  the  spring,  yielded  their  milk  on  pasture  in  the 
summer,  and  were  "roughed"  thru  the  mnter  on  any  forage  that  was 
available. 

Monrad,^  a  most  reliable  dairy  authority,  tells  us  that  in  the  mountain 
districts  of  Norway,  in  the  dawn  of  dairying,  cows  on  small  farms  were 
wintered  on  straw,  birch  leaves,  reindeer  moss,  and  horse  dung,  cooked 
and  given  as  a  mash  mixed  with  chaff  and  leaves,  while  on  large  farms 
the  mixture  was  fed  uncooked.  As  late  as  the  close  of  the  last  century, 
herring  hauled  inland  and  stored  in  snow  banks  were  boiled  with  horse 
dung  and  shavings  of  mountain  ash  and  birch  bark  for  feeding  goats, 
sheep,  and  young  cattle.  Along  the  coast  even  now  herring,  fish  offal, 
seaweed,  and  ocean  algae  are  fed  in  springtime  if  the  hay  gives  out.  The 
butter  yield  on  the  summer  mountain  pastures  in  the  early  times  was 
from  24  to  48  lbs.  per  cow  for  the  season,  and  the  annual  yield  of  milk 
from  a  good  cow  ranged  from  1,600  to  1,800  lbs.  While  the  changes  from 
such  primitive  conditions  have  been  great,  the  cow  has  generously  re- 
sponded to  every  advancement  in  feed  and  care. 

539.  Dairying  and  maternity. — ^When  a  steer  is  fattening,  the  process 
goes  on  rapidly  at  first,  but  after  a  time  it  is  accomplished  only  at  a  high 
cost  for  the  feed  consumed.  How  different  is  the  dairy  cow  which  uses 
her  food,  not  for  the  formation  of  fatty  tissue  to  be  stored  within  her 
own  body,  but  in  making  food  for  nurturing  her  young ! 

The  basis  of  modern  dairying  is  the  maternity  of  the  cow,  and  success 
in  this  art  depends  upon  rationally  recognizing  this  great  basic  fact. 

Whoever  will  study  dairying  from  this  standpoint,  first  prominently 
brought  to  public  attention  by  W.  D.  Hoard  of  Wisconsin,-  will  come  to 
regard  the  cow  in  a  new  light  and  grow  into  a  better  dairyman. 

540.  Economy  of  the  dairy  cow. — As  land,  labor,  and  feed  increase  in 
price,  the  dairy  cow  will  more  and  more  displace  the  strictly  meat  pro- 
ducing farm  animals,  for  she  produces  human  food  with  far  greater 
economy  than  does  the  steer,  sheep,  or  pig.  That  this  change  is  taking 
place  is  brought  out  plainly  by  the  census  statistics,  which  show  that 
from  1900  to  1910  the  number  of  dairy  cows  in  the  United  States  in- 

^Hoard's  Dairyman,  April  16,  1909. 
''Wis.  Farmer's  Inst.  Bui.  1,  and  elsewhere. 

338 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  DAIRY  HUSBANDRY         339 

creased  about  20  per  ct.,  tho  the  total  number  of  all  cattle  actually  de- 
creased. The  following  table,  adapted  from  Lawes  and  Gilbert,^  weU 
shows  the  relative  economy  of  the  dairy  cow  and  the  steer  as  producers 
of  human  food : 

Relative  returns  hy  the  coiv  and  the  fattening  ox  in  one  week 

Mineral  Total  dry 

Protein  Fat  Sugar  matter  matter 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.              Lbs.           Lbs. 
Weekly  returns  from  cow  when  yielding: 

20  lbs.  milk  daily 5.11  4.90  6.44  1.05  17.50 

30  lbs.  milk  daUy 7.67  7.35  9.67  1.57  26.25 

50  lbs.  milk  daily 12.78  12.25  16.12  2.61  43.76 

Weekly  returns  from  ox  when  gaining: 

10  lbs.  weekly 0.75  6.35  0.15         7.25 

15  lbs.  weekly 1.13  9.53  0.22  10.88 

The  fattening  ox,  when  making  the  substantial  gain  of  15  lbs.  weekly, 
produces  in  that  time  1.13  lbs.  of  protein  or  nitrogenous  substance, 
mostly  in  the  form  of  water-free  lean  meat.  In  the  same  time  the  cow 
yielding  30  lbs.  of  milk  daily  produces  7.67  lbs.  of  casein  and  albumin, 
or  nearly  6  times  as  much  nitrogenous  substance.  While  the  ox  is  lay- 
ing on  9.53  lbs.  of  fat,  the  cow  puts  7.35  lbs.  of  fat  into  her  milk.  She  also 
secretes  9.67  lbs.  of  milk  sugar,  against  which  there  is  no  equivalent  sub- 
stance produced  by  the  ox.  Changing  this  sugar  to  its  fat  equivalent 
(70),  the  cow  is  shown  to  yield  somewhat  more  fat  or  fat  equivalent 
than  the  ox.  The  ox  stores  0.22  lb.  of  ash,  or  mineral  matter,  largely  in 
his  bones,  while  the  cow  puts  into  her  milk  1.57  lbs.  of  ash,  or  over  6 
times  as  much,  during  this  time. 

A  better  measure  of  the  relative  economy  of  the  cow  and  other  farm 
animals  in  converting  the  products  of  the  fields  into  human  food  is  the 
amount  of  edible  solids  yielded  for  each  100  lbs.  of  digestible  nutrients 
consumed.  As  has  already  been  pointed  out  (133) ,  the  dairy  cow  returns 
about  6  times  as  much  edible  solids  in  her  milk  for  each  100  lbs.  of  digest- 
ible nutrients  consumed  as  the  steer  or  sheep  yields  in  its  carcass. 

541.  Cow  and  steer  further  compared. — Trowbridge  of  the  Missouri  Sta- 
tion analyzed  the  entire  body  of  a  1250-lb.  fat  steer  fed  at  that  Station. 
At  the  same  Station  a  Holstein  cow  gave  in  one  year  18,405  lbs.  of  milk. 
The  following  table  by  Eckles*  shows  the  total  nutrients  in  the  milk 
yielded  by  the  cow  during  the  year  and  in  the  entire  body  of  the  steer : 

Dairy  cow  vs.  steer  as  producer  of  human  food 

Dry  matter  in  Dry  matter  in 

18,405  lbs.  1,250-lb. 

milk  steer 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

Protein  substance 552  172 

Fat 618  333 

Sugar 920  None 

Mineral  matter 128  43 

Total 2,218  548 

=  Jour.  Roy.  Agr.  Soc,  Eng.,  1895.  ^Hoard's  Dairyman,  Feb.  25,  1910. 


340  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

The  steer's  body  contained  about  56  per  et.  water,  leaving  548  lbs. 
of  dry  matter,  which  included  not  only  the  edible  dry  lean  meat  and  fat, 
but  also  all  other  parts  of  the  body — horns,  hoofs,  hair,  hide,  bones, 
tendons,  and  internal  organs.  In  one  year  the  cow  produced  2,218  lbs.  of 
dry  matter  which  was  wholly  digestible  and  suitable  for  human  food.  In 
that  time  she  produced  enough  protein  to  build  the  bodies  of  3  such 
steers,  fat  sufficient  for  nearly  2,  and  mineral  matter  enough  for  3,  be- 
sides 920  lbs.  of  milk  sugar,  which  is  as  nutritious  as  the  same  weight  of 
cane  sugar. 

Eckles  writes:  "These  figures  show  the  remarkable  efficiency  of  the 
cow  as  a  producer  of  human  food.  It  is  because  of  this  economical  use  of 
food  that  the  dairy  cow  and  not  the  steer  is  kept  on  high-priced  land. 
When  land  is  cheap  and  feed  abundant  the  meat  producing  animals  pre- 
dominate, but  when  the  land  becomes  higher  in  value  and  feed  expensive, 
the  farmer  turns  to  the  dairy  cow."  (199) 

542.  Disposition  of  feed. — In  extensive  trials  covering  9  years  Haecker 
of  the  Minnesota  Station^  found  that  cows  averaging  910  lbs.  in  weight 
and  yielding  about  24  lbs.  of  milk  daily,  containing  approximately  1  lb. 
of  butter  fat,  utilized  the  digestible  nutrients  in  their  feed  as  follows : 

Utilization  of  daily  feed  hy  the  dairy  cow,  per  1000  lbs.  live  weight 

Total  digestible  Per  ct.  of 

nutrients  nutrients 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

For  maintenance  of  the  body 7  .92  46 .5 

For  manufacture  of  milk 4 .  15  24 .4 

In  milk  produced 4 .95  29  . 1 

Total  in  feed  consumed 17.02  100.0 

It  is  shown  that  a  well  nourished  dairy  cow  uses  about  47  per  ct.  of  the 
food  she  consumes  to  support  her  body  and  24  per  ct.  in  the  work  of  con- 
verting food  into  milk,  and  that  about  29  per  ct.  finally  appears  as  milk. 
This  shows  the  cow  to  be  a  more  efficient  machine  than  either  the  horse 
or  the  steam  engine.  (146) 

543.  Dairy  vs.  beef  type. — When  in  full  flow  of  milk  a  high  producing 
dairy  cow  is  generally  spare  and  shows  an  angular,  wedge-shaped  form, 
a  roomy  barrel,  spacious  hindquarters,  and  a  large  udder.  This  con- 
formation is  in  strong  contrast  to  that  of  the  low-set,  blocky,  beef  animal, 
with  its  compact,  rectangular  form,  and  broad,  smooth  back.  These  two 
types  are  the  result  of  careful  breeding  with  opposite  objects  in  view. 
The  beef  animal  has  been  developed  to  store  in  its  carcass  the  largest 
possible  amount  of  meat.  On  the  other  hand,  for  generations  the  dairy 
cow  has  been  bred  for  the  primary  object  of  producing  large  yields  of 
milk  and  butter  fat.  The  great  improvement  in  productive  capacity  in 
each  breed  of  dairy  cattle  has  come  thru  long-continued  selection  based 
on  performance  at  the  milk  pail.  As  a  result,  tho  a  good  dairy  cow  may 
put  on  flesh  when  she  is  dry,  on  freshening  the  impulse  to  milk  pro- 

^Minn.  Bui.  140. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  DAIRY  HUSBANDRY 


341 


duction  is  so  strong  that  she  uses  all  the  feed  she  can  consume  for  the 
manufacture  of  milk.  Even  under  liberal  feeding  she  shows  little  or 
no  tendency  to  fatten,  but  rather  grows  spare  and  lean  as  the  lactation 
period  progresses. 

To  determine  whether  cows  of  dairy  type  were  more  economical  pro- 
ducers than  those  of  the  beef  type,  Haecker  of  the  Minnesota  Station® 
divided  the  Station  herd  into  4  groups,  the  first  including  cows  of  the 
beef  type;  the  second,  those  showing  less  tendency  to  beefiness;  the 
third,  spare  cows  lacking  in  depth ;  and  the  fourth,  spare  cows  with  deep 
bodies  and  of  distinctly  dairy  tj^e.  The  returns  from  cows  of  the  dif- 
ferent types  are  shown  in  the  following  table : 


Economy  of  cows  of  dairy  and  heef  types 


Type 


No.  of 
animals 


Av.  live 
weight 


Dry  matter  consumed 


Daily 


Daily  per 
1,000  lbs. 
live  wt. 


lb.  fat. 


Feed 
cost  of 
1  lb.  fat 


Beef  type 

Less  of  beef  type 

Spare  but  lacking  depth  of  body 
Dairy  tj^pe 


Lbs. 
1,240 
945 
875 
951 


Lbs. 

20.8 
20.4 
20.0 
21.9 


Lbs. 
16.7 
21.0 
23.0 
23.6 


Lbs. 

31.3 
26.4 
25.5 
21.2 


Cents 

17.5 
15.1 
14.6 
12.1 


The  table  shows  that  as  the  cows  approximated  the  distinctly  dairy 
type  the  amount  of  drj^  matter  consumed  and  the  feed  cost  per  pound 
of  butter  fat  decreased  in  a  marked  manner.  In  view  of  the  widely 
differing  nature  of  the  functions  of  milk  and  flesh  production,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  both  can  not  be  developed  to  the  highest  degree  in  the 
same  animal.  With  Smith"  we  must  conclude  that  the  most  perfect 
beef  cows  are  not  economical  milkers,  and  the  best  dairy  cows  are  not 
satisfactory  beef  makers. 

544.  Good  and  poor  producers. — To  determine  the  relative  economy  of 
high  and  low  yielding  cows  for  producing  milk  and  butter  fat,  Carlyle 
and  Woll.  at  the  Wisconsin  Station,^  studied  the  food  consumed  by  and 
the  returns  from  33  cows,  covering  88  lactation  periods  extending  thru 
the  entire  winter.  The  herd  was  divided  into  the  following  classes 
according  to  their  productive  capacity. 

Feed  eaten  and  returns  by  cows  of  different  quality 


Wt.  of 
cows 

Dry 

matter 

eaten  daily 

Daily  production 

Dry  matter  eaten  per — 

Character  of  cows 

MUk 

Fat 

1,000  lbs. 
live  wt. 

100  lbs. 
milk 

1  lb. 

fat. 

High  producers 

Medium  producers. .  .  . 
Low  producers 

Lbs. 

956 
1,133 
1,012 

Lbs. 
25.3 

24.7 
21.1 

Lbs. 
26.6 

21.5 
14.6 

Lbs. 
1.2 
0.9 
0.7 

Lbs. 

27.0 
21.4 
21.1 

Lbs. 
102 

119 
149 

Lbs. 

22 
27 
32 

=Minn.  Bui.  35. 


Profitable  Stock  Feeding,  p.  38. 


^Wis.  Bui.  102. 


342 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


The  high  grade  producers  ate  much  more  feed  for  their  weight  than 
the  others,  yet  they  required  only  102  lbs.  of  dry  matter  for  100  lbs.  of 
milk,  while  the  low-grade  cows,  which  ate  less  feed,  required  149  lbs.,  or 
almost  50  per  ct.  more  feed  for  100  lbs.  of  milk. 

545.  Profitable  vs.  unprofitable  cows. — Beach  of  the  Connecticut 
(Storrs)  Station"  found  the  cost  of  feed  and  the  returns  from  the  5  best 
and  the  5  poorest  cows  in  the  Station  herd  for  5  years  to  be  as  shown 
in  the  f ollo\^ang  table : 


Comparative  returns  from 

profitable  and  unprofitable  cows 

Cost  of 
feed 

Yield  of 
fat 

Margin  over 
cost  of  feed 

Feed  cost  of 
1  lb.  of  fat 

First  year 

<^  mncsf  nrnfitnVllp  f^nWR                              .... 

Dollars 
56.54 

52.02 

60.30 
45.38 

53.24 
43.38 

59.52 
51.45 

59.46 
56.11 

Pounds 

304 
189 

377 
164 

375 
217 

376 

237 

366 
269 

Dollars 

26.91 
4.09* 

43.27 
5.75* 

44.25 
15.68 

43.71 
13.71 

40.23 
17.67 

Cents 

18.6 

^  Ipfisf  nrnfitnWp  f»nws                             .     .  . 

27.5 

Second  year 

^  mncst  nrnfitflhlp  rows                       

16.0 

K  lpn«t  nrnfitnhlp  rnws                             .  .  .  . 

27.7 

Third  year 
5  most  profitable  cows              

14.2 

K  Ipntst,  nrnfitnhlp  rows                    

20.0 

Fourth  year 
6  most  profitable  cows              

15.8 

■^  lpn<5t,  nrnfitflhlp  rnw.s                      

21.7 

Fifth  year 
5  most  profitable  cows            

16.2 

5  least  profitable  cows .  .  . 

20.9 

The  table  shows  that  the  good  cows  ate  more  feed  but  gave  better 
returns  over  cost  of  keep  than  the  small  producers.  During  the  first  2 
years  the  5  poorest  cows  did  not  pay  for  their  feed.  By  gradual  elimin- 
ation the  net  loss  of  about  $4  for  each  of  the  poorest  cows  the  first  year 
was  changed  to  a  gain  of  $17  per  head  for  the  5  poorest  animals  in  the 
herd  during  the  fifth  year. 

Fraser  of  the  Illinois  Station^"  reports  a  cow  in  the  Station  herd 
that  in  12  years  gave  87,102  lbs.  of  milk,  containing  fat  sufficient  to 
make  4,318  lbs.  of  butter.  During  3  years  a  certain  cow  gave  11,930 
lbs.  of  milk  annually,  containing  405  lbs.  of  fat,  and  returned  $42.60  per 
year  over  cost  of  feed.  Another  with  the  same  feed  and  care  gave  in  the 
same  time  only  3,830  lbs.  of  milk  annually,  containing  138  lbs.  of  fat, 
and  failed  by  $5.62  per  year  of  paying  for  her  feed. 

546.  Causes  of  inefiiciency  of  dairy  cows. — Observing  a  striking  differ- 
ence in  the  productive  capacity  of  2  Jersey  cows  at  the  Missouri  Sta- 
tion, which  were  raised  under  the  same  conditions  and  were  more  than 
half'  sisters,  Eckles  and  Reed  "  conducted  the  following  trial  to  find  the 
explanation.  During  their  first  2  lactation  periods  the  better  cow  had 
produced  2.8  lbs.  of  milk  and  3.9  lbs.  of  fat  for  each  pound  produced  by 

"Conn.  (Storrs)  Bui.  29.  ^°I11.  Cir.  106.  "Mo.  Res.  Bui.  2. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  DAIRY  HUSBANDRY  343 

the  other.  In  the  third  lactation  period  the  cows,  calving  3  days  apart, 
were  fed  the  same  feeds  supplied  in  the  same  proportions,  the  amount 
fed  being  so  adjusted  that  neither  cow  gained  or  lost  in  weight.  Both 
were  kept  farrow  and  complete  records  kept  and  analyses  made  of  the 
feed  consumed  and  milk  produced  for  the  entire  lactation  period.  During 
the  year  the  better  cow  consumed  1.75  lbs.  of  feed  for  each  pound  eaten 
by  the  other,  but  produced  2.67  lbs.  of  milk  and  2.77  lbs.  fat  for  each 
pound  yielded  by  the  poorer  cow.  When  dry  the  better  cow  required 
more  feed  to  maintain  her  weight  than  the  poor  one.  Her  greater  effi- 
ciency was  therefore  not  due  to  a  lower  requirement  for  maintenance. 
She  digested  a  slightly  larger  percentage  of  her  ration,  but  there  was  far 
too  little  difference  to  explain  her  much  greater  economy  in  production. 
There  was  practically  no  difference  in  the  amount  of  milk  or  fat  pro- 
duced by  the  cows  from  each  100  lbs.  of  feed  which  they  ate  in  addition 
to  the  maintenance  requirement.  The  real  cause  of  the  greater  efficiency 
of  the  better  cow  Avas  that  she  was  able  to  consume  and  utilize  a  much 
larger  amount  of  feed  above  that  needed  to  maintain  her  body,  and 
hence  had  more  feed  available  for  milk  production.  The  good  producer 
secretes  an  abundance  of  milk,  on  account  of  her  strong  inherited  im- 
pulse to  milk  production.  To  replace  the  nutrients  she  puts  into  her 
product  she  has  a  keen  appetite  and  consumes  a  heavy  ration. 

547.  The  basis  of  profitable  dairying. — Good  authorities  estimate  that 
even  in  the  leading  dairy  states  from  one-fourth  to  one-third  of  the  dairy 
cows  do  not  pay  for  their  care  and  feed.^-  The  chief  reason  why  such  a 
condition  is  found  now,  when  the  principles  of  successful  selection,  feed- 
ing, and  care  of  dairy  cattle  have  long  been  established  by  scientists  and 
practical  dairymen,  is  that  the  OTVTiers  do  not  know  which  of  their  cows 
fail  to  yield  enough  milk  to  pay  for  their  feed  and  care.  They  do  not 
realize  that  tho  the  gross  income  from  their  herd  would  be  reduced  by 
weeding  out  the  "boarders,"  their  net  profits  would  be  materially  in- 
creased. 

Since  the  basis  of  profitable  dairying  is  the  individual  cow,  the 
question  arises  as  to  how  the  dairyman  can  select  the  animals  to  be  re- 
tained and  those,  if  any,  which  should  be  culled  out.  Competent  judges 
can  usually  distinguish  a  cow  of  very  low  productive  capacity  from  one  of 
high  efficiency  by  her  conformation.  However,  even  experts  are  often 
unable  to  foretell  a  cow's  yield  from  her  appearance  alone.  The  only 
reliable  index  to  the  value  of  a  cow  as  a  profitable  producer  is  the  record 
of  the  actual  amount  of  milk  and  fat  she  has  yielded,  which  record  may 
now  be  readily  secured  by  the  combined  use  of  the  Babcock  fat  test  and 
the  milk  scales.  With  records  of  the  production  of  each  cow  and  the 
approximate  amount  of  feed  she  has  consumed,  the  dairyman  is  in 
position  to  eliminate  the  unprofitable  animals  and  proceed  to  build  up  a 
herd  of  high  producers  at  little  expense  by  using  a  bred-for-production 
sire  and  retaining  all  heifer  calves  from  the  most  profitable  cows. 
"Well  and  Harris,  Wis.  Bui.  226. 


344  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

II.  Milk  ;  Factors  Influencing  Its  Composition  and  Yield 

548.  Composition  of  milk. — As  we  shall  see  later  (551-72),  the  ehem- 
ical  composition  of  cow's  milk  varies  considerably,  depending  especially 
on  the  breed,  the  individuality  of  the  cow,  and  the  length  of  time  she 
has  been  giving  milk.  The  average  composition  of  milk  in  several  coun- 
tries, as  presented  by  Wing,"  is  as  follows : 

Average  composition  of  cow's  milk 

American         English  German  French 

(Babcock)         (Oliver)       (Fleischmann)     (Cornev-in) 

Per  ct.  Per  ct.  Per  ct.  Per  ct. 

Water 87.17  87.60  87.75  87.75 

Fat 3.69  3.25  3.40  3.30 

Casein 3.02  3.40  2.80  3.00 

Albumin 0.53  0.45  0.70 

Sugar 4.88  4.55  4.60  4.80 

Ash 0.71  0.75  0.75  0.75 

100.00         100.00         100.00  99.60 

It  has  been  pointed  out  in  previous  chapters  (115,  150)  that  milk  is 
rich  in  crude  protein  and  ash,  especially  lime  and  phosphoric  acid,  and 
that  hence  the  ration  for  the  cow  should  furnish  an  abundance  of  these 
nutrients.  Attention  has  been  called  to  the  fact  that  colostrum,  the  milk 
produced  by  the  cow  immediately  after  freshening,  differs  from  ordinary 
milk  in  being  higher  in  protein  and  ash.   (115) 

549.  Milk  of  the  various  breeds. — The  milk  of  different  breeds  of  cows 
varies  considerably  in  composition,  as  is  shown  in  the  following  table, 
chiefly  from  Wing,^*  which  summarizes  data  from  various  American 
stations. 

Solids  Fat 

Breed  Per  ct.  Per  ct. 

Jersey 14.70  5.35 

Guernsey 14 .71  5 .16 

Devon 14.50  4.60 

Shorthorn 13 .38  4 .05 

Brown  Swiss 13 .27  4.24 

Ayrshire 12 .61  3 .66 

Holstein-Friesian 11 .85  3 .42 

It  is  shown  that  the  Jersey  and  the  Guernsey  breeds  give  the  richest, 
and  the  Ayrshire  and  the  Holstein-Friesian  the  poorest  milk.  However, 
the  breeds  which  give  the  richest  milk  usually  yield  a  smaller  quantity, 
so  that  the  total  quantity  of  solids  and  fat  is  nearly  the  same  for  all 
dairy  breeds. 

Eckles  and  Shaw^^  have  shown  that  the  sugar  and  albumin  content  of 
milk  varies  but  little  with  either  breed  or  individual,  while  there  is  a 
greater  range  in  the  percentage  of  casein.  Milks  rich  in  fat  are  generally 
high  in  casein,  but  the  casein  content  does  not  increase  in  the  same  ratio  as 
the  fat  content.    According  to  Hart  and  Tottingham,"  for  each  100  lbs- 

"Milk  and  Its  Products,  p.  17.       '''U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  Anim.  Indus.,  Bui.  15ff 

"Milk  and  Its  Products,  p.  33.       "Agricultural  Chemistry,  p.  291. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  DAIRY  HUSBANDRY         345 

of  fat  in  Jersey  or  Guernsey  milk  there  are  as  a  rule  55  to  65  lbs.  of  case- 
in, while  in  Ayrshire  and  Holstein  milk  there  are  65  to  75  lbs.  The  ratio  of 
fat  to  casein  shows  considerable  variation  among  cows  of  the  same  breed. 
These  facts  are  important  in  cheese  making  since  the  yield  of  cheese  de- 
pends not  only  upon  the  amount  of  fat  in  the  milk  but  also  upon  its 
casein  content.  A  milk  testing  6  per  ct.  of  fat  will  not  make  twice  as 
much  cheese  as  one  testing  3  per  ct.  Hart  of  the  Wisconsin  Station," 
who  has  invented  a  simple  casein  test,  advises  paying  for  milk  at  cheese 
factories  on  the  basis  of  the  content  of  both  fat  and  casein. 

550.  Fat  globules.— Collier  of  the  New  York  (Geneva)  Station^^  placed 
the  average  secretion  of  milk  by  the  cows  of  the  station  herd  at  0.7  lb.  or 
19.6  cubic  inches  per  hour.  He  found  that  the  one-thousandth  part  of  a 
cubic  millimeter  of  average  milk  contained  152  fat  globules,  and  accord- 
ingly that  the  average  station  cow  secreted  138,210,000  fat  globules  each 
second  thruout  the  day  of  24  hours  while  giving  milk.  Babcock^''  tells 
us  that  a  quart  of  average  milk  contains  not  less  than  2,000,000,000,000 
fat  globules.  These  figures  are  beyond  comprehension  and  should  inten- 
sify our  interest  in  the  marvelous  processes  of  life.  They  lead  us  to 
ponder  on  the  infinite  division  which  food  must  undergo  during  digestion 
before  it  is  useful  to  animal  life. 

The  fat  globules  of  Jersey  and  Guernsey  milk  are  considerably  larger 
than  those  in  Holstein  and  Ayrshire  milk,  while  the  size  of  the  globules 
in  Shorthorn  milk  ranges  between.  This  fact  is  of  practical  interest,  for 
cream  rises  more  rapidly  in  milk  containing  large  fat  globules. 

551.  Influence  of  individuality. — Individual  cows  of  the  same  breed 
differ  from  one  another  not  only  in  the  amount  of  milk  and  fat  they  pro- 
duce but  also  in  the  composition  of  their  milk,  especially  the  percentage 
of  fat.  Indeed  the  difference  in  fat  content  of  milk  from  individuals  of 
the  same  breed  may  be  as  great  as  the  difference  between  the  grand 
averages  for  the  different  breeds.  As  Eckles-"  points  out,  the  cow  that 
gives  the  richest  milk  does  not  necessarily  produce  the  largest  total  yield 
of  fat.  He  holds  that  as  a  rule  the  highest  annual  productions  of  butter 
fat  are  generally  secured  vnth  milk  carrying  the  average  percentage  of 
fat  for  the  breed  or  even  less. 

The  composition  of  the  milk  from  an  individual  cow  often  varies  con- 
siderably from  day  to  day,  due  to  such  causes  as  changes  in  the  health 
of  the  animal,  change  in  milkers,  excitement,  variations  in  the  weather, 
and  to  some  extent  to  changes  in  feed.-^ 

To  determine  the  variation  in  the  percentage  of  fat  in  single  milkings 
of  individual  cows,  Anderson  of  the  Michigan  Station"  studied  200 
seven-day  records  made  under  ordinary  herd  conditions  where  regular 
feeding  and  milking  were  practiced,  and  2000  seven-day  records  of 

"Wis.  Buls.  156,  197.  ''N.  Y.  (Geneva)  Rpt.  1892.  ^»Wis.  Bui.  18. 

="•  Dairy  Cattle  and  Milk  Production,  pp.  133-4. 

»Eckles  and  Shaw,  U.  S.  D.  A.,  Bur.  Anim.  Indus.,  Bui.  157. 

=«Micli.  Spec.  Bui.  71. 


346  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

official  Advanced  Registry  tests.  From  these  data  he  draws  the  following 
conclusions:  One  may  expect  that  during  7  consecutive  days  about  30 
per  ct.  of  a  herd  of  cows  will  show  a  range  in  the  percentage  of  fat  in 
the  milk  at  different  milkings  of  1  per  ct.  or  less;  50  per  ct.  of  1.1  to  2.0 
per  ct. ;  14  per  ct.  of  2.1  to  3.0  per  ct. ;  and  the  remaining  6  per  ct.  of 
the  herd  even  a  greater  variation.  In  other  words,  6  per  ct.  of  the  cows 
might  yield  milk  testing  3  per  ct.  of  fat  at  one  milking  during  the  week 
and  at  some  other  milking  produce  milk  containing  6  per  ct.  of  fat  or 
over.  The  fluctuation  in  the  composition  of  the  milk  from  the  same  cow 
is  thus  much  greater  than  has  often  been  assumed. 

552.  First  and  last  drawn  milk. — At  the  New  York  (Geneva)  Station-^ 
Van  Slyke  analyzed  the  successive  portions  of  milk  drawn  from  a  Guern- 
sey cow  with  the  following  results : 

Composition  of  the  successive  portions  of  milk  as  drawn 

Weight  of  milk  Fat  Casein  Albumin 

Lbs.  Per  ct.  Per  ct.  Per  ct. 

First  portion 3.2  0.76  2.67  0.62 

Second  portion 4.1  2.60  2.57  0.64 

Third  portion 4.6  5.35  2.49  0.61 

Fourth  portion 5.8  9.80  2.39  0.58 

We  learn  that  the  first  milk  drawn  is  very  poor  in  fat,  each  succeeding 
portion  increasing  in  richness  of  fat,  while  the  casein  and  albumin  show 
little  change.  Those  who  let  the  calf  have  the  first  milk  drawn  and  re- 
serve the  strippings  keep  the  richest  milk. 

553.  Effect  of  period  between  milkings. — ^When  the  intervals  of  time  be- 
tween milkings  are  unequal,  other  conditions  being  the  same,  cows  gener- 
ally yield  a  smaller  amount  of  milk  after  the  shorter  period,  but  this  milk 
is  usually  richer  in  fat.  For  this  reason  the  evening  milk  is  generally  the 
richest  in  fat  and  total  solids.  With  equal  intervals  between  milkings 
there  is  no  uniform  variation  in  the  fat  content  of  the  different  milkings. 
When  cows  are  milked  3  times  daily  at  equal  intervals,  the  mid-day 
milking  is  usually  slightly  the  richest.-* 

554.  Effect  of  age. — From  a  study  of  all  the  data  bearing  on  the  effect 
of  age  of  the  cow  on  the  yield  and  fat  content  of  milk  Eckles-^  concludes : 

"A  dairy  cow  on  the  average  as  a  two-year-old  may  be  expected  to 
produce  about  70  per  ct. ;  as  a  three-year-old  around  80  per  ct. ;  and  as 
a  four-year-old  about  90  per  ct.  of  the  milk  and  butter  fat  she  will  pro- 
duce under  the  same  treatment  when  mature. 

"The  richness  of  milk  remains  practically  constant  from  year  to  year, 
except  that  after  the  third  milking  period  there  is  a  slow,  gradual  decline 
with  advancing  years. 

"Probably  the  majority  of  dairy  cattle  are  rejected  from  the  herd  on 
account  of  failure  to  breed,  or  from  udder  trouble,  before  the  effect  of 

"Jour.  Am.  Chem.  Soc,  30,  p.  1173. 

''^Eckles  and  Shaw,  U.  S.  D.  A.,  Bur.  Anim.  Indus.,  Bui.  157. 

='Dairy  Cattle  and  Milk  Production,  p.  153. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  DAIRY  HUSBANDRY 


347 


advancing  years  can  be  observed  to  any  marked  extent.  It  is  a  fact 
often  observed  that  a  cow  may  make  her  best  record  when  10  or  11  years 
old,  altho  as  a  rule  she  does  her  best  rather  earlier.  If  a  dairy  cow 
continues  to  breed,  she  usually  shows  no  marked  decline  until  at  least  12 
years  old.  Occasionally  a  cow  continues  to  breed  until  she  is  16  or  18 
years  old." 

555.  Effect  of  advancing  lactation. — Woll  of  the  Wisconsin  Station-" 
has  condensed,  in  the  table  following,  the  findings  of  the  New  York 
(Geneva)  Station  with  14  cows  of  6  breeds,  giving  the  dry  matter  con- 
sumed and  the  yields  of  milk  and  fat,  month  by  month,  from  freshening 
until  the  cows  went  dry : 

Effect  of  advancing  lactation  on  economy  of  milk  production 


Daily  yield 

Fat 

Dry  matter 
eaten  daily 

Dry  matter  eaten  to  produce: 

Month 

Milk 

Fat 

100  lbs. 
milk 

lib. 

soUds 

1  lb. 

fat 

First  month 

Second  month 

Third  month 

Fourth  month 

Fifth  month 

Sixth  month 

Seventh  month 

Eighth  month 

Ninth  month 

Tenth  month 

Eleventh  month .... 

Lbs. 

25.1 
26.0 
23.8 
21.2 
19.6 
19.8 
19.0 
16.0 
12.5 
9.4 
5.6 

Lbs. 
0.98 

0.95 
0.84 
0.79 
0.73 
0.75 
0.72 
0.60 
0.48 
0.41 
0.26 

Per  ct. 

4.02 
3.74 
3.71 
3.84 
3.87 
3.90 
3.94 
3.89 
3.92 
4.19 
4.58 

Lbs. 

23.6 
27.0 
28.9 
29.0 

28.5 
29.3 
28.5 
28.0 
28.0 
26.5 
24.3 

Lbs. 

94 
104 
122 
137 
146 
148 
150 
175 
224 
282 
436 

Lbs. 

7.1 

8.2 
9.5 
10.5 
11.1 
11.2 
11.2 
13.0 
16.1 
19.4 
28.1 

Lbs. 

24.1 
28.6 
34.4 
36.8 
39.3 
39.4 
39.7 
46.5 
58.3 
65.3 
95.5 

Immediately  after  freshening  the  cows  gave  richer  milk  than  later.  It 
then  grew  poorer  for  a  month  or  two,  and  after  that  slowly  increased  in 
richness  until  they  became  dry.  The  changes  in  fat  content  as  the  lacta- 
tion period  progresses  often  seem  to  follow  no  definite  law,  so  that  gener- 
alizations on  this  point  are  difficult.  The  table  shows  that  during  the  first 
month  after  a  cow  freshens  a  given  quantity  of  feed  gives  greater  returns 
in  milk  product  than  later,  and  that  the  further  advanced  a  cow  is  in 
lactation  the  more  food  she  requires  for  a  given  quantity  of  milk.  "When 
fresh  the  cow  usually  draws  on  her  own  body  substance  for  nutrients 
used  in  milk  production,  and  later  she  is  nurturing  an  unborn  calf. 

On  studying  the  monthly  records  of  323  cows  entered  in  the  Wisconsin 
Dairy  Cow  Competition  and  tested  by  the  Station  of  that  state,  Woll" 
found  that  the  average  percentage  of  fat  did  not  vary  over  0.08  per  ct. 
during  the  first  6  months  of  lactation.  After  this  the  fat  content  in- 
creased gradually  up  to  the  ninth  month,  and  more  rapidly  thereafter. 

The  combined  studies  of  Carlyle  and  Woll  at  the  Wisconsin  Station,^^* 
Beach  at  the  Connecticut  (Storrs)  Station,^''  Linfield  at  the  Utah  Sta- 
tion, ^°  and  the  results  of  the  Wisconsin  Dairy  Cow  Competition  "  show 


'Wis.  Bui.  116. 
■Wis.  Res.  Bui.  26. 


^'Wis.  Bui.  102. 

'''Conn.  (Storrs)  Bui.  29. 


''Utah  Bui.  68. 
"'Wis.  Res.  Bui.  26. 


348  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

that  the  normal  monthly  decrease  in  the  yield  of  milk,  fat,  and  total 
solids  in  well-managed  herds  is  about  as  follows:  From  the  second  to 
the  seventh  month  the  shrinkage  varies  irregularly,  ranging  from  4  to  9 
per  et.  per  month,  based  on  the  yield  of  the  previous  month.  The  average 
monthly  decrease  during  this  period  is  about  6  to  7  per  ct.  After  this 
the  decrease  becomes  more  rapid,  being  9  to  11  per  ct.  for  the  eighth 
month,  12  to  18  per  ct.  for  the  ninth  month,  and  12  to  23  per  ct.  for  the 
tenth  month,  after  which  the  cows  are  generally  dried  off. 

556.  Period  of  greatest  yield. — Haecker  of  the  Nebraska  Station^^ 
studied  239  lactation  periods  with  cows  at  the  Nebraska  and  Minnesota 
Stations,  the  records  beginning  4  days  after  calving.  He  found  that  90 
per  ct.  of  the  cows  made  their  best  records  during  the  first  10  weeks  of 
lactation,  and  over  one-half  during  the  first  month.  The  greatest  number 
gave  the  most  milk  during  the  third  week,  and  the  most  fat  during  the 
second  week  after  calving. 

557.  Influence  of  condition  at  calving. — Observing  dairymen  have  for 
some  time  known  that  cows  calving  in  a  fat  condition  will  sometimes 
yield  milk  abnormally  rich  in  fat  for  a  short  time  after  calving,  losing 
markedly  in  weight  during  this  period.  This  fact  has  been  brought  to 
public  attention  by  WolP^  and  Eckles.^*  At  the  Missouri  Station 
Eckles  fed  a  mature  cow  so  as  to  be  excessively  fat  at  calving,  and  there- 
after gave  her  food  sufficient  only  for  a  dry  cow.  Beginning  with  21  lbs. 
of  milk  daily,  she  was  giving  19.5  lbs.  at  the  end  of  30  days  of  such  poor 
feeding,  during  which  time  she  lost  115  lbs.  in  weight.  Eckles  estimates 
that  the  43  lbs.  of  fat  and  53  lbs.  of  other  solids  yielded  in  the  milk 
during  this  period  must  have  been  drawn  from  her  body  tissues.  During 
this  period  her  milk  averaged  6.1  per  ct.  fat.  Within  48  hours  after  her 
feed  was  later  increased  it  declined  about  1.4  per  ct. 

In  another  trial  Eckles  fed  one  heifer  liberally  on  rich  rations  from 
birth  until  she  calved,  while  another  was  kept  poor  and  thin.  After 
calving,  the  milk  of  the  well-fed  heifer  tested  over  4  per  ct.  fat  and  that 
of  the  thin  one  about  3  per  ct.  For  several  weeks  after  calving  the  fat 
heifer  declined  in  weight,  the  fat  percentage  remaining  constant.  When 
at  length  her  weight  became  stationary  the  percentage  of  fat  declined 
somewhat.  The  thin  heifer  did  not  lose  in  weight  after  calving,  and  the 
fat  in  her  milk  did  not  decrease.  In  the  end  the  milk  of  the  two  heifers 
was  about  equally  rich. 

These  trials  show  that  when  a  cow  of  good  dairy  temperament  calves 
in  high  condition,  owing  to  the  strong  impulse  to  milk  production  she 
will  mthdraw  fat  from  her  body  and  put  it  into  her  milk.  While  she  is 
doing  this  the  fat  content  of  her  milk  will  be  raised  abnormally  high. 
This  fact  is  important,  for  it  shows  that  the  total  yearly  production  of 
fat  is  increased  by  having  cows  in  good  condition  when  they  calve.  The 
fat  they  have  deposited  on  their  bodies  is  not  wasted,  but  is  returned  in 
the  form  of  the  more  valuable  butter  fat.    The  bearing  of  this  fact  on 

==Nebr.  Bui.  76.  '^Hoard's  Dairyman,  July  9,  1909;  Mo.  Bui.  100. 

»Wis.  Rpts.  1902,  p.  117;  1903,  115. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  DAIRY  HUSBANDRY         349 

the  value  of  short-time  tests  of  dairy  cows  is  obvious,  for  by  having  cows 
calve  in  a  high  condition  a  seven-day  record  of  fat  production  may  be 
secured  shortly  after  calving  which  is  no  index  to  their  ability  as  long- 
time producers.    Yearly  records  obviate  this  criticism. 

558.  Loss  in  weight. — Haecker  of  the  Minnesota  Station^^  found  that 
cows  lose  rapidly  in  weight  after  freshening.  In  one  case  the  average 
decrease  for  15  cows  was  49  lbs.  per  cow  for  the  first  week,  with  an 
average  daily  loss  per  cow  of  2  lbs.  for  the  first  7  weeks.  During  this 
time  the  cows  yielded  products  in  excess  of  what  the  food  furnished — in 
some  instances  twice  as  much.  Such  excess  of  yield  gradually  decreased 
until  the  eleventh  week,  when  cows  of  pronounced  dairy  temperament 
reached  equilibrium  between  the  food  nutrients  consumed  and  dairy  prod- 
ucts yielded,  while  others  required  a  longer  time  to  reach  equilibrium. 

559.  Influence  of  feed  on  yield  of  product. — The  quantity  of  milk  and 
butter  fat  the  cow  yields  depends  directly  on  the  constitution  of  the 
animal  and  her  inherent  tendency  toward  milk  production.  Within  these 
inherited  limits,  however,  it  is  governed  directly  by  feed,  care,  and  en- 
vironment. In  a  state  of  nature  the  cow  provides  only  sufficient  milk  for 
the  nourishment  of  her  young,  even  tho  her  feed  be  abundant.  When 
she  is  liberally  fed,  the  modern  dairy  cow,  produced  thru  long-time 
selection  and  breeding,  secretes  far  more  milk  than  her  calf  can  utilize. 
So  generous  is  the  dairy  cow  that  few  dairymen  feed  to  the  limit  of  profit- 
able production.  Within  wide  limits,  then,  the  quantity  of  milk  a  dairy 
cow  yields  is  directly  dependent  on  the  feed  and  care  she  receives. 

This  is  shown  in  a  striking  manner  by  a  test  conducted  by  Wing  and 
Foord  at  the  Cornell  Station.^^  For  a  full  year  they  recorded  the  milk 
and  fat  yield  of  a  herd  of  poorly  nourished  cows  kept  by  a  farmer  on  a 
New  York  farm.  The  herd  was  then  moved  to  the  Station  where  it  was 
liberally  fed  for  2  years ;  then  the  cows  were  returned  to  the  farmer  who 
fed  them  poorly  as  before.  Below  appear  the  average  returns  of  7  cows 
so  studied: 

Effect  of  continued  under-feeding  on  milk  production 

First  and  fourth     Second  and  third 

years  on  farm        years  at  Station 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

Average  weekly  yield  of  milk  per  cow 109  155 

Average  weekly  yield  of  fat  per  cow 4.7  7.1 

Here  is  an  increase  thru  good  feed  and  care  of  42  per  et.  in  the  quan- 
tity of  milk  and  51  per  ct.  in  the  quantity  of  fat  over  that  obtained  by 
the  farmer.  When  again  subjected  to  the  hard  conditions  enforced  upon 
them  by  the  poor  farmer,  the  cows  fell  back  to  their  old  record. 

560.  Influence  of  feed  on  richness  of  milk. — Down  to  the  most  recent 
times  it  was  universally  held  that  milk  varied  in  richness,  or  percentage 
of  fat,  from  milMng  to  milking,  according  to  the  feed  and  care  the  cow 
received  daily.  We  have  now  come  to  know  that  the  milk  of  each  cow 
possesses  a  fixed,  inherent  composition,  and  that  normally  the  richness 

'^Minn.  Bui.  79.  ""N.  Y.  (Cornell)  Bui.  222. 


350  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

of  milk  is  not  the  immediate  sequence  of  feed  and  care,  provided  the  cow 
receives  sufficient  nutriment  to  maintain  her  body  weight.  Cows  starved 
or  greatly  underfed  may  produce  milk  somewhat  lower  in  fat  percentage 
than  normal.  However,  as  is  shown  in  the  following  paragraphs,  under 
all  ordinary  conditions  the  percentage  of  fat  can  not  be  materially  altered 
for  any  long  period  of  time  by  the  particular  kind  of  feed  the  cow  re- 
ceives. 

The  Jersey  cow  gives  milk  which  is  relatively  rich  in  fat,  and  the  Hol- 
stein,  milk  that  is  relatively  low  in  fat.  No  kind  of  feed  or  care  will 
cause  the  Jersey  to  give  milk  like  that  of  the  Holstein,  or  the  reverse. 
Were  a  piece  of  skin,  clothed  with  yellow  hair,  taken  from  the  body  of  a 
Jersey  cow  and  grafted  on  the  body  of  a  Holstein  cow,  we  should  expect 
the  grafted  portion  to  continue  growing  yellow,  Jersey-like  hair.  In  the 
same  way,  were  it  possible  to  graft  the  udder  of  a  Jersey  cow  on  to  the 
body  of  a  Holstein,  we  would  then  expect  the  Holstein  to  give  Jersey-like 
milk.  It  is  not  the  body  of  the  cow  or  the  digestive  tract,  but  the  glands 
of  the  udder  which  determine  the  characteristics  of  the  milk  yielded  by 
each  individual  cow.  This  is  what  we  should  expect,  for  if  milk  varied 
with  every  slight  change  of  food  and  condition,  the  life  of  the  young, 
dependent  on  such  milk,  would  always  be  in  jeopardy. 

561.  Ejffect  of  protein-rich  rations. — That  feeding  an  excess  of  protein 
over  the  actual  amount  required  for  body  maintenance  and  milk  pro- 
duction tends  to  stimulate  the  cow  to  a  greater  yield  of  milk  is  shown  in 
trials  by  Lindsey  at  the  Massachusetts  Station.^^  In  one  test,  supplying 
twice  the  minimum  amount  of  protein  required  increased  the  milk  flow 
15  per  ct.  Owing  to  this  stimulation  of  the  yield  very  narrow  rations, 
i.e.,  those  rich  in  protein,  are  commonly  employed  when  cows  are  being 
forced  to  maximum  production  on  official  tests.  While  the  yield  of  milk 
may  be  thus  increased  by  feeding  an  excess  of  protein,  Lindsey  con- 
cludes from  8  trials  that  varying  amounts  of  protein  do  not  seem  to  in- 
fluence the  percentage  composition  of  the  milk,  making  it  richer  or  poorer 
in  fat,  for  example.  On  the  other  hand,  the  experiments  of  the  Copen- 
hagen Station,^^  covering  observations  with  about  2000  Danish  cows  and 
extending  over  ten  years,  indicate  that  the  fat  percentage  was  possibly 
raised  as  much  as  0.1  per  ct.  thru  the  feeding  of  highly  nitrogenous  ra- 
tions. Michels  of  the  North  Carolina  Station^''  found  the  fat  content  of 
the  milk  slightly  higher  when  a  ration  having  a  nutritive  ratio  of  1 : 4.0 
was  fed  than  when  the  nutritive  ratio  was  1 :  5.7. 

562.  Effect  of  feeding  fat. — Numerous  experiments  have  been  con- 
ducted in  this  country  and  Europe  to  determine  the  effect  on  the  yield 
and  fat  content  of  the  milk  when  various  fats  are  added  to  the  ration. 
After  feeding  cottonseed-,  palm-,  corn-,  coeoanut-,  and  oleo-oil,  and 
stearin,  the  solid  fat  from  beef,  to  cows,  Woods  of  the  New  Hampshire 
Station  ^<>  concluded  that  the  first  effect  of  such  feeding  is  to  increase 

"^Mass.  Rpt.  1911,  I,  pp.  86-121.  =°N.  C.  Rpt.  1911,  pp.  90-97. 

^Copenliagen  Sta.  Rpt.  45;  Well,  Wis.  Bui.  116.        ""N.  H.  Bui.  20. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  DAIRY  HUSBANDRY         351 

the  percentage  of  fat  in  the  milk,  but  with  the  continuance  of  such  feed- 
ing the  milk  tends  to  return  to  its  normal  composition.  Woods  holds  that 
the  increase  in  the  fat  percentage  is  not  due  to  the  oils  fed,  but  to  the 
unnatural  character  of  the  food.  Lindsey  of  the  Massachusetts  Station*^ 
likewise  found  that  feeding  large  quantities  of  oil,  either  linseed,  cotton- 
seed, corn,  or  soy  bean  oil,  caused  a  temporary  increase  in  the  richness 
of  the  milk.  That  the  feeding  of  fat  does  not  always  cause  a  temporary 
increase  in  the  richness  of  the  milk  is  shown  in  2  trials  by  Wing  at 
the  New  York  (Cornell)  Station*-  in  which  tallow  was  fed  to  10  cows 
while  on  pasture  or  on  winter  feed.  Beginning  with  a  small  amount,  the 
allowance  of  tallow  was  gradually  increased  until  each  cow  was  consum- 
ing about  2  lbs.  daily,  this  allowance  being  continued  for  several  weeks. 
The  tallow  feeding  had  no  uniform  effect  either  on  the  yield  of  milk  or 
the  fat  content.  During  the  first  2  or  3  weeks  the  percentage  of  fat  was 
increased  slightly  in  the  case  of  some  animals,  but  after  this  the  milk 
again  became  normal  in  composition. 

563.  Effects  of  feed  on  fat  composition. — The  fat  of  milk  is  a  composite 
of  many  kinds  of  fat — palmitin,  olein,  stearin,  butyrin,  etc.  While  the 
kind  of  feed  given  the  cow  does  not  materially  change  the  percentage  of 
total  fat  in  her  milk,  in  some  cases  it  does  seem  to  alter  the  relative  pro- 
portion of  the  several  component  fats  or  otherwise  change  the  character 
or  nature  of  the  fat,  as  shown  by  the  resultant  butter.  Many  years  ago 
investigators  began  to  study  diligently  the  influence  of  various  feeds  on 
the  composition  of  the  fat  of  milk,  and  their  work  is  still  in  progress. 
The  results  thus  far  secured  are  conflicting  in  some  respects,  but  in  gen- 
eral it  has  been  found*^  that  feeds  rich  in  vegetable  oils  (which  contain 
a  large  amount  of  olein)  produce  milk  fat  high  in  olein.  This  usually 
tends  to  make  the  butter  softer,  for  olein  is  a  liquid  fat,  but  in  some  in- 
stances this  tendency  is  offset  by  still  other  changes  in  the  composition 
of  the  fat.  Cottonseed  and  cocoanut  meal  produce  firm,  hard  butter. 
A  change  from  dry  feed  to  pasture  generally  produces  fat  higher  in  olein 
and  results  in  softer  butter. 

564.  Withholding  lime.— At  the  Wisconsin  Station"  Hart,  McCoUum, 
and  Humphrey  fed  a  1150-lb.  cow  producing  about  30  lbs.  of  milk  daily 
a  liberal  ration  save  that  it  lacked  lime.  It  was  found  that  there  went 
into  the  milk  daily  about  20  grams  of  lime  (CaO)  and  into  the  solid 
excrement  and  urine,  principally  the  former,  about  30  grams,  the  latter 
loss  being  due  to  the  normal  changes  (metabolism)  taking  place  in  the 
body.  In  all,  about  50  grams,  or  nearly  2  ounces,  of  lime  disappeared 
daily  from  the  body  of  this  cow.  only  one-half  of  which  could  have  been 
furnished  by  the  lime  in  the  food.  During  the  trial,  which  lasted  110 
days,  this  cow  maintained  a  good  flow  of  milk  and  continued  to  put  the 
normal  amount  of  lime  into  it.     It  was  calculated  that  during  the  trial 

"Mass.  Rpt.  1908,  pp.  109-112.  '^N.  Y.  (Cornell)  Bui.  92. 

« Lindsey,  Mass.  Rpt.  1908,  pp.  109-112;  Hunzicker,  Ind.  Bui.  159. 
«Wis.  Res.  Bui.  5. 


352  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

she  gave  off  in  milk  and  excrement  5.5  lbs.  more  lime  than  she  received  in 
her  food.  It  was  estimated  that  her  skeleton  contained  about  24.2  lbs.  of 
lime  at  the  start,  and  this  being  true,  this  cow  gave  up  in  110  days  about 
25  per  ct.  of  all  the  lime  in  her  skeleton !  Here  is  a  striking  illustration 
of  the  overpowering  force  of  maternity.     (98,  150) 

565.  Turning  to  pasture. — The  Copenhagen  (Denmark)  Station*^  for 
10  successive  years  studied  the  changes  in  milk  when  cows  are  turned 
from  winter  stables  to  spring  pastures.  In  all  1,961  fall-calving  cows  on 
8  different  farms  were  used.  During  the  month  before  turning  to  pasture 
the  average  daily  yield  was  20.7  lbs.  of  milk,  carrying  3.18  per  ct.  fat  and 
8.73  per  ct.  other  solids.  For  the  first  month  on  pasture  the  average  yield 
was  21.2  lbs.  of  milk,  containing  3.37  per  ct.  fat  and  8.92  per  ct.  other 
solids.  Turning  to  pasture  increased  the  milk  flow  by  over  7  per  ct.,  the 
percentage  of  fat  by  about  8  per  ct.,  and  the  other  solids  by  nearly  2  per 
ct.  While  the  increased  milk  flow  was  maintained,  the  percentage  of  fat 
fell  back  to  normal  after  the  cows  had  been  on  grass  about  20  days.  The 
small  increase  in  solids  not  fat  seems  to  have  been  more  permanent. 

Humphrey  and  Woll*'^  state  that  during  each  of  9  seasons  the  per- 
centage of  fat  and  the  yield  was  increased  on  turning  the  Station  herd 
to  pasture.  The  average  increase  in  percentage  of  fat  was  small  in  all 
the  years,  ranging  from  0.01  to  0.22  per  ct.  The  increase  in  average 
daily  yield  of  fat  ranged  from  0.02  to  0.16  lb.  per  head  daily.  During  the 
first  2  weeks  on  pasture  the  herd  lost  in  body  weight  each  season,  the 
average  decrease  in  weight  ranging  from  1  to  95  lbs. 

During  3  of  8  seasons  Hills  of  the  Vermont  Station*^  found  no  change 
in  the  percentage  of  fat  in  the  milk  on  turning  to  pasture,  in  4  seasons  an 
immediate  and  marked  improvement,  lasting  2  to  4  weeks,  occurred, 
and  in  the  other,  a  slight  tendency  toward  increase  in  fat  content. 

Linfield  of  the  Utah  Station*^  observed  that  cows  turned  on  pasture 
early  in  the  season  while  the  grass  was  soft  and  lush  lost  in  weight  for 
a  short  time,  due  probably  to  the  extreme  flushing  of  the  system.  This 
result,  however,  had  no  effect  on  the  milk  production.  Where  the 
grasses  were  more  mature  when  the  cows  were  first  turned  on  them  no 
material  loss  in  live  weight  was  noted. 

566.  Temperature  and  weather. — From  5  tests  covering  practically  the 
entire  year  and  varying  conditions  of  pasture,  summer  soiling,  and  win- 
ter barn  feeding.  Hills  of  the  Vermont  Station*'*  concludes  that  the  ten- 
dency both  in  summer  and  in  winter  is  for  cows  to  give  richer  milk  when 
the  temperature  falls  and  poorer  milk  as  it  rises.  Cows  exposed  to  cold 
rains  shrink  in  milk  flow  and  may  yield  milk  poor  in  fat. 

567.  Effects  of  drought.— Van  Slyke  of  the  New  York  (Geneva)  Sta- 
tion,^**  studying  the  milk  supply  of  cheese  factories  during  a  drought, 
found  that  the  general  effect  thereof  was  to  diminish  the  flow  of  milk 

« Copenhagen  Rpt.  45;  Well,  Wis.  Bui.  116. 

"Wis.  Bui.  217.  "Vt.  Rpt.  1907.  *^Utah  Bui.  68.  *»Vt.  Rpt.  1907. 

""N.  Y.  (Geneva)  Bui.  68. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  DAIRY  HUSBANDRY         353 

rapidly.  The  fat  increased,  while  the  casein,  and  especially  the  albumin, 
diminished.  Tho  percentagely  small,  the  changes  were  in  the  direction 
of  giving  the  milk  the  appearance  of  having  been  watered — a  point  of 
importance  with  milk  inspectors. 

568.  Exercise,  work,  and  grooming.— Dolgich"  found  that  moderate 
exercise  tended  to  increase  the  quantity  of  milk  and  all  the  constituents 
except  casein,  which  was  slightly  decreased,  while  excessive  exercise  de- 
creased nearly  all  the  constituents.  Light  work  decreased  the  quantity 
of  both  milk  and  milk  solids,  while  excessive  work  decidedly  decreased 
the  flow  and  injured  the  quality,  the  casein  not  coagulating  and  some  of 
the  food-fat  appearing  unaltered  in  the  milk.  (446) 

Hills  of  the  Vermont  Station^-  found  from  3  trials  that  when  cows 
were  fatigued  by  being  driven  a  long  distance  or  shipped  by  rail  the 
flow  of  milk  was  lessened  temporarily.  In  some  cases  the  fat  content  of 
the  milk  was  decreased  and  in  others  increased.  Hills  points  out  the 
folly  of  testing  cows  after  transferring  to  new  quarters  and  before  they 
have  become  rested  and  accustomed  to  their  surroundings. 

In  trials  in  Germany^^  grooming  cows  caused  an  increase  of  4  to  8  per 
ct.  in  the  flow  of  milk.  Hills  of  the  Vermont  Station^*  found  no  such  in- 
crease in  yield  due  to  grooming.  However,  in  the  Vermont  trial  the 
ungroomed  cows  were  never  allowed  to  become  so  filthy  as  they  do  on 
many  farms  in  winter.  Tho  grooming  may  not  increase  the  yield  of  milk, 
it  does  improve  its  quality  by  lessening  the  bacterial  content  and  is  also 
said  to  improve  the  health  of  the  animals. 

569.  Dehorning,  tuberculin  testing,  and  spaying. — Woll  and  Humphrey 
of  the  "Wisconsin  Station,^^  studying  the  results  at  11  experiment  sta- 
tions, conclude  that  dehorning  dairy  cows  causes  a  temporary  loss  of 
about  8  per  ct.  in  yield  of  milk  and  only  an  insignificant  loss  in  yield  of 
butter  fat.  This  is  repaid  a  hundred  fold  in  greater  comfort  of  the  herd 
thereafter.  The  wise  dairyman  will  agree  with  Beach  of  the  Connecticut 
(Storrs)  Station"''  who  writes  after  dehorning  the  Station  herd:  ''The 
worry,  pain,  and  cruelty  of  animals  to  their  mates  is  eliminated  when 
these  instruments  of  torture  are  removed,  and  the  lack  of  fear  and  the 
quiet  contentment  of  the  individuals  of  the  herd  are  at  once  noticeable. 
The  benefits  from  dehorning  dairy  cattle  cannot  be  accurately  measured, 
but  there  is  an  almost  unanimous  opinion  in  its  favor  among  those  who 
have  practiced  it  in  their  herds. ' ' 

Studies  at  the  "Wisconsin  Station^^  show  that  subjecting  cows  to  the 
tuberculin  test  has  practically  no  effect  on  the  yield  of  milk  and  butter 
fat. 

Spaying  has  sometimes  been  recommended  in  the  case  of  cows  which 
are  not  to  be  retained  as  breeders,  it  being  held  that  not  only  is  the  milk 

"Molkerei  Zeitung,  17,  1903,  p.  191.  ==Wis.  Rpt.  1905. 

=-Vt.  Rpt.  1907.  "Conn.  (Storrs)  Rpt.  1902. 

^'Backhaus,  Jour.  Landw.,  41,  1893,  p.  332.  "Wis.  Rpt.  1905. 

"Vt.  Rpts.  1899,  1900. 


354  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

of  spayed  cows  richer  but  that  the  lactation  period  is  also  lengthened  12 
to  15  months.  Nicolas,^^  after  continued  experiments  with  spayed  and 
unspayed  cows,  concludes  that  such  practice  is  not  warranted  by  the 
results.  The  quality  of  the  milk  from  spayed  cows  is  better  than  that  of 
non-pregnant  cows,  but  poorer  than  that  of  the  pregnant  cows. 

570.  Milking  machines. — Because  of  the  difficulty  of  securing  efficient 
hand  milkers,  the  use  of  milking  machines  attracts  wide-spread  interest. 
The  various  types  of  machines  have  now  been  improved  and  long-con- 
tinued trials  at  various  stations"'"  show  that  when  cows  are  millced  with 
the  best  machines  by  careful  operators  and  with  v/ell-ad justed  teat  cups 
there  is  no  injurious  effect  on  the  yield  or  quality  of  the  milk,  or  on  the 
health  of  the  animals.  While  with  most  cows  the  machine  does  not  draw 
quite  all  the  milk  from  the  udder  and  it  is  necessary  to  strip  by  hand, 
nevertheless  a  considerable  saving  in  time  results  from  the  use  of  ma- 
chines. Hooper  and  Nutter  of  the  Kentucky  Station*"*  found  at  the 
Elmendorf  dairy  that  2  men  required  3  hours  to  milk  50  cows  by  hand, 
aided  by  a  boy  to  carry  the  milk  to  the  milk  house.  Using  2  units  per 
man  the  men,  aided  by  the  boy  as  before,  milked  these  cows  in  1  hour 
and  15  minutes.  Later,  using  3  units  per  man,  the  2  men  alone  milked 
the  cows  in  1  hour  and  45  minutes.  When  the  machines  are  properly 
cleansed  and  the  rubber  tubing  kept  in  an  antiseptic  solution,  the  sani- 
tary condition  of  the  milk  is  improved  over  that  ordinarily  obtained  by 
hand  milking.  Owing  to  the  first  cost  of  the  machines  and  the  labor 
involved  in  their  operation  and  cleansing,  various  authorities  consider 
machine  milking  economical  under  usual  conditions  only  where  at  least 
15  to  30  cows  are  milked  thruout  the  year. 

571.  Regularity  and  kindness. — For  the  best  results  with  dairy  cows, 
as  with  other  farm  animals,  they  should  be  treated  with  kindness  at  all 
times,  and  regularity  in  feeding  and  care  should  be  observed.  Many  of 
the  highest  yielding  cows  are  of  nervous  temperament,  and  especially 
with  such  animals  any  excitement  usually  causes  a  sharp  decrease  in 
yield.  Hence  cows  being  driven  should  not  be  hurried  and  attendants 
should  never  strike  or  otherwise  abuse  them.  Changes  in  the  daily 
routine  w^hich  do  not  unduly  disturb  cows  apparently  have  no  great  effect 
on  their  yield.  Carlyle  of  the  Wisconsin  Station*^^  found  that  changing 
milkers  had  no  appreciable  effect  upon  the  yield  of  milk  or  fat.  Lin- 
field*^^  concludes  that  any  change  in  milk  yield  is  due  to  the  individuality 
of  the  milker  and  not  to  the  mere  change  of  the  milkers.  Grisdale  of  the 
Ottawa  Experimental  Farms^^  found  that  irregularity  in  the  intervals 
between  milkings  slightly  reduced  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  milk. 

^Soc.  de  L' Aliment.  Rationelle  du  Betail,  1898. 

"'Mairs,  Penn.  Bui.  85;  Price,  Tenn.  Bui.  80;  Haecker  and  Little,  Nebr.  Bui. 
108;  Woll  and  Humphrey,  Wis.  Res.  Bui.  3,  also  Bui.  173;  McMillan,  Agr.  Gaz., 
N.  S.  Wales,  22,  1911,  pp.  859-868;  Smith  and  Harding,  N.  Y.  (Cornell)  Bui.  353; 
Larsen,  White,  and  Fuller,  S.  D.  Bui.  144;  Hooper  and  Nutter,  Ky.  Bui.  186. 

""Ky.  Bui.  186.  "Wis.  Rpt.  1903.  «=Utah  Bui.  68. 

'^Ottawa  Bxpt.  Farms,  Rpts.  1901,  1902. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  DAIRY  HUSBANDRY         355 

When  the  changes  were  not  sudden,  the  effect  due  to  the  difference  in 
the  length  of  the  intervals  between  the  milkings  was  negligible. 

572.  Minor  Points. — Lane  of  the  New  Jersey  Station^*  found  that 
cows  receiving  3  feeds  daily  consumed  more  roughage  and  gave  slightly 
more  milk  than  those  getting  2  daily,  but  the  increase  barely  paid  for  the 
extra  labor  and  feed.  Grisdale  of  the  Ottawa  Experimental  Farms^^ 
found  2  feeds  as  effective  as  3  in  maintaining  the  milk  flow.  It  is  reason- 
able to  hold  that  2  generous  feeds  daily  are  sufficient  for  the  dairy  cow 
with  her  roomy  digestive  apparatus.  (35) 

On  feeding  cows  wet  and  dry  concentrates,  Grisdale*^"^  found  a  small 
difference  in  favor  of  the  dry  feed. 

Hills  of  the  Vermont  Station*'^  holds  that  it  does  not  usually  pay  to 
milk  cows  thrice  daily,  tho  a  temporary  increase  in  milk  flow  is  produced 
thereby.  Dean  of  the  Ontario  Agricultural  College''^  concludes  that  such 
practice  is  not  profitable  except  perhaps  in  the  case  of  very  heavy 
milkers. 

The  ' '  Hegelund  method ' '  consists  in  so  manipulating  the  cow 's  udder 
after  milking  as  to  bring  down  all  remaining  traces  of  milk.  By  this 
system,  Woll  of  the  Wisconsin  Station^^  found  that  the  daily  milk  yield 
of  a  herd  of  24  cows  was  increased  4.5  per  ct.  and  the  fat  yield  9.2  per  ct. 
The  average  daily  gain  per  cow  of  1  lb.  of  milk  and  nearly  0.1  lb.  of  fat 
seemed  to  be  maintained  thruout  the  whole  lactation  period.  Wing  and 
Foord  at  the  New  York  (Cornell)  Station'^"  found  no  advantage  in  this 
method  over  thoro  stripping  by  the  ordinary  method. 

Woodward,  Turner,  and  Curtice  of  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture'^  found  that  when  cows  which  were  immune  to  tick  fever 
were  infested  with  ticks  the  milk  yield  was  reduced  34.2  per  ct.  on  ac- 
count of  the  depletion  of  the  blood.  In  tick  infested  districts  they  advise 
spraying  or  dipping  with  an  arsenical  solution,  at  least  when  animals 
are  heavily  infested. 

573.  Flavor,  odor,  and  color. —  Milk  and  its  products  possess  qualities 
cognizable  only  to  sight,  taste,  and  smell.  The  Guernsey  breed  excels  in 
producing  a  milk  with  a  yellow  fat.  Pasture  grass,  soiling  crops,  ear- 
rots,  and  some  other  feeding  stuffs  impart  a  yellowish  tinge  to  milk 
fat.  Due  to  minute  quantities  of  volatile  oils  they  contain,  onions,  leeks, 
turnips,  rape,  etc.,  impart  an  objectionable  flavor  to  milk,  possibly  ap- 
parent to  all  people,  while  other  flavors  are  detected  by  some  but  pass 
unnoticed  by  many.  When  cows  are  first  turned  to  pasture,  we  at  once 
observe  a  grass  flavor  in  the  milk  and  butter,  tho  it  soon  disappears ;  but 
whether  it  has  really  disappeared  or  we  only  fail  to  notice  it,  we  do  not 
know.  It  is  possible  that  after  a  time  the  cow  more  completely  eliminates 
such  volatile  oils  than  at  first.     Bad  flavors  can  be  largely  avoided  by 

"N.  J.  Rpt.  1900.  '^Ont.  Agr.  Col.,  Rpt.  1898. 

^Ottawa  Expt.  Farms,  Rpt.  1904.  «'Wis.  Rpt.  1902. 

«' Ottawa  Expt.  Farms,  Rpt.  1901.  '"N.  Y.  (Cornell)  Bui.  213. 

"Vt.  Rpt.  1907.  "U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  Bui.  147. 


356  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

feeding  whatever  causes  them  immediately  after  milking  so  that  the 
volatile  oils  they  furnish,  which  are  the  source  of  the  trouble,  may  the 
more  completely  escape  from  the  body  before  the  next  milking. 

It  is  further  possible  that  the  facility  with  which  flavors  and  odors 
pass  from  feed  to  milk  or  are  eliminated  from  the  body  when  once  with- 
in it  varies  with  different  cows.  The  flavors  and  aroma  of  butter  are 
mostly  due  to  fermentation  of  milk  sugar,  so  that  this  matter  rests  only 
in  part  on  feeding. 

Sometimes  when  a  cow  is  far  along  in  lactation  her  milk  grows  bitter 
and  distasteful.  Eckles^-  states  that  so  far  as  he  has  observed  this  occurs 
only  when  the  animal  is  far  advanced  in  pregnancy  and  rarely  happens 
when  green  feed  is  supplied.  He  writes  that  reducing  the  grain  ration 
and  giving  2  or  3  doses  of  Epsom  salts  may  remove  the  trouble. 

It  is  probable  that  the  milk  of  every  cow,  aside  from  the  influence  of 
feed,  possesses  a  distinctly  individual  flavor  too  delicately  fine  to  be  ob- 
served by  most  humans,  but  plainly  noticed  by  others.  It  may  be  that 
in  the  future,  when  the  grosser  problems  now  perplexing  dairymen  have 
been  solved,  it  will  be  found  that  certain  cows  yield  a  peculiarly  palat- 
able milk.  Should  this  prove  to  be  the  case,  then  thru  selection  there 
may  be  established  breeds  or  families  possessing  this  ultra-refined  and 
most  desirable  quality. 

The  whole  subject  of  odors  and  flavors  in  milk  and  dairy  products  is 
greatly  complicated  by  the  fact  that  there  is  a  wide  range  in  the  ability 
of  different  individuals  to  detect  and  distinguish  them.  Flavors  and 
odors  plainly  evident  to  one  person  are  unnoticed  by  another.  Often 
odors  and  flavors  charged  to  feed  or  cow  are  due  to  contamination  of  the 
milk  in  the  stable  or  elsewhere,  after  it  is  drawn  from  the  cow. 

574.  The  yellow  color  of  cream  and  butter. — It  is  common  knowledge 
that  cows  produce  cream  and  butter  which  is  more  deeply  colored  in 
summer  when  eating  green  feeds  than  in  winter,  and  that  Jerseys  and 
Guernseys  usually  produce  a  yellower  product  than  the  other  breeds. 
Extensive  investigations  by  Palmer  and  Eckles  at  the  Missouri  Station" 
have  at  length  shown  the  cause  of  yellow  color  in  butter  fat.  They  flnd 
that  the  color  is  due  to  a  substance  called  carotin,  so  named  because  it  is 
the  coloring  matter  of  the  carrot.  This  compound  is  commonly  found  in 
green  plants  along  with  the  green  chlorophyll,  which  masks  its  color. 
(8)  It  was  found  that  animals  given  feeds  poor  in  carotin  for  long 
periods  invariably  produced  white  cream  and  butter  fat,  regardless  of 
the  breed.  This  shows  that  the  yellow  color  of  Jersey  and  Guernsey 
butter  is  not  due  to  any  ability  of  these  breeds  to  manufacture  carotin. 
However,  when  cows  of  these  breeds  are  given  feeds  rich  in  carotin  they 
transfer  to  their  milk  a  larger  part  of  the  yellow  coloring  matter  of  the 
feed  than  do  cows  of  the  other  breeds,  and  hence  produce  yellower  but- 
ter fat.    Green  feeds  in  general  were  found  to  be  rich  in  carotin,  as  well 

"Dairy  Cattle  and  Milk  Productioii,  p.  227. 
"Mo.  Res.  Buls.  9,  10,  11,  12;  also  Cir.  74. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  DAIRY  HUSBANDRY  357 

as  hay  of  a  bright  green  color  and  new  corn  silage.  Carrots  and  other 
yellow  roots  also  contain  much  of  this  coloring  matter.  On  the  other 
hand,  bleached  hay,  dry  com  fodder  or  stover,  straw,  old  corn  silage  in 
which  the  carotin  had  been  destroyed  by  fermentation,  corn,  both  yellow 
and  white,  and  all  the  common  concentrated  by-products,  such  as  wheat 
bran,  linseed  meal,  brewers'  grains,  etc.,  were  found  to  be  poor  in  carotin. 
This  explains  why  cows  usually  produce  light-colored  butter  in  winter. 
The  color  of  yellow  corn  is  due  to  a  colored  substance  other  than  carotin, 
which  does  not  pass  into  the  milk. 

The  yellow  color  of  the  body  fat  and  skin  of  Jerseys  and  Guernseys 
was  found  to  be  due  to  carotin.  This  shows  why  cows  of  these  breeds 
yield  a  highly  colored  product  for  a  long  time  after  going  on  winter 
feed.  During  such  periods  the  yellow  coloring  matter  in  their  body  fat 
is  transferred  to  the  milk.  Purchasers  often  discriminate  against  beef 
having  deeply  colored  fat,  yet  this  tallow  is  colored  by  the  same  substance 
that  gives  butter  the  highly  desired  yellow  color. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

FEEDS  FOR  THE  DAIRY  COW 

I.  Carbonaceous  Concentrates 

With  the  high  prices  now  ruling  for  feed  and  labor,  studies  of  the 
cost  of  milk  production  reveal  that  on  many  farms,  even  where  dairy 
cows  of  good  quality  are  kept,  milk  is  being  produced  at  little  or  no 
profit  to  the  o^\^ler.  Yet  by  a  vnse  selection  of  feeds  and  intelligent 
feeding  other  dairymen  secure  goodly  profits  from  cows  no  better.  This 
shows  emphatically  that  the  feeding  of  the  herd  must  be  given  most  care- 
ful study  and  the  system  of  farming  so  planned  that  a  ration  both  well- 
balanced  in  chemical  nutrients  and  otherwise  satisfactory  may  be  pro- 
vided at  minimum  expense. 

575.  Indian  corn. — Thruout  the  corn  belt  Indian  corn,  a  grain  highly 
relished  by  the  cow,  is  usually  the  cheapest  carbonaceous  concentrate 
available  for  the  dairy  herd.  Owing  to  its  wide  nutritive  ratio  corn 
should  be  used  as  the  sole  concentrate  only  when  leguminous  roughages 
supply  the  lacking  protein,  and  even  then  more  variety  in  the  ration  is 
better.  (201)  At  the  Illinois  Station^  Fraser  and  Hayden  fed  1  lot  of  10 
cows  for  131  days  on  the  well-balanced  ration  shown  in  the  table,  in  which 
gluten  feed  and  clover  hay  furnished  the  protein  necessary  to  balance 
the  ground  corn  and  corn  silage.  Another  lot  was  fed  corn  as  the  sole 
concentrate,  ^^dth  corn  silage,  timothy  hay,  and  a  small  amount  of  clover 
hay  for  roughage,  as  is  indicated  in  the  table : 

Corn  requires  supplement  for  feeding  dairy  cows 

Nutritive      Average  daily  yield 
Average  ration  ratio  Milk  Fat 

Lot  I,  Balanced  ration  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Ground  com,  3  .3  lbs.     Clover  hay,  8  lbs. 

Gluten  feed,  4 .7  lbs.       Corn  sUage,  30  lbs 1:6         30 .1         0 .96 

Lot  II,  Unbalanced  ration 

Ground  com,  8  lbs.         Timothy  hay,  5  lbs. 
Clover  hay,  3  lbs. 
Com  sUage,  30  lbs 1:11        20.5        0.69 

As  soon  as  Lot  II  was  changed  from  the  excellent  ration  they  had 
previously  been  fed  to  the  unbalanced  ration  shown  in  the  table,  which 
had  a  nutritive  ratit)  of  1 :11,  they  fell  off  sharply  in  production.  While 
the  cows  in  Lot  I  were  seldom  off  feed,  this  occurred  frequently  in  Lot 
II.  During  the  trial  the  cows  in  Lot  I  produced  47  per  ct.  more  milk  and 
39  per  ct.  more  fat  than  those  in  Lot  II. 

At  the  Maryland  Station-  Patterson  fed  cows  on  corn  meal  with  corn 

^111.  Bui.  159.  'Md.  Bui.  84. 

358 


FEEDS  FOR  THE  DAIRY  COW  359 

fodder  and  soilage  corn  as  the  chief  roughages  during  the  entire  lac- 
tation period,  while  others  were  given  a  well-balanced  ration  of  gluten 
feed,  wheat  bran,  and  corn  meal,  with  the  same  roughages.  The  next 
year  the  rations  were  reversed  so  that  each  cow  was  on  both  sides  of  the 
trial.  On  the  unbalanced  ration  containing  corn  meal  as  the  sole  con- 
centrate the  average  annual  yield  of  the  cows  was  only  3,150  lbs.  of  milk 
or  152  lbs.  of  butter.  When  the  protein-rich  concentrate  mixture  was 
fed  the  yield  of  milk  was  increased  33  per  ct.  and  that  of  butter  over  45 
per  ct.  These  trials  show  the  folly  of  expecting  profitable  production 
from  such  unbalanced  rations,  even  tho  they  may  be  palatable. 

576.  Corn  meal;  corn-and-cob  meal. — Corn  is  commonly  ground  for  the 
dairy  cow  (423),  but  sometimes  ear  or  shock  corn  is  fed.  When  other 
bulky  concentrates  are  not  furnished  it  may  be  advisable  to  feed  this 
grain  in  the  form  of  corn-and-cob  meal.  Lane  of  the  New  Jersey  Sta- 
tion'^ secured  9.4  per  ct.  more  milk  when  feeding  corn-and-cob  meal  as 
half  the  concentrate  allowance  than  when  an  equal  weight,  including 
cob,  of  ear  corn  was  fed.  Cook  of  the  same  Station*  found  corn-and-cob 
meal  of  slightly  lower  value  than  an  equal  weight  of  corn  meal.  (208) 

577.  Hominy  feed. — This  carbohydrate-rich  by-product,  quite  similar 
to  corn  in  composition,  compares  favorablj^  in  feeding  value  with  this 
grain.  (213)  Like  corn  it  must  be  supplemented  by  feeds  rich  in  pro- 
tein. 

578.  Wheat. — ^Wheat,  which  is  usually  too  high  priced  for  feeding 
except  when  low  in  quality,  has  about  the  same  value  for  cows  as  corn. 
This  is  shown  in  a  trial  by  Bartlett  at  the  Maine  Station^  in  which  6 
cows  were  fed  by  the  reversal  method  for  three  21-day  periods.  When 
5  lbs.  of  wheat  meal  replaced  an  equal  weight  of  corn  meal  in  the  ration 
the  returns  in  milk  and  fat  were  practically  unchanged. 

At  the  Copenhagen  (Denmark)  Station  Friis"  compared  ground  wheat 
with  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  of  ground  barley  and  oats  in  trials  on  6 
farms.  When  fed  with  a  basal  ration  of  3.3  lbs.  wheat  bran,  1.8  lbs.  oil 
cake,  30  lbs.  mangels,  10  lbs.  hay,  and  straw  without  limit,  5.2  lbs.  of 
wheat  was  fully  equal  in  value  to  the  same  weight  of  mixed  barley  and 
oats.    Wheat  should  be  ground  or  preferably  rolled  for  cows. (215) 

579.  Oats. — This  grain,  which  supplies  somewhat  more  protein  than 
does  corn  or  wheat,  is  an  excellent  feed  for  the  dairy  cow.  However, 
owing  to  the  high  price  of  oats,  most  dairymen  cannot  economically  use 
them  in  any  large  way.  Usually  the  various  concentrate  by-products 
are  cheaper  sources  of  crude  protein,  while  corn  furnishes  carbohydrates 
at  less  expense.  The  value  of  this  grain  is  well  shown  in  the  following 
table,  which  presents  the  results  secured  by  Woll  at  the  Wisconsin  Sta- 
tion'^ on  feeding  4  cows  for  2  alternate  21-day  periods  on  rations  of  6  lbs. 
clover  hay  and  corn  stover  without  limit  for  roughage,  with  the  concen- 
trate allowances  indicated: 

"N.  J.  Bui.  84.  'Me.  Rpt.  1895.  'Wis.  Rpt.  1890. 

*  N.  J.  Rpt.  25,  pp.  159-167.      '  Copenhagen  Sta.,  34th  Rpt,  1895. 


360  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Ground  oats  vs.  wheat  'bran  for  dairy  cows 

Average  daily  >-ield 
Average  concentrate  allowance  Milk  Fat 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

/.     Ground  oats,  10  lbs.     Corn  meal,  2  lbs 23 .3         1 .03 

//.     Wheat  bran,  10  lbs.      Corn  meal,  2  lbs 20 .8        0 .93 

When  fed  oats  in  place  of  wheat  bran,  the  cows  produced  12  per  ct. 
more  milk  and  11  per  ct.  more  fat.  It  should,  however,  be  remembered 
that  bran  is  much  higher  in  digestible  crude  protein  than  oats  and  hence 
will  be  more  efficient  than  this  grain  in  balancing  a  ration  deficient  in 
this  nutrient.  Lindsey  of  the  Massachusetts  Station^  found  that  when 
fed  with  a  basal  ration  of  3.2  lbs.  bran  and  19.1  lbs.  mixed  hay,  4.5  lbs. 
oats  was  equal  to  the  same  weight  of  corn  meal  for  milch  cows.  ( 223 ) 

580.  Barley. — Barley  is  fed  to  dairy  cows  to  a  considerable  extent  in 
Europe  and  has  a  reputation  for  producing  milk  and  butter  of  excellent 
quality.  The  Danes  regard  ground  barley  and  oats  as  one  of  the  best 
concentrate  mixtures  for  dairy  cows.  Judging  from  the  composition  of 
barley  and  the  results  of  trials  with  other  animals  (226),  it  would  seem 
that  the  value  of  barley  for  the  dairy  cow  would  be  slightly  lower  than 
that  of  corn  per  pound,  but  the  Scandinavians  consider  these  grains  of 
practically  equal  value. 

581.  Rye. — Large  allowances  of  rye  produce  a  hard,  dry  butter,  but 
about  2.2  to  3.3  lbs.  per  head  daily  mixed  with  other  feeds  has  given  good 
results.^  At  the  Pennsylvania  Station^"  Hayward  fed  3  cows  a  basal 
ration  of  2.5  lbs.  cottonseed  meal,  2.0  lbs.  linseed  meal,  and  12  lbs.  tim- 
othy hay  and  supplied  in  addition  3.5  lbs.  of  either  rye  meal  or  corn 
meal  during  3  periods  of  35  days  each.  Four  per  ct.  less  milk  and  5  per 
ct.  less  butter  was  produced  on  the  ration  containing  rye,  indicating 
that  rye  meal  is  somewhat  less  valuable  than  corn  meal  for  the  dairy 
cow.  (232) 

582.  Einmer. — Wilson  and  Skinner  of  the  South  Dakota  Station,^^ 
when  feeding  brome  hay  and  corn  silage  for  roughage,  found  that  cows 
produced  1  lb.  of  butter  fat  for  each  15.5  lbs.  of  corn  or  barley  meal 
fed,  while  17.5  lbs.  of  ground  emmer  (spelt)  were  required,  a  difference 
of  13  per  ct.  in  favor  of  barley  or  com  meal.  (233) 

583.  Kafir  meal. — In  a  trial  with  18  cows  for  7  weeks,  Cottrell  and 
Skinner  of  the  Kansas  Station^-  found  that  8  lbs.  of  kafir  meal  and 
20  lbs.  of  alfalfa  hay  made  the  cheapest  dairy  ration  for  Kansas  con- 
ditions. When  fed  with  prairie,  timothy,  or  sorghum  hay  or  with  corn 
fodder,  kafir  tends  to  dry  up  the  cows,  and  if  fed  abundantly  to  fatten 
them,  as  would  be  expected  from  the  unbalanced  nature  of  the  ration. 
(237) 

584.  Sorghum  meal. — During  three  20-day  periods  Cook  of  the  New 
Jersey  Station^^  fed  cows  rations  composed  of  5  lbs.  corn  stover,  20  lbs. 
wet  brewers'  grains,  5  lbs.  bran,  and  9  lbs.  of  either  corn  meal  or  meal 

«Mass.  Rpt.  1913,  Part  I,  pp.  141-153. 
-Pott,  Handb.  Ernahr.  u.  Futter.,  II,  1907,  p.  451. 
"Penn.  Bui.  52.  "S.  D.  Bui.  81.  "Kan.  Bui.  93.  «N.  J.  Rpt.  1882. 


FEEDS  FOR  THE  DAIRY  COW  361 

from  seed  of  sweet  sorghum,  for  each  1000  lbs.  live  weight.  When  the 
sorghum  meal  ration  was  fed  the  yield  of  milk  was  about  10  per  ct, 
less  than  when  the  corn  meal  was  supplied.  (241) 

585.  Dried  beet  pulp. — This  bulky  carbonaceous  concentrate  has  be- 
come popular  with  dairymen,  especially  those  feeding  cows  on  forced 
test,  on  account  of  its  slightly  laxative  and  cooling  effect.  At  the 
Massachusetts  Station"  Lindsey  found  4.3  lbs.  of  dried  beet  pulp  equal 
to  the  same  weight  of  corn  meal  when  fed  with  a  basal  ration  of  2.0  lbs. 
wheat  bran,  0.7  lb.  cottonseed  meal,  and  17  lbs.  mixed  hay.  (275) 

Where  silage  is  not  available,  dried  beet  pulp,  moistened  before 
feeding,  as  it  should  always  be  when  a  large  allowance  is  fed,  is  a  satis- 
factory, tho  usually  expensive,  substitute.  This  is  shown  in  a  trial  by 
Billings  at  the  New  Jersey  Station^^  in  which  2  lots  each  of  2  cows  were 
fed  the  rations  shown  below  alternately  for  two  15-day  periods : 

Dried  beet  pulp  as  a  substitute  for  corn  silage 

Average  daily  yield 

Average  ration  Milk  Fat 

Lbs.  Lbs. 
/.     Dried  beet  pulp,  9  lbs. 

Mixed  hay,  10  lbs.     Rich  concentrates,  10 .5  lbs 33  .6  1 .39 

II.     Com  silage,  45  lbs. 

Mixed  hay,  5  lbs.      Rich  concentrates,  10 .5  lbs 30 .2  1 .25 

Where  9  lbs.  of  dried  beet  pulp  and  5  lbs.  mixed  hay  replaced  45  lbs. 
of  corn  silage,  the  cows  gave  11  per  ct.  more  milk  and  butter. 

586.  Dried  molasses-beet  pulp. — Billings  of  the  New  Jersey^''  and 
Lindsey  of  the  Massachusetts  Station^^  found  dried  molasses-beet  pulp 
about  equal  in  feeding  value  to  dried  beet  pulp  for  dairy  cows.  In  a 
trial  by  Billings  dried  molasses-beet  pulp  proved  almost  as  valuable  as 
an  equal  weight  of  hominy  meal,  the  cows  eating  the  dried  molasses-beet 
pulp  Avith  more  eagerness  and  remaining  in  better  health.  The  milk 
from  cows  fed  on  dried  molasses-beet  pulp  at  first  had  a  sweet  taste, 
which  soon  passed  away.  Since  both  dried  beet  pulp  and  molasses-beet 
pulp  are  low  in  protein,  they  should  not  be  fed  as  substitutes  for  protein- 
rich  feeds,  as  has  often  been  done.  (277) 

587.  Whey. — At  the  Kiel  Dairy  Station^®  Schrodt  fed  cows  a  ration 
of  11  lbs.  clover  hay,  5.5  lbs.  barley  straw,  10  lbs.  mangels,  5.5  lbs.  wheat 
bran,  and  2.2  lbs.  palmnut  meal.  During  one  period  11  lbs.  of  sweet 
whey  was  fed,  and  during  another,  22  lbs.  The  whey  had  a  favorable 
influence  on  the  quantity  of  milk  yielded,  and  no  deleterious  effect  on 
the  quality  of  the  butter.  (268) 


II.  Protein-Rich  Concentrates 

588.  Wheat  bran. — This  palatable,  bulky  concentrate  is  one  of  the 
most  esteemed  feeds  for  the  dairy  cow,  for  it  is  quite  high  in  crude 

"Mass.  Rpt.  1913,  Part  I,  pp.  129-140.       "Mass.  Rpt.  1913,  Part  I,  pp.  129-140. 
«N.  J.  Bui.  189.  i^Jahresber.  Agr.  Chemie,  1882,  p.  441. 

>«N.  J.  Rpt.  1904. 


362  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

protein,  is  rich  in  phosphorus,  and  has  a  beneficial  laxative  effect  on 
the  digestive  tract.  (218)  Owing  to  its  popularity,  bran  is  usually  high 
in  price,  considering  the  amount  of  crude  protein  it  furnishes.  Other 
by-products,  such  as  gluten  feed,  dried  brewers'  grains,  and  cottonseed 
meal,  which  are  richer  in  digestible  crude  protein,  are  therefore  usually 
more  economical  sources  of  protein  for  balancing  the  ration.  Under 
many  conditions  it  is  accordingly  best  to  feed  bran  only  in  limited 
amount  for  its  beneficial  effect  on  the  health  of  the  animals,  rather  than 
as  the  chief  source  of  crude  protein  in  the  ration.  This  concentrate  is 
especially  valuable  for  cows  just  before  and  after  calving,  for  those  on 
official  test,  and  for  young,  growing  animals. 

In  feeding  trials  with  447  cows  on  several  Danish  farms  the  Copen- 
hagen Station^''  found  wheat  bran  fed  as  the  sole  concentrate  fully  equal 
to  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  of  ground  barley  and  oats.  Bran,  however, 
should  rarely  be  so  fed,  but  always  in  combination  with  some  feed  rich 
in  carbohydrates,  such  as  corn,  rye,  barley,  etc.,  and  with  some  legume 
roughage  to  furnish  lime,  which  it  lacks.  (98) 

589.  Wheat  shorts;  wheat  middlings;  wheat  mixed  feed. — Tho  higher 
in  digestible  crude  protein  than  wheat  bran,  shorts  or  middlings  are  less 
palatable  and  are  heavy,  rather  than  bulky  feeds.  They  should  hence  be 
fed  to  dairy  cows  only  in  limited  amounts  mixed  with  other  con- 
centrates. The  Copenhagen  Station^''  secured  slightly  larger  returns 
from  wheat  shorts  than  from  wheat  bran  in  trials  with  240  cows.  (220) 

On  account  of  its  higher  content  of  digestible  protein  and  carbo- 
hydrates Smith  and  Beals  of  the  Massachusetts  Station'^^  rate  the  value 
of  a  good  grade  of  wheat  mixed  feed  at  10  per  ct.  more  than  that  of 
bran. 

590.  Corn  gluten  feed. — This  by-product,  which  contains  about  twice 
as  much  digestible  crude  protein  as  wheat  bran  and  is  not  a  very  heavy 
feed,  is  a  valuable  concentrate  for  the  dairy  cow.  In  a  trial  at  the 
Vermont  Station--  with  2  cows  fed  by  the  reversal  method  in  18-day 
periods,  Cooke  found  that  when  4  lbs.  of  gluten  feed  replaced  an  equal 
weight  of  a  mixture  of  wheat  bran  and  corn  meal  the  yield  of  milk  was 
increased  15  per  ct.  and  of  fat  16  per  ct.  (210) 

591.  Gluten  meal. — Hills  of  the  Vermont  Station-^  fed  6  cows  for 
20  weeks,  comparing  gluten  meal  with  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  of  com 
meal  and  wheat  bran.  He  found  that  100  lbs.  of  dry  matter  in  the 
form  of  gluten  meal,  substituted  for  an  equal  amount  of  dry  matter  in 
a  mixture  of  equal  parts  corn  meal  and  wheat  bran,  increased  the  yield 
of  milk  and  total  solids  12.5  per  ct.  (211) 

592.  Germ  oil  meal. — In  a  feeding  trial  with  4  cows  at  the  Vermont 
Station-*  Hills  compared  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  of  germ  oil  meal  and 
wheat  bran  with  one  composed  of  1  part  cottonseed  meal,  1  part  linseed 
meal,  and  2  parts  wheat  bran.    In  a  second  trial  the  germ  oil  meal  and 

"Copenhagen  Sta.,  Rpt.  1894.  "Mass.  Bui.  146.  ^Vt.  Rpt.  1895. 

=*  Copenhagen  Sta.,  Rpt.  1894.  ==Vt.  Rpt.  1892.  "Vt.  Rpt.  1901. 


FEEDS  FOR  THE  DAIRY  COW  363 

bran  mixture  was  compared  with  ground  oats.  The  roughage  consisted 
of  mixed  hay  and  corn  silage.  In  both  trials  the  returns  were  in  favor  of 
the  germ  oil  meal.  (212) 

593.  Dried  brewers'  grains. — To  compare  the  value  of  dried  brewers' 
grains  and  wheat  bran  Lindsey  of  the  Massachusetts  Station^^  fed  a  lot 
of  4  cows  and  one  of  3  cows  by  the  reversal  method  for  two  28-day 
periods.  All  were  given  a  daily  roughage  allowance  of  26.2  lbs.  corn 
silage  and  about  12.4  lbs.  bluegrass  hay,  with  concentrates  as  shown 
below : 

Dried  breivers'  grains  vs.  wheat  hra^i  for  dairy  cows 

Average  concentrate  allowance 


Average  daily  yield 

vance 

Milk                Fat 

Lbs.                Lbs. 

Gluten  feed,  3.0  lbs.. 

21.4           1.1 

Gluten  fed,  3.0  lbs.  . 

20.8           1.1 

/.     Dried  brewers'  grains,  4 .3  lbs. 
II.     Wheat  bran,  4 .4  lbs. 

The  results  show  dried  brewers'  grains  somewhat  superior  to  wheat 
bran  for  milk  production.  Hills  of  the  Vermont  Station-®  found  dried 
brewers'  grains  and  wheat  bran  equal  in  feeding  value  to  a  mixture  of 
cottonseed  meal,  linseed  meal,  and  wheat  bran.  (228) 

594.  Malt  sprouts. — Tho  not  especially  palatable,  malt  sprouts  may 
be  successfully  fed  to  dairy  cows  when  mixed  with  other  feeds,  and  are 
often  a  cheap  source  of  protein.  When  over  2  lbs.  daily  is  fed,  they 
should  be  soaked  before  feeding  in  order  to  avoid  digestive  disturbances, 
as  they  swell  greatly  on  absorbing  water. 

Lindsey  of  the  Massachusetts  Station-''  fed  2  lbs.  malt  sprouts  against 
1.5  lbs.  gluten  feed  to  cows  getting  a  basal  ration  of  10  lbs.  of  Kentucky 
bluegrass  hay,  10.4  lbs.  rowen  hay,  2  lbs.  wheat  bran,  and  1  lb.  corn 
meal,  with  the  following  results : 

Malt  sprouts  vs.  gluten  feed  for  dairy  cows 

Average  daily  yield 
Average  ration  Milk  Fat 

Lbs.  Lba. 

Ration    I.     Malt  sprouts,  2  .0  lbs.     Basal  ration 18 .1         0 .89 

Ration  II.     Gluten  feed,  1 . 5  lbs.       Basal  ration 18.2        0.91 

It  will  be  seen  that  2  lbs.  of  malt  sprouts  were  about  equal  to  1.5  lbs. 
of  gluten  feed.  Lindsey-^  states  that  an  excess  of  malt  sprouts  should 
be  avoided  as  they  are  deficient  in  lime  and  also  may  cause  abortion 
when  fed  in  large  amounts.  According  to  Pott-'*  feeding  over  3.3  lbs. 
per  head  daily  may  impart  an  aromatic,  bitter  taste  to  the  milk.  When 
making  up  half  to  two-thirds  the  concentrate  allowance  Hills  of  the 
Vermont  Station'^*'  found  malt  sprouts  of  lower  value  than  oats.  (230) 

595.  Buckwheat  middlings. — Hills  of  the  Vermont  Station^^  reports 
that  cows  fed  buckwheat  middlings  produced  8  to  11  per  ct.  more  milk 

"Mass.  Bui.  94.  =^Mass.  Rpt.  1911,  Part  II,  p.  83. 

''^Vt.  Rpt.  1903.  "''Handb.  Ernahr.  u.  Putter.,  Ill,  1909,  p.  225. 

'^  Mass.  Bui.  94.  ^°Vt.  Rpt.  1902.  ^'Vt.  Rpts.  1900,  1907. 


364  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

than  on  an  equal  weight  of  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  corn  and  wheat  bran. 
When  fed  as  the  sole  concentrate,  the  cows  did  not  usually  relish 
buckwheat  middlings,  and  the  quality  of  the  butter  was  somewhat  im- 
paired. Hayward  and  Weld  of  the  Pennsylvania  Station^^^  found  buck- 
wheat middlings  and  dried  brewers'  grains  equally  valuable  for  dairy 
cows  when  judiciously  fed  as  part  of  a  balanced  ration.  When  thus  fed 
neither  of  these  feeds  had  a  detrimental  effect  upon  the  flavor  or  quality 
of  the  milk  or  butter.   (244) 

596f  Cottonseed  meal. — Experience  has  sho-wn  that  cottonseed  meal 
may  be  fed  to  dairy  cows  in  properly  balanced  rations  for  years  with  no 
ill  effects.  This  is  most  fortunate  since  this  highly  nitrogenous  feed  is 
usually  the  cheapest  source  of  protein  in  the  South  and  often  likewise 
in  the  North.  Since  cottonseed  meal  is  constipating  it  should  be  fed 
with  laxative  concentrates,  such  as  linseed  meal  or  wheat  bran,  or  with 
succulent  feed,  such  as  silage  or  roots.  The  milk  of  cows  heavily  fed 
on  cotton  seed  or  cottonseed  meal  yields  a  hard,  talloAvy  butter,  light  in 
color  and  poor  in  flavor.  If  a  moderate  allowance  is  fed  in  a  properly 
balanced  ration  the  quality  is  not  impaired  and  may  even  be  improved 
if  the  other  feeds  tend  to  produce  a  soft  butter.  (562)  This  feed  is  used 
as  the  sole  concentrate  on  many  southern  farms,  a  practice  which  is 
safe  when  only  a  limited  allowance  is  given.  Soule  of  the  Georgia  Sta- 
tion^^  reports  that  for  several  years  the  station  dairy  herd  has  been  fed  2 
to  3  lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal  per  head  daily  with  Bermuda  grass  pasture 
in  summer  and  corn  and  sorghum  silage  in  the  winter  with  satisfactory 
results.  The  custom  has  been  to  feed  2  lbs.  to  a  700-  to  800-lb.  cow 
giving  1.5  to  2  gallons  of  milk  and  somewhat  more  to  the  heavier  pro- 
ducers, but  rarely  is  over  3  lbs.  of  meal  fed.  Michels  and  Burgess  of 
the  South  Carolina  Station^*  found  cottonseed  meal  and  corn  silage  by 
far  the  cheapest  ration  available  for  dairy  cows  under  prevailing  con- 
ditions. 

Since  cottonseed  meal  is  a  highly  nitrogenous,  heavy  feed,  when  a  large 
allowance  is  given  the  meal  should  be  mixed  with  feeds  which  are  bulky 
and  lower  in  crude  protein.  McNutt  of  the  North  Carolina  Station^^ 
found  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  cottonseed  meal,  dried  beet  pulp,  and 
dried  distillers'  grains  highly  satisfactory  when  fed  with  corn  silage. 
A  mixture  of  cottonseed  meal,  corn  meal,  and  wheat  bran  was  also  satis- 
factory, but  more  expensive.  During  4  years  McNutt  fed  as  much  as 
6  lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal  per  head  daily  to  large  cows  for  extended 
periods,  without  any  unfavorable  results  when  it  was  given  in  such  a 
mixture  as  this  and  with  silage  for  roughage.  At  the  Texas  Station^^ 
in  trials  lasting  56  days  with  18  cows  Soule  found  that  6  lbs.  of  cotton- 
seed meal  fed  daily  as  the  sole  concentrate  proved  more  effective  and 
gave  larger  profits  than  allowances  of  7  to  10  lbs.  (250) 

'^Penn.  Bui.  41.  ^^Proc.  Amer.  Soc.  Anim.  Prod.  1914. 

"^Breeder's  Gazette,  62,  1912,  p.  217.      ''^ Texas  Bui.  47. 

"S.  C.  Bui.  131. 


FEEDS  FOR  THE  DAIRY  COW  365 

597.  Cottonseed  meal  vs.  other  concentrates. — At  the  South  Carolina 
Station^''  Michels  and  Burgess  fed  21  cows  for  3  alternate  27-day  periods 
on  a  ration  of  32  to  35  lbs.  corn  silage  (all  they  would  consume)  with 
wheat  bran  and  cottonseed  meal  in  addition  as  is  indicated  in  the  follow- 
ing table.  In  Period  II,  5.1  lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal  was  fed  as  the  sole 
concentrate,  while  in  Periods  I  and  III,  3.4  lbs.  of  wheat  bran  replaced 
1.7  lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal. 

At  the  New  Jersey  Station^^  Lane  fed  4  cows  for  66  days  on  a  ration 
of  36  lbs.  corn  silage  and  6  lbs.  corn  stalks,  with  either  cottonseed  meal 
alone  or  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  of  wheat  bran  and  dried  brewers' 
grains  for  the  concentrate  allowance,  as  shown  in  the  table : 

Cottonseed  meal  vs.  wheat  bran  and  dried  brewers'  grains 

Average  daily  yield 
Average  concentrate  allowance  Milk  Fat 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

South  Carolina  Station 

Cottonseed  meal,  5 . 1  lbs 16 .4  0 .71 

Wheat  bran,  3  .4  lbs.    Cottonseed  meal,  3  .4  lbs 15  .9  0 .68 

New  Jersey  Station 

Cottonseed  meal,  4 .5  lbs 22 .7  0 .96 

Wheat  bran,  5  lbs.         Dried  brewers'  grains,  5  lbs 23  .9  0 .95 

From  the  South  Carolina  trial  we  learn  that  when  1.7  lbs.  of  cotton- 
seed meal  was  replaced  by  3.4  lbs.  of  wheat  bran  the  yield  of  milk  and 
fat  was  slightly  decreased.  In  the  New  Jersey  trial,  where  corn  silage 
and  corn  stover  formed  the  roughage,  4.5  lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal  did 
not  prove  quite  equal  to  10  lbs.  of  a  mixture  of  wheat  bran  and  dried 
brewers'  grains.  Michels  concludes  that  1  lb.  of  cottonseed  meal  is  equal 
to  2  lbs.  of  wheat  bran  for  milk  production,  while  Moore  of  the  Missis- 
sippi Station"*^  holds  that  1  lb.  of  cottonseed  meal  is  only  equal  to  1.5  lbs. 
of  wheat  bran. 

In  a  feeding  trial  with  24  cows  lasting  120  days  at  the  Virginia  Sta- 
tion,*" Soule  and  Fain,  comparing  cottonseed  meal  and  gluten  meal, 
found  that  the  relative  amount  of  digestible  crude  protein  contained  in 
these  feeds  was  a  fair  measure  of  their  feeding  value. 

598.  Cold-pressed  cottonseed  cake;  cotton  seed. — In  a  trial  with  dairy 
cows  Lee  and  Woodward  of  the  Louisiana  Station*^  found  cold-pressed 
cottonseed  cake  less  valuable  for  milk  and  butter  production  than  an 
equal  weight  of  a  mixture  of  two  parts  of  meal  and  one  of  hulls.  They 
conclude  that  the  chemical  composition  of  cold-pressed  cottonseed  cake  is 
a  reliable  indication  of  its  feeding  value.  With  cottonseed  meal  at  $30 
per  ton  and  hulls  at  $5  they  estimate  that  cold-pressed  cottonseed  cake 
is  worth  $21.65  per  ton.  (248)  Moore  of  the  Mississippi  Station*-  found 
100  lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal  equal  to  171  lbs.  of  cotton  seed  in  feeding 
value  for  dairy  cows.  (245) 

"S.  C.  Bui.  117.  '"Miss.  Bui.  70.  "La.  Bui.  110. 

««N.  J.  Rpt.  1903.  "Va.  Bui.  156.  '^Miss.  Bui.  60. 


366  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

599.  Linseed  meal. — This  slightly  laxative,  cooling,  nitrogenous  con- 
centrate is  one  of  the  best  dairy  feeds,  but  owing  to  its  popularity  is 
often  too  high  in  price  to  furnish  protein  as  cheaply  as  some  of  the  other 
feeds  which  are  usually  available.  Even  then  1  to  2  lbs.  per  head  daily 
is  often  advisable  on  account  of  its  tonic  and  laxative  effect,  especially 
with  cows  out  of  condition  or  those  soon  to  freshen. 

To  compare  the  value  of  linseed  and  cottonseed  meal  Waters  and  Hess 
conducted  a  trial  at  the  Pennsylvania  Station*^  with  9  cows  fed  for  2 
alternate  30-day  periods.  The  cows  were  fed  9.3  lbs.  corn  stover  per  head 
daily  with  the  concentrate  allowances  shown  in  the  table : 

Linseed  vs.  cottonseed  meal  for  dairy  coivs 

Average  daily  >4eld 
Average  concentrate  allowance  Milk  Fat 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

I.     Linseed  meal,  6  .0  lbs.  Chopped  wheat,  6 .0  lbs 15  .1         0 .78 

//.     Cottonseed  meal,  5  .3  lbs.     Chopped  wheat,  6  .7  lbs 16 .2        0 .77 

The  cows  receiving  the  cottonseed  meal  produced  somewhat  more  milk 
but  no  more  fat  than  those  getting  linseed  meal.  Hills  of  the  Vermont** 
and  Michels  of  the  North  Carolina  Station*^  also  found  cottonseed  meal 
of  slightly  higher  value  than  linseed  meal  as  a  source  of  protein.  Michels 
concludes,  however,  that  no  farmer  should  hesitate  to  use  a  small 
amount  of  linseed  meal  at  any  time  for  animals  whose  health  will  be 
benefited  thereby.  Linseed  meal  tends  to  produce  a  soft  butter  and 
therefore  may  sometimes  be  advantageously  fed  in  rations  which  would 
otherwise  produce  a  tallo\^y  product.  (254) 

600.  Soybeans. — The  relative  value  of  ground  soybeans  and  cottonseed 
meal  for  milk  production  was  tested  by  Price  at  the  Tennessee  Station*® 
with  2  lots  each  of  four  2-  and  3-year  old  heifers,  fed  the  following 
rations  alternately  during  three  30-day  periods : 

Ground  soybeans  vs.  cottonseed  meal  for  dairy  coivs 

Average  daily  jdeld 
Average  ration  Milk  Fat 

Ration  I  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Ground  soybeans,  2 .3  lbs.        Corn  silage,  24 .7  lbs. 

Corn-and-cob  meal,  2 .3  lbs.     Alfalfa  hay,  10 .3  lbs 14 .4        0 .81 

Ration  II 

Cottonseed  meal,  2 .3  lbs.        Corn  silage,  23 .5  lbs. 

Corn-and-cob  meal,  2 .3  lbs.    Alfalfa  hay,  10 .0  lbs 13 .6        0 .77 

It  is  shown  that  ground  soybeans  gave  slightly  better  results  than 
cottonseed  meal. 

At  the  Massachusetts  (Hatch)  Station*^  2  lots  of  4  cows  each  were 
fed  6  weeks  by  the  reversal  method.  To  a  basal  ration  of  hay,  silage, 
and  bran,  an  allowance  of  either  ground  soybeans  or  cottonseed  meal 
was  added  in  practically  equal  amounts.     The  ground  soybeans  proved 

«Penn.  Rpt.  1895.  "'N.  C.  Rpt.  33,  1910,  p.  29.       *'Mass.  (Hatch)  Rpt.  1894. 

«*Vt  Rpt.  1907.  '"Tenn.  Bui.  80. 


FEEDS  FOR  THE  DAIRY  COW  367 

slightly  superior  to  the  cottonseed  meal  as  a  milk  and  fat  producer,  and 
the  butter  was  of  better  quality. 

Cook  of  the  New  Jersey  Station*^  found  3.4  lbs.  of  ground  soybeans 
slightly  superior  to  the  same  weight  of  cottonseed  meal  when  fed  with 
3.4  lbs.  corn-and-cob  meal  and  2.3  lbs.  dried  beet  pulp  with  silage,  soilage, 
and  hay  for  roughage. 

Otis  of  the  Kansas  Station*^  found  that  when  soybeans  formed  one- 
half  the  concentrates,  the  butter  from  such  feeding  Avas  so  soft  that  it 
was  impossible  to  work  it  satisfactorily  even  tho  chilled  with  ice  water. 
This  can  be  prevented  by  the  addition  to  the  ration  of  cottonseed  meal, 
which  tends  to  produce  hard  butter.     (256) 

601.  Soybean  cake.— Gilchrist^"  of  the  Armstrong  College,  England, 
found  soybean  cake  slightly  superior  to  cottonseed  cake  for  milk  pro- 
duction. In  an  experiment  lasting  6  weeks  Hansen  of  the  Royal  Agri- 
cultural Academy,  Germany,"^  found  soybean  cake  and  linseed  cake  of 
practically  equal  value  for  milk  production  when  added  to  a  basal  ration 
of  hay,  bran,  and  sugar-beet  chips.  Tho  a  daily  allowance  of  4  to  7  lbs. 
of  soybean  cake  was  fed,  no  ill  effects  resulted. 

Lindsey  of  the  JMassachusetts  Station^-  found  that  soybean  meal  from 
which  the  oil  had  been  extracted  did  not  modify  the  composition  of  the 
milk  nor  exert  a  marked  influence  on  the  body  of  the  butter.  Feeding 
soybean  oil  temporarily  increased  the  percentage  of  fat  in  the  milk  and 
produced  a  softer,  more  yielding  butter. 

In  view  of  the  vast  importance  of  the  soybean  in  the  Orient  and  its 
rapidly  increasing  use  in  Europe  and  America,  these  trials  are  signifi- 
cant and  suggestive.  (257) 

602.  Cocoanut  meal. — Lindsey  of  the  Massachusetts  Station^^  reports 
that  when  fed  with  a  basal  ration  of  20  lbs.  mixed  hay  and  3.5  lbs.  wheat 
bran,  3.7  lbs.  of  cocoanut  meal  produced  substantially  the  same  amount 
of  milk  as  when  an  equal  weight  of  gluten  feed  was  fed.  The  yield  of 
butter  fat  was  6  per  ct.  greater  on  the  cocoanut  meal  ration,  possibly  due 
to  the  oil  in  the  meal  causing  a  more  or  less  temporary  increase  in  the 
fat  content  of  the  milk,  a  finding  also  reported  by  European  investi- 
gators. (562)  Scott  of  the  Florida  Station^*  concludes  from  a  feeding 
trial  that  a  unit  of  protein  from  cocoanut  meal  is  nearly,  tho  not  quite, 
equal  to  a  unit  of  protein  in  cottonseed  meal  for  milk  production.  A 
limited  amount  of  cocoanut  meal  produces  a  firm  butter  of  excellent 
quality,  but  when  fed  in  excess  of  3  to  4  lbs.  per  head  daily  it  may  make 
too  hard  a  butter.  (260) 

603.  Mixed  oil  cakes  vs.  grain. — European  dairymen  make  wide  use  of 
the  various  oil  cakes,  employing  not  only  cottonseed,  linseed,  soybean, 
and  cocoanut  cake,  but  also  such  by-products  as  palm-nut,  sunflower- 

*«N.  J.  Rpt.  1913,  pp.  293-316.  "Mass.  Rpt.  1908. 

*»  Kan.  Bui.  125.  =^  Mass.  Bui.  155. 

=°Mark  Lane  Express,  100,  1909,  p.  667.  "Fla.  Bui.  99. 
"Deutsche  Land.  Presse,  36,  1909. 


368  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

seed,  hemp-seed,  and  rape-seed  cakes,  which  are  practically  unknown  to 
American  feeders.  In  trials  with  240  cows  on  Danish  farms  the  Copen- 
hagen Station  found  that  when  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  by  weight  of 
palm-nut,  rape-seed,  and  sunflower-seed  cake  was  substituted  for  the 
same  amount  of  mixed  barley  and  oats  there  was  a  marked  gain  in  yield 
of  milk,  provided  the  oil-cake  mixture  did  not  form  more  than  half  the 
concentrate  allowance.  For  every  100  lbs.  of  oil-cake  which  was  substi- 
tuted in  the  ration,  there  was  a  gain  of  66  lbs.  of  milk.  These  trials 
well  illustrate  the  high  value  of  oil  cakes  and  meals  for  milk  production. 

604.  Velvet  bean. — Scott  of  the  Florida  Station"  found  that  cows 
produced  as  much  milk  when  fed  a  ration  of  4.3  lbs.  velvet  beans  in 
the  pod,  10  lbs.  wheat  bran,  and  24.5  lbs.  Japanese  cane  silage  as  when 
given  a  ration  of  3  lbs.  cottonseed  meal,  10  lbs.  bran,  and  34  lbs.  cane 
silage.  Hence  4.3  lbs.  of  velvet  beans  in  the  pod  were  fully  equal  to  3 
lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal.  Scott  reports  that  the  Florida  farmer  can  pro- 
duce about  5  tons  of  velvet  beans  in  the  pod  for  the  cost  of  1  ton  of 
cottonseed  meal.  (361) 

605.  Dried  distillers'  grains. — Dried  distillers'  grains,  which  are  about 
as  bulky  as  wheat  bran,  are  extensively  employed  for  feeding  dairy 
cattle.  Lindsey  of  the  Massachusetts  Station^**  compared  this  concen- 
trate with  gluten  feed  in  trials  with  6  cows,  covering  2  alternate  periods 
of  4  weeks  each.  The  following  table  shows  the  concentrate  allowance 
fed  during  each  period,  the  roughage  thruout  the  trial  consisting  of  10.7 
lbs.  bluegrass  hay  and  10.7  lbs.  rowen  hay  per  head  daily : 

Dried  distillers'  grains  vs.  gluten  feed 

Average  daily  yield 
Average  concentrate  allowance  Milk  Fat 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

7.     Dried  distillers'  grains,  3  .7  lbs.    Wheat  bran,  3  .0  lbs.         25 .8         1 .23 
//.     Gluten  feed,  3 .7  lbs.  Wheat  bran,  3 .0  lbs.        24 .3         1 .  18 

The  ration  containing  dried  distillers'  grains  produced  6  per  ct.  more 
milk  than  that  containing  the  gluten  feed.  Hills"  of  the  Vermont  Sta- 
tion similarly  found  that  dried  distillers'  grains  produced  5  per  ct.  more 
product  than  dried  brewers'  grains.  A  mixture  of  1  part  wheat  bran 
and  2  parts  dried  distillers'  grains  produced  4  per  ct.  more  milk  and 
fat  than  did  dried  distillers'  grains  alone.  Dried  distillers'  grains  pro- 
duced one-eighth  more  milk  and  one-sixth  more  fat  than  a  mixture  of 
equal  parts  of  corn  meal  and  bran.  Dried  distillers'  grains  and  cotton- 
seed meal  proved  equally  efficient.  Dried  distillers'  rye  grains  made 
less  milk  and  butter  than  did  the  alcohol  grains.  Armsby  and  Risser  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Station^^  found  that  the  substitution  of  dried  distillers' 
grains  for  an  equal  weight  of  a  mixture  of  3  lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal 
and  2.5  lbs.  of  corn  meal  caused  a  slight  increase  in  the  milk  yield.  The 
butter  from  the  distillers '-grains  ration  was  not  quite  as  high  in  quality 

»Fla.  Bui.  114.  ^^Mass.  Bui.  94.  "^Vt.  Rpt.  1907.  «^Penn.  Bui.  73. 


FEEDS  FOR  THE  DAIRY  COW  369 

as  that  from  the  cottonseed  meal  ration.  On  the  other  hand,  Billings 
of  the  New  Jersey  Station^*  reports  that  the  butter  from  cows  fed  dried 
distillers'  grains  was  firm,  of  good  flavor  and  texture,  and  very  market- 
able. (282) 

Hooper  of  the  Kentucky  Station^"  states  that  some  cows  must  become 
accustomed  to  the  slightly  sour  smell  and  taste  of  dried  distillers '  grains 
before  they  will  eat  large  allowances.  While  some  cows  would  readily 
consume  4  lbs.  per  head  daily  when  mixed  vnth  corn  meal,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  mix  the  grains  with  silage  to  get  others  to  consume  them  at  all. 

606.  Cereal  by-prodncts  vs.  pure  grains. — To  determine  whether  the 
digestible  matter  in  such  by-products  as  dried  brewers'  grains,  malt 
sprouts,  and  gluten  feed  are  as  valuable  as  the  digestible  matter  of  the 
pure  grains,  Jordan  and  Jenter  of  the  New  York  (Geneva)  Station^^ 
fed  the  following  rations  to  2  lots  each  of  5  cows  for  9  weeks : 

Comparison  of  grains  and  cereal  by-products  for  milk  production 

Digestible  Daily        Dig.  nutrients 

nutrients         yield  of      eaten  for  1  lb. 
Average  ration  eaten  daily    milk  solids      milk  solids 

Ration  I  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Ground  oats,  5  lbs.  Timothy  hay,  5  lbs. 

Ground  peas,  6  lbs.  Corn  silage,  40  lbs. .     15 .3  2.7  5.6 

Ration  II 

Malt  sprouts,  2  lbs. 

Dried  brewers'  grains,  3  lbs.    Timothy  hay,  15  lbs. 

Gluten  feed,  3  lbs.  Corn  silage,  25  lbs.       14.1  2.7  5.2 

The  table  shows  that  the  ration  containing  malt  sprouts,  brewers' 
grains,  and  gluten  feed  was  rather  more  efficient  for  milk  production 
than  one  of  oats  and  peas,  containing  slightly  more  digestible  matter, 

607.  Skim  milk. — Beach  and  Clark  of  the  Connecticut  (Storrs)  Sta- 
tion^- found  that  when  sweet  separator  skim  milk  was  offered  to  the 
herd  of  24  cows,  only  4  would  drink  it,  even  tho  water  was  withheld  for 
48  hours  and  grain  was  mixed  with  the  milk.  Skim  milk  was  substituted 
for  half  the  grain  in  the  ration  at  the  rate  of  8  lbs.  of  milk  for  1  of 
concentrates,  and  about  1  ton  of  milk  was  fed  to  each  of  the  4  cows. 
Feeding  the  skim  milk  caused  a  small  increase  in  milk  flow  and  a  saving 
of  grain,  which,  taken  together,  gave  to  the  milk  so  fed  a  value  of  19 
cents  per  c^i;.,  wliich  is  less  than  pigs  would  have  returned.  (266) 

608.  Blood  meal;  flesh  meal;  fish  scrap. — Blood  meal  proved  equal  to 
twice  the  weight  of  cottonseed  meal  in  a  trial  by  Lindsey  at  the  Massa- 
chusetts Station*'^  in  which  cows  were  fed  either  1.1  lbs.  of  blood  meal 
or  2.2  lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal  with  a  basal  ration  of  4  lbs.  hominy  meal, 
3  lbs.  wheat  bran,  and  20  lbs.  of  mixed  clover  and  bluegrass  hay.  The 
blood  meal  produced  no  objectionable  flavor  in  the  milk  and  when  mixed 

"•N.  J.  Rpt.  1907.  "^Conn.  (Storrs)  Rpt.  1904. 

.~.Ky.  Bui.  171.  "Mass.  Rpt.  1909,  II,  pp.  153-157. 

"  N.  Y.  (Geneva)  Bui.  141. 


370  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

with  the  other  concentrates  was  readily  consumed.  Lindsey  believes  that 
the  allowance  should  be  restricted  to  1  or  2  lbs.  per  head  daily.  (271) 

Dairy  cows  may  be  accustomed  to  eating  flesh  meal,  which  is  some- 
what similar  to  the  tankage  or  meat  meal  of  this  country,  by  mixing  a 
small  amount  with  well-liked  concentrates.  European  investigators  do 
not  recommend  feeding  over  2.2  to  2.8  lbs.  daily  per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight. 
In  a  trial  by  Schrodt  and  Peters,  bran  and  rape  cake  were  gradually 
replaced  by  equal  quantities  of  flesh  meal  until  the  allowance  of  the 
latter  reached  2.2  lbs.  per  head  daily.^'*  The  cows  learned  to  relish  the 
meal  and  the  yield  of  milk  and  fat  was  increased.  (270) 

Fish  meal  from  which  the  fat  had  been  extracted  proved  equal  to 
cottonseed  meal  in  trials  by  Isaachsen*'^  with  20  cows.  Kiihn*'*^  states 
that  a  daily  allowance  of  2.3  lbs.  of  fish  scrap  produced  no  deleterious 
effect  on  the  milk.  (272) 


III.  Hay  from  the  Legumes 

609.  Legume  hay  for  the  dairy  cow. — Almost  everywhere  in  America 
the  Indian-corn  plant  provides  the  cheapest,  most  abundant,  and  most 
palatable  carbohydrates  the  farmer  can  produce,  but  it  falls  short  in 
furnishing  protein,  so  vital  in  milk  production.  Happily,  at  least  one 
of  the  legumes — alfalfa,  clover,  cowpeas,  or  vetch — can  be  grown  on 
every  American  farm  to  supply  the  deficiency.  The  dairyman  who  groAvs 
great  crops  of  corn  for  silage  must  also  have  broad  fields  of  clover, 
alfalfa,  or  some  other  legume  to  help  round  out  the  ration.  High  in 
crude  protein  and  mineral  matter,  especially  lime,  the  legume  hays  are 
of  great  importance  in  reducing  the  amount  of  expensive  protein-rich 
concentrates  needed  to  provide  a  properly  balanced  ration  for  the  dairy 
cow.  The  following  articles  show  that  when  an  abundance  of  legume 
hay  of  good  quality  and  silage  from  well-matured  corn  is  supplied,  but 
half  as  much  concentrates  need  be  fed  as  when  only  carbonaceous  rough- 
ages are  used.  Indeed,  for  cows  of  moderate  productive  capacity  a 
ration  of  legume  hay  and  corn  or  sorghum  silage  alone  is  often  the  most 
economical  ration  that  can  be  furnished.  Tho  the  milk  yield  may  be 
reduced  somewhat  on  such  a  ration,  an  animal  of  this  kind  may  not  pay 
for  the  addition  of  any  concentrates.  "When  legume  hay  is  fed  to  dairy 
cows  it  is  desirable  that  some  succulent  roughage  such  as  corn  silage  or 
roots  form  a  part  of  the  ration  to  furnish  variety  and  palatability  as  well 
as  nourishment. 

610.  Alfalfa  hay. — Good  alfalfa  hay  is  generally  placed  at  the  head  of 
the  list  of  roughages  suitable  for  the  dairy  cow,  on  account  of  its  high 
content  of  protein  and  its  palatability.  The  value  of  this  hay  in  balancing 

«*Fuhl.  Landw.  Ztg.,  1892,  p.  836. 

•"Ber.  Norges,  Landbr.  Hoiskoles  Virks,  1910-11,  pp.  13-33;  Expt.  Sta.  Rec.  28, 
p.  363. 

«« Jahresber.  Agr.  Chem.,  1894,  p.  482. 


FEEDS  FOR  THE  DAIRY  COW  371 

rations  otherwise  low  in  protein  is  shown  in  a  trial  by  Caldwell  at  the 
Ohio  Station"^  in  which  2  lots  each  of  6  cows  were  fed  the  rations  shown 
below  for  56  days : 

Alfalfa  hay  as  source  of  protein  for  dairy  cows 

Average  daily  yield 
Average  ration  Milk  Fat  Nutritive 

Lot  I  Lbs.  Lbs.  ratio 

Alfalfa  hay,  11.6  lbs. 

Corn  silage,  27 .8  lbs.     Corn  meal,  5 .9  lbs 22 .0         0 .87         1:70 

Lot  II 

Corn  stover,  5 .6  lbs.     Cottonseed  meal,  3  .1  lbs. 
Corn  silage,  29 .3  lbs.     Wheat  bran,  3  . 1  lbs. 

Corn  meal,  3  . 1  lbs 20.5         0.90         1:5.7 

The  ration  fed  Lot  I — alfalfa  hay,  corn  silage,  and  corn  meal — would 
undoubtedly  have  been  improved  had  a  greater  variety  of  concentrates 
been  fed,  yet  with  alfalfa  hay  as  the  sole  supplement,  a  well-balanced  ra- 
tion was  provided  which  produced  substantially  as  good  results  as  that 
fed  Lot  II,  in  which  wheat  bran  and  cottonseed  meal  furnished  most  of 
the  protein.  While  Lot  II  was  fed  9.3  lbs.  of  rich  concentrates.  Lot  I  re- 
ceived only  5.9  lbs.  of  corn  meal. 

On  account  of  a  wide-spread  opinion  among  dairymen  in  Utah  that 
first  crop  alfalfa  hay  was  the  highest  in  feeding  value,  Carroll  of  the 
Utah  Station''^  compared  first,  second,  and  third  crop  hay  in  trials  dur- 
ing 2  years.  Each  crop  was  cut  at  the  period  of  early  bloom  from  the 
same  field  and  was  cured  in  excellent  condition.  In  order  that  the  test 
might  be  as  much  as  possible  upon  the  3  crops  of  hay,  only  0.65  lb.  of 
concentrates  was  fed  to  each  cow  daily  for  every  pound  of  butterfat  she 
produced  per  week.  The  concentrate  mixture  the  first  year  consisted  of 
equal  parts  of  wheat  bran  and  crushed  oats,  and  the  second  year  of  equal 
parts  of  wheat  bran  and  chopped  barley.  The  cows  were  given  all  the 
hay  they  would  clean  up  without  waste. 

In  the  trials  the  advantage  of  any  one  crop  over  the  others  was  found 
to  be  almost  negligible.  Considering  the  hay  actually  consumed,  the 
second  crop  hay  had  slightly  the  highest  value,  but  it  proved  slightly 
less  palatable  and  a  little  more  was  wasted  than  of  the  other  cuttings. 
In  general,  leafy,  fine-stemmed,  early-cut  hay  is  preferred  by  dairy  cows. 
(338) 

611.  Substituting  alfalfa  hay  for  part  of  the  concentrates. — Billings  at 
the  New  Jersey  Station^**  and  Fraser  and  Hayden  at  the  Illinois  Station'^*' 
conducted  trials  with  dairy  cows  in  which  alfalfa  hay  was  substituted 
for  part  of  the  concentrates  in  the  ration,  with  the  results  shown  in  the 
table : 

"Ohio  Bui.  267.  "^Utah  Bui.  126.  '"N.  J.  Bui.  190.  "111.  Bnl  146 


372 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Feeding  alfalfa  hay  in  place  of  part  of  the  concentrate  allowance 

Average  ration 

Average  daily  yield 

Nutritive 

Milk 

Fat 

ratio 

New  Jersey,  2  lots  of  4  cows  fed  two  30-day  periods 
Ration  I 

Corn  stover,  7.0  lbs. 
Corn  silage,  40.0  lbs. 
Wheat  bran,  4.5  lbs. 
Dried  brewers'  grains,  4 .5  lbs. 
Cottonseed  meal  2  0  lbs 

Lbs. 

27.3 
26.3 

23.8 

24.4 

Lbs. 

1.13 
1.05 

1.00 
0.98 

1:54 

Ration  II 

Alfalfa  hay  14.0  lbs. 
Corn  silage,  35  .0  lbs. 

Cottonseed  meal  2  5  lbs                               .  .  . 

1:45 

Illinois,  2  lots  of  3  cows  fed  two  66-day  periods 
Ration  I 

Corn  silage,  30  lbs. 
Clover  hay,  6  lbs. 
Com  meal,  6  lbs. 
Wheat  bran,  8  lbs 

1  :  6.9 

Ration  II 

AKalf a  hay,  8  lbs. 
Corn  silage,  30  lbs. 
Clover  hay,  6  lbs. 

Corn  meal,  6  lbs 

1  :  7.0 

In  the  New  Jersey  trial  14  lbs.  of  alfalfa  hay  in  Ration  II  replaced 
8.5  lbs.  of  the  protein-rich  concentrates,  5  lbs.  of  the  corn  silage,  and  all 
the  corn  stover  in  Ration  I.  Yet  on  this  cheaper  ration  there  was  a 
shrinkage  of  only  1  lb.  of  milk  and  0.08  lb.  of  fat  per  head  daily. 

In  the  Illinois  test,  tho  8  lbs.  of  alfalfa  hay  in  Ration  II  replaced  an 
equal  weight  of  wheat  bran  fed  in  Ration  I,  Ration  II  produced  slightly 
more  milk  and  practically  as  much  fat. 

612.  Substituting  alfalfa  hay  for  all  the  concentrates. — Billings^^  con- 
ducted a  more  drastic  trial  of  the  value  of  alfalfa  hay  for  milk  pro- 
duction by  replacing  all  of  the  concentrate  allowance  with  this  hay  in 
the  following  test  with  2  lots  each  of  4  cows  fed  for  two  60-day  periods  : 


Replacing  all  the  concentrate  allowance  with  alfalfa  hay 


Average  ration 

Ration  I 

Corn  stover,  6  .8  lbs.    Distillers'  grams,  4 .6  lbs. 
Corn  silage,  40 . 0  lbs.    Wheat  bran,  4 . 2  lbs . 

Cottonseed  meal,  0 .5  lb. 
Ration  II 

AlfaKahay,  17.5  lbs. 

Corn  silage,  35 .0  lbs.     No  concentrates 


Average  daily  yield 
Milk  Fat 

Lbs.  Lbs. 


24.6 


20.4 


1.07 


Feed  cost  per 
100  lbs.  milk* 


83.7 


94.4 


*Cost  of  feeds  per  ton:  alfalfa  hay,  S16;  corn  silage,  $3;  corn  stover,  $4;  distillers*  grains,  $30;  wheat 
bran,  $24;  and  cottonseed  meal.  $34. 


"N.  J.  Bul.  204. 


FEEDS  FOR  THE  DAIRY  COW  373 

In  this  trial  when  the  cows  were  fed  Ration  II,  containing  a  heavy 
allowance  of  alfalfa  hay  but  no  concentrates,  the  yield  of  milk  was  17 
per  ct.  and  of  fat  18  per  ct.  less  than  when  Ration  I,  containing  over  9 
lbs.  of  purchased  protein-rich  concentrates,  was  fed.  With  feeds  at  the 
prices  indicated,  milk  was  produced  more  cheaply  on  Ration  I.  The 
relative  economy  of  such  rations  obviously  depends  on  the  price  of 
alfalfa  hay  compared  with  concentrates. 

At  the  Illinois  Station"  Fraser  maintained  a  herd  of  good  productive 
cows  for  6  years  exclusively  on  the  alfalfa  hay  and  corn  silage  grown  on 
20  acres.  The  average  yield  of  milk  was  3,980  lbs.  and  of  fat  139.5  lbs. 
per  acre.  This  ration  did  not  maintain  the  cows  in  as  good  health  as  when 
concentrates  were  fed  in  addition,  and  undoubtedly  a  larger  and  also 
more  economical  yield  would  have  been  secured  had  at  least  a  moderate 
concentrate  allowance  been  supplied. 

In  a  12-week  trial  with  8  cows  at  the  New  Mexico  Station'^^  Vernon 
found  that  246  lbs.  of  alfalfa  hay  fed  alone,  or  202  lbs.  of  alfalfa  hay  and 
49  lbs.  of  wheat  bran,  produced  100  lbs.  of  milk.  The  cows  yielded  more 
milk  on  the  bran-alfalfa  ration,  but  the  increase  was  dearly  purchased. 

The  preceding  trials  show  that  alfalfa  hay  can  be  substituted  for  a 
large  part  of  the  concentrates  in  the  ration  of  the  dairy  cow  without 
materially  reducing  the  yield  of  milk  or  fat.  However,  when  all  the 
concentrates  are  so  replaced  the  yield  of  cows  of  good  productive  capacity 
is  markedly  decreased.  This  is  what  we  should  expect,  for  alfalfa  hay, 
tho  standing  at  the  head  of  all  roughages,  is  nevertheless  a  roughage 
and  not  a  concentrate.  It  contains  over  3  times  as  much  fiber  as  wheat 
bran,  which  is  bulky  for  a  concentrate,  and  furnishes  but  70  per  ct.  as 
much  net  energy.  Bearing  in  mind  the  productive  capacity  of  his  cows 
and  the  price  of  legume  hay  compared  with  concentrates,  each  dairyman 
must  decide  for  himself  to  what  extent  it  is  economical  to  substitute 
legume  hay  for  concentrates. 

In  some  sections  of  the  West,  owing  to  the  cheapness  of  alfalfa  hay, 
dairy  cows  are  given  this  feed  alone,  possibly  with  green  alfalfa  soilage 
or  pasturage  in  addition  during  the  summer.  Complaints  are  made  that 
this  unbalanced  ration,  which  is  too  high  in  protein  and  too  low  in  net 
nutrients,  does  not  always  maintain  the  animals  in  as  good  health  as 
where  concentrates  or  even  roughages  lower  in  protein  are  added. 

WoU  of  the  California  Station^''  found  in  trials  in  which  rolled  barley 
was  added  to  an  exclusive  alfalfa  ration  that  the  immediate  increase  in 
production  resulting  from  grain  feeding  was  not  sufficient  with  feeds 
at  prevailing  prices  to  pay  for  the  added  expense.  However,  considering 
the  influence  on  the  production  during  the  balance  of  the  lactation 
period  and  the  effect  on  the  condition  of  the  cows,  he  believes  that  the 
feeding  of  some  grain  is  advisable,  especially  in  the  case  of  large  pro- 
ducing animals  or  heifers  in  milk. 

"Information  to  the  authors.  '^Information  to  the  authors. 

"N.  Mex.  Rpt.  1904. 


374  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

613.  Alfalfa  meal. — Hills  of  the  Vermont  Station/''  on  substituting 
alfalfa  meal  (ground  alfalfa  hay)  for  the  same  weight  of  wheat  bran, 
found  a  loss  of  from  3  to  6  per  ct.  in  milk  flow  caused  thereby,  and 
Mairs  of  the  Pennsylvania  Station''^*^  reports  a  loss  of  about  5  per  ct.  by 
such  substitution.  Similar  results  were  secured  by  Lindsey  in  a  trial 
at  the  Massachusetts  Station.'^^  In  view  of  the  palatability  of  alfalfa 
hay  to  the  dairy  cow  and  its  thoro  mastication  during  rumination,  the 
use  of  alfalfa  meal  is  ordinarily  not  economical  when  good  alfalfa  hay 
is  available.  (344) 

614.  Clover  hay. — Hay  from  the  clovers,  cut  while  yet  in  bloom,  is 
one  of  the  best  roughages  for  dairy  cows.  Somewhat  lower  than  alfalfa 
hay  in  protein,  red  clover  hay  furnishes  a  slightly  larger  amount  of  net 
energy  than  alfalfa.  (171)  By  the  use  of  clover  hay — red,  alsike,  or 
crimson — the  dairyman  may  reduce  the  amount  of  concentrates  needed 
to  supply  a  well-balanced  ration  in  the  same  manner  as  has  been  shown 
in  the  case  of  alfalfa  hay.  (347,  350,  353) 

At  the  New  Jersey  Station^^  Lane  fed  2  lots,  each  of  2  cows,  for  two 
12-day  periods  alternately  on  the  rations  shown  below: 

Crimson  clover  hay  fed  against  purchased  protein 

Average  daily  yield 
Average  ration  Milk  Fat 

Ration  I  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Crimson  clover  hay,  16 .4  lbs. 

Corn  silage,  30 .0  lbs.       No  concentrates 20 .1  0 .85 

Ration  II 

Mixed  hay,  5  .0  lbs.  Wheat  bran,  6  lbs. 

Corn  silage,  30.0  lbs.        Dried  brewers' grains,  5  lbs. ..  .         23.8  1.00 

The  table  shows  that  the  yield  of  milk  was  3.7  lbs.  and  of  fat  0.15 
lb.  less  on  the  crimson  clover  ration  than  on  that  containing  purchased 
concentrates.  Using  the  home-grown  ration,  however,  effected  a  saving  of 
18.3  cents  in  the  feed  cost  of  producing  100  lbs.  of  milk. 

615.  Crimson  clover  hay  and  cowpea  silage. — Lane^**  also  compared  a 
ration  of  crimson  clover  hay,  cowpea  silage,  and  corn-and-cob  meal  with 
one  in  which  the  protein  was  largely  purchased.  The  following  rations 
were  fed  alternately  for  2  periods  of  12  days  each  to  2  lots  of  2  cows 
each: 

Crimson  clover  hay  and  cowpea  silage  compared  with  purchased  protein 

Average  daily  yield 
Average  ration  Milk  Fat 

Ration  I  ^^^-  L^^- 

Crimson  clover  hay,  10  lbs. 

Cowpea  silage,  36  lbs.  Corn-and-cob  meal,  6  . 0  lbs. .         24.8  0.94 

Ration  II 

Mixed  hay,  5  lbs.  Dried  brewers'  grains,  5 .0  lbs. 

Corn  silage,  36  lbs.  Cottonseed  meal,  2 .5  lbs 24 .6  0 .99 

"Vt.  Rpt.  1906.  "Mass.  Rpt.  1909,  pp.  158-166.  ''"N.  J.  Bui.  161. 

^«Penn.  Bui.  80.  "  N.  J.  Bui.  161. 


FEEDS  FOR  THE  DAIRY  COW  375 

The  amount  of  milk  and  fat  produced  was  practically  the  same  for 
both  rations,  showing  the  high  value  of  crimson  clover  hay  and  cowpea 
silage  as  sources  of  protein  for  dairy  cows.  (353) 

616.  Cowpea  hay. — In  the  South  the  cowpea  vine,  thriving  on  all 
types  of  soil,  is  of  great  importance  to  the  dairy  industry,  as  it  furnishes 
palatable  hay  rich  in  protein.  To  determine  the  effect  of  substituting 
cowpea  hay  for  protein-rich  concentrates  Lane^°  fed  2  lots  each  of  2 
cows  the  rations  shown  below  for  15-day  periods : 

Cowpea  hay  compared  with  purchased  protein 

Average  daily  yield 
Average  ration  Milk  Fat 

Ration  I  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Cowpea  hay,  17  lbs. 

Corn  silage,  36  lbs.  No  concentrates 23.7  0.92 

Ration  II 

Corn  stover,  5  lbs.  Wheat  bran,  4  lbs. 

Corn  silage,  36  lbs.  Dried  brewers'  grains,  3  lbs. 

Cottonseed  meal,  2  lbs 25 .7  1 .05 

Tho  2  lbs.  more  milk  and  0.13  lb.  more  fat  were  produced  by  each 
cow  daily  on  the  ration  containing  purchased  concentrates,  this  increase 
was  not  sufficient  to  offset  the  greater  cost  of  the  purchased  feed. 

At  the  Alabama  Station^^  Duggar  fed  2  lots  each  of  3  cows  for  two 
30-day  periods  a  basal  ration  of  9.6  lbs.  cottonseed  hulls  and  9.6  lbs. 
of  a  mixture  of  2  parts  cotton  seed  and  1  part  each  of  wheat  bran  and 
cottonseed  meal,  with  either  wheat  bran  or  cowpea  hay  in  addition,  as 
shown  below: 

Cowpea  hay  compared  with  wheat  hran 

Average  daily  jdeld 
Average  ration  Milk  Fat 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

Ration    I.     Cowpea  hay,  7.8  lbs.     Basal  ration 17  .3  1 .  13 

Ration  II.     TVTieat  bran,  6  . 1  lbs.     Basal  ration 16 .0  1 .02 

In  this  trial  the  cows  getting  the  cowpea  hay  averaged  1.3  lbs.  more 
milk  daily  than  those  fed  wheat  bran,  showing  that  where  there  is  a 
fair  supply  of  rich  concentrates  it  is  more  economical  to  complete  the 
ration  with  some  protein-rich  roughage,  like  cowpea  hay  or  silage,  than 
by  adding  expensive  concentrates. 

Wing  found  at  the  Georgia  Station®^  that  cowpea  hay  produced  30  per 
ct.  more  milk  than  cottonseed  hulls,  a  reasonable  result  when  the  compo- 
sition of  these  feeds  is  considered.  (357) 

617.  Soybean  hay. — At  the  Tennessee  Station*^  Price  compared  soybean 
straw  and  ground  soybeans,  combined  in  the  same  proportion  as  they 
occur  in  soybean  hay,  mth  alfalfa  hay  in  a  trial  with  2  lots  of  4  cows 
each.  The  returns  from  rations  fed  alternately  during  three  30-day 
periods  are  shown  in  the  following  table : 

^''N.  J.  Bui.  174.  "Ala.  Bui.  123.  *==  Ga.  Bui.  49.  ^^Tenn.  Bui.  80. 


376  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Soybean  hay  vs.  alfalfa  hay 

Average  daily  >-ield 
Average  ration  Milk  Fat 

Ration  I  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Soybean  straw,  7.1  lbs.     Ground  soybeans,  3.7  lbs. 

Silage,  25 .0  lbs.  Corn-and-cob  meal,  3  .7  lbs 17 .2  0 .98 

Ration  II 

Alfalfa  hay,  12.3  lbs. 

Silage,  24.6  lbs.  Corn-and-cob  meal,  3.7  lbs. .. .         15.1  0.80 

The  table  shows  that  the  soybean  ration  proved  more  effective  than 
the  alfalfa-hay  ration. 

In  trials  during  2  years  by  Caldwell  at  the  Ohio  Station^*  a  ration 
of  8.7  lbs.  soybean  hay,  31.9  lbs.  silage,  5.7  lbs.  corn  meal,  and  1.0  lb. 
of  cottonseed  meal  proved  as  good  as  one  containing  8.4  lbs.  of  concen- 
trates (equal  parts  by  weight  of  wheat  bran,  cottonseed  meal,  and  corn 
meal),  7.0  lbs.  corn  stover,  and  32.8  lbs.  corn  silage.  The  feed  cost  of 
butter  fat  was  9.5  per  ct.  lower  on  the  soybean-hay  ration.  (358) 

618.  Soybean  silage  and  alfalfa  hay. — At  the  New  Jersey  Station^^ 
Lane  fed  2  lots  of  2  cows  each  for  2  periods  of  15  days  alternately  upon 
the  rations  shown  below : 

Soybean  silage  and  alfalfa  hay  compared  with  purchased  protein 

Average  daily  yield 
Average  ration  Milk  Fat 

Ration  I  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Soybean  silage,  36  lbs. 

Alfalfa  hay,  8  lbs.     Corn  meal,  6  lbs 27 .2        0 .98 

Ration  II 

Corn  silage,  36  lbs.     Wheat  bran,  4  lbs. 

Corn  stover,  6  lbs.      Dried  brewers'  grains,  4  lbs. 

Cottonseed  meal,  2  lbs 25 .7        0 .98 

The  table  shows  that  the  yield  of  fat  was  the  same  on  these  rations, 
while  the  home-grown  ration  with  corn  meal  produced  slightly  more 
milk.  There  was  a  saving  of  1.1  cents  per  pound  of  butter  when  the 
ration  of  soybean  silage  and  alfalfa  hay  was  fed. 

619.  Hairy  vetch  hay. — Duggar  of  the  Alabama  Station^®  substituted 
6.6  lbs.  of  hairy  vetch  hay  for  7  lbs.  of  wheat  bran  for  short  periods, 
and  found  substantially  no  decrease  in  milk  flow.  (359) 


IV.  Carbonaceous  Roughages 

620.  Corn  fodder. — Tho  inferior  to  corn  silage,  good  corn  fodder, 
especially  that  from  thickly  planted  corn,  is  relished  by  cows  and  is  a 
satisfactory  substitute  for  hay  from  the  grasses.  Rather  than  being  fed 
as  the  sole  roughage,  it  should  preferably  be  used  with  legume  hay. 
To  compare  the  value  of  corn  fodder  and  timothy  hay  as  the  sole  rough- 
ages Hunt  and  Caldwell  fed  2  lots  each  of  4  cows  for  45  days  at  the 
Pennsylvania  Station."  Each  cow  was  given  3  lbs.  of  ground  oats  and 
3  lbs.  wheat  bran  daily,  with  either  corn  fodder  or  timothy  hay  as 
shown  in  the  table  : 

"Ohio  Bui.  267.         "» N.  J.  Bui.  174.         «•  Ala.  Bui.  123.         "Penn.  Rpt.  1892. 


FEEDS  FOR  THE  DAIRY  COW  377 

Corn  fodder  vs.  timothy  hay  for  dairy  cows 

Average  daily  yield  Gain  or  loss 

Average  roughage  allowance                                      Milk             Fat  in  weight 

Lbs.             Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot    7,  Corn  fodder,  22.8  lbs 16.2        0.66  —23 

Lot  II,  Timothy  hay,  22 .3  lbs 17  .1         0 .64  +84 

Lot  I,  fed  corn  fodder,  produced  less  milk  but  slightly  more  fat  than 
Lot  II,  fed  timothy  hay,  and  lost  in  weight  while  Lot  II  gained.  Taking 
all  the  facts  into  consideration,  the  fodder  com  proved  almost  as  valua- 
ble as  the  same  weight  of  timothy  hay.  Two  tons  of  timothy  hay  per 
acre  is  a  high  return,  while  the  yield  of  the  fodder  corn  used  in  this 
trial  was  nearly  4.5  tons  per  acre,  or  over  twice  that  of  the  timothy 
hay.  The  high  value  of  fodder  corn  for  the  dairy  cow  is  thus  apparent. 
(294) 

621.  Com  fodder  with  alfalfa  hay. — The  value  of  corn  fodder  when 
fed  with  legume  hay  is  shown  in  the  following  summary  of  4  trials  by 
Linfield  at  the  Utah  Station^^  in  which  cows  were  fed  3  lbs.  of  wheat 
bran  and  3  lbs.  of  either  wheat,  barley,  or  corn  meal,  with  alfalfa  hay 
or  both  corn  fodder  and  alfalfa  hay  for  roughage : 

Alfalfa  hay  and  corn  fodder  vs.  alfalfa  hay 

Average  daily  yield 
Average  roughage  allowance  Milk  Fat 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

7.     Corn  fodder,  8 .7  lbs.     Alfalfa  hay,  11 .5  lbs 16 .9        0 .75 

77.    Alfalfa  hay,  21 .5  lbs 17 .1        0 .74 

It  is  seen  that  when  fodder  corn  replaced  nearly  half  of  the  alfalfa 
hay,  about  as  good  returns  were  secured  as  when  alfalfa  hay  alone 
constituted  the  roughage.  Where  corn  and  alfalfa  flourish,  both  should 
be  used  rather  than  alfalfa  alone.   (609) 

622.  Corn  stover  vs.  mixed  and  clover  hay. — At  the  Wisconsin  Station®^ 
the  senior  author  conducted  2  trials  to  compare  corn  stover  with  mixed 
hay  and  with  clover  hay.  A  crop  of  dent  corn  yielding  4,490  lbs.  of 
cured  stalks  and  4,941  lbs.  of  ear  com  per  acre  was  cut  and  shocked 
in  the  usual  manner.  After  curing,  the  corn  was  husked  and  the  stover 
reserved  for  feeding.  In  both  trials  2  lots  of  2  cows  each  were  fed  by 
the  reversal  method  for  2  periods  each  of  3  weeks.  All  were  fed  5  lbs. 
of  corn  and  7  lbs.  of  bran  per  head  daily,  with  either  hay  or  uncut  corn 
stover  as  indicated  in  the  table : 

Cor7i  stover  vs.  mixed  and  clover  hay 

Average  daily  yield 

Average  roughage  allowance                                                      Milk  Butter 

Lbs.  Lbs. 
First  trial 

I.     Com  stover,  42.4  lbs 20.0  1.02 

77.     Mixed  clover  and  timothy  hay,  13  .5  lbs 19 .0  1 .00 

Second  trial 

I.     Corn  stover,  33.3  lbs 19.3  0.93 

IL    Clover  hay,  11.5  lbs 18.9  0.97 

*^Utah  Bui.  68.  '*Wis.  Rpt.  1884. 


378  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

In  the  first  trial  42.4  lbs.  of  uncut  corn  stover  was  slightly  superior 
to  13.5  lbs.  of  mixed  hay,  and  in  the  second  11.5  lbs.  clover  hay  produced 
somewhat  more  butter  than  33.3  lbs.  uncut  corn  stover.  Reduced  to 
tons,  we  may  conclude  that  1  ton  of  mixed  clover  and  timothy  hay  is 
worth  3  tons  of  uncut  corn  stover,  and  that  1  ton  of  clover  hay  is  some- 
what superior  to  3  tons  of  uncut  stover.  Thirty-four  per  ct.  of 
the  coarse,  uncut  stover  was  left  uneaten  in  these  trials.  Had  the 
material  been  cut,  the  cows  would  have  wasted  somewhat  less  and  the 
stover  would  have  then  had  a  higher  value  per  ton.  This  trial  shows 
the  heavy  losses  incident  to  feeding  dry  corn  forage,  which  if  ensiled 
would  be  wholly  consumed.   (300-2) 

623.  Timothy  hay. — "While  timothy  hay  is  a  standard  and  most  satis- 
factory roughage  for  the  horse,  it  is  unsatisfactory  for  the  dairy  cow. 
It  lacks  protein,  is  not  very  palatable  to  cows,  and  has  a  constipating 
effect  quite  opposite  to  the  beneficial  action  of  legume  hay.  The  value 
of  mixed  clover  and  timothy  hay  for  cows  will  depend  on  the  proportion 
of  clover  present. 

To  demonstrate  the  poor  results  secured  when  timothy  hay  is  fed  with 
other  feeds  likewise  low  in  protein,  Fraser  and  Hayden  of  the  Illinois 
Station^"  conducted  a  trial  on  a  dairy  farm  in  which  2  lots  each  of  8 
cows  were  fed  by  the  reversal  method  for  two  42-day  periods.  The  cows 
were  given  12.5  lbs.  per  head  daily  of  a  concentrate  mixture  of  2.5  parts 
corn  meal  and  1  part  wheat  bran  with  the  roughages  shown  in  the  table : 

Timothy  hay  vs.  alfalfa  hay  when  fed  with  protein-poor  feeds 

Average  daily  j-ield 
Average  roughage  allowance  of  milk 

Lbs. 

I.    Timothy  hay,  10  lbs.     Corn  stover,  10  lbs 23.4 

//.    AlfaHa  hay,  10  lbs.     Corn  stover,  10  lbs 27 .5 

"When  fed  the  alfalfa-hay  ration,  which  had  a  nutritive  ratio  of  1 :  Q.%, 
the  cows  produced  17.5  per  ct.  more  milk  than  on  the  unbalanced 
timothy-hay  ration,  the  nutritive  ratio  of  which  was  1 :  10.2.  The  tim- 
othy-fed cows  lost  in  weight  and  were  in  poor  condition  generally,  a 
number  being  "off  feed"  at  times.  This  trial  shows  clearly  that  when 
timothy  hay  must  be  fed  it  should  be  supplemented  by  concentrates  high 
in  protein.   (312) 

624.  Tlpland  prairie  vs.  timothy  hay. — Haecker  of  the  Minnesota  Sta- 
tion"^ compared  native  upland  prairie  hay  of  excellent  quality  with 
medium  fine,  early-cut  timothy  hay  properly  cured.  Sixteen  cows  were 
used  during  the  trial  lasting  77  days,  the  same  quantity  of  grain  and 
hay  being  supplied  in  each  case.  The  returns  in  milk  and  fat  were 
practically  the  same  from  the  2  kinds  of  hay.  This  study''-  was  repeated 
with  the  same  results.  It  is  fair,  then,  to  hold  that  good  upland  prairie 
hay,  like  that  of  the  Minnesota  region,  is  equal  to  timothy  hay  with  the 
dairy  cow.  (325) 

»« 111.  Bui.  146.  »' Minn.  Bui.  35.  «  Minn.  Bui.  67. 


FEEDS  FOR  THE  DAIRY  COW  379 

625.  Bermuda  hay.— Lloyd  of  the  Mississippi  Station^^  studying  the 
returns  from  a  herd  of  30  to  60  cows  during  3  years,  concludes  that 
Bermuda  hay  equals  timothy  hay  for  milk  and  butter  production.  (320) 

626.  Johnson-grass  hay. — Moore  of  the  Mississippi  Station"  found 
Johnson-grass  hay  nearly  as  valuable  as  cowpea  hay  when  corn  silage, 
cottonseed  meal,  and  wheat  bran  were  the  other  feeds  given.  Had  less 
rich  and  palatable  concentrates  been  fed,  Johnson-grass  hay  would 
probably  have  shown  but  half  to  two-thirds  of  the  value  of  the  cowpea 
hay.  (321) 

627.  Salt-marsh  hay. — Lindsey  and  Jones  of  the  Massachusetts 
(Hatch)  Station,^^  in  trials  with  12  cows,  covering  7  months,  found  that 
where  10  lbs.  of  various  kinds  of  salt-marsh  hay  were  given  daily  in  place 
of  an  equal  weight  of  mixed  hay,  the  milk  flow  was  decreased  from  2  to  5 
per  ct.  They  state :  "When  fed  directly  after  milking,  no  objectionable 
flavor  could  be  detected  in  the  milk  or  butter.  It  is  possible  that  if 
these  hays  were  cut  very  soon  after  being  covered  by  the  tide  they 
would  then  produce  a  disagreeable  flavor."  (325) 

628.  Cottonseed  hulls. — Cottonseed  hulls  are  a  roughage  fair  in  carbo- 
hydrate content,  but  very  deficient  in  crude  protein,  and  are  rather 
unpalatable  to  cows.  Moore  of  the  Mississippi  Station,^^  in  feeding 
trials  with  dairy  cows,  found  100  lbs.  of  well  cleaned  cottonseed  hulls 
equal  to  67  lbs.  of  prime  Johnson-grass  hay.  Soule  of  the  Texas  Sta- 
tion^^  found  cottonseed  hulls  nearly  equal  to  sorghum  hay  for  cows. 
Nourse  of  the  Virginia  Station^^  considers  cottonseed  hulls  about  equal 
to  oat  straw  in  feeding  value.  Conner  of  the  South  Carolina  Station^® 
found  cottonseed  hulls  decidedly  inferior  to  com  stover,  and  Michels  of 
the  North  Carolina  Station^""  found  stover  of  rather  poor  quality  equal 
to  the  hulls.  Flint  and  Dorman^^^  report  from  trials  on  Georgia  farms 
that  carbohydrates  can  be  supplied  under  their  conditions  much  more 
cheaply  in  the  form  of  corn  silage  than  by  cottonseed  hulls.  Silage  also 
stimulates  a  greater  flow  of  milk,  and  is  palatable  and  succulent,  aiding 
in  keeping  the  animals  in  good  condition.  Failing  to  appreciate  the 
value  of  the  forage  from  the  corn  plant,  southern  dairymen  often  leave 
the  com  stalks  standing  in  the  field  and  purchase  cottonseed  hulls  for 
roughage.   (251) 

V.  Succulent  Feeds 

629.  Corn  silage. — Succulent  feeds  are  of  even  more  importance  in 
the  feeding  of  the  dairy  cow  than  of  the  other  farm  animals.  On  account 
of  their  cooling,  slightly  laxative  action,  such  feeds  aid  greatly  in  keeping 
the  digestive  tract  of  this  hard-working  animal  in  good  condition,  as 
well  as  whetting  the  appetite  so  that  large  amounts  of  feed  are  con- 
sumed.    Thruout  the  chief  dairy  sections  of  the  United  States  corn 

"'Miss.  Bui.  70.  "Miss.  Rpt.  1903.  ''S.  C.  Bui.  66. 

"^Miss.  Rpt.  1895.  ""Tex.  Bui.  47.  *™N.  C.  Bui.  199. 

»^Mass.  (Hatch)  Bui.  50.  °«Va.  Bui.  148.  "»Ga.  Bui.  80. 


380  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

silage  furnishes  the  cheapest  form  of  succulence.  Due  largely  to  the 
fact  that  the  silage  made  during  earlier  years  was  frequently  of  poor 
quality  and  fed  in  a  careless  manner,  a  widespread  belief  existed  that 
silage  injured  the  flavor  of  the  milk.  For  many  years  the  largest  milk 
condensing  company  in  the  country  prohibited  the  use  of  silage  by  its 
patrons.  Experience  has  now  abundantly  demonstrated  that  when  good 
silage  is  fed  under  proper  conditions  the  quality  of  the  milk  is  thereby 
improved,  rather  than  impaired.  Like  other  feeds,  silage  may  be  abused. 
Only  that  which  is  well  made  should  be  used,  and  this  should  be  fed 
after  milking  and  be  eaten  up  clean  at  each  feed,  none  being  left 
scattered  on  the  floor  of  the  stable,  the  air  of  which  should  be  kept  pure 
and  wholesome  by  proper  ventilation.  If  such  conditions  prevail,  no 
one  need  fear  ill  effects  from  feeding  silage  to  dairy  cows,  for  when 
thus  fed  even  the  milk  condensing  factories  no  longer  object  to  its  use. 
The  daily  allowance  of  silage  commonly  fed  ranges  from  20  to  40  lbs. 
per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight.  A  common  rule  is  to  feed  3  lbs.  of  silage  and 
1  lb.  of  dry  roughage  per  100  lbs.  live  weight.  (300-5) 

630.  Corn  silage  vs.  fodder  corn. — Tests  of  corn  silage  and  field-cured 
fodder  corn  at  the  Vermont^"^  and  "Wisconsin^°^  Stations  were  conducted 
in  the  following  manner :  Two  rows  of  maturing  com  extending  across 
the  field  were  placed  in  shocks,  while  the  next  2  rows  were  run  thru 
the  feed  cutter  and  placed  in  the  silo.  By  thus  alternating  until  the  silo 
was  filled,  substantially  equal  quantities  of  material  having  the  same 
composition  were  obtained  as  silage  and  shock  corn,  respectively.  The 
field-cured  fodder,  after  being  run  thru  the  cutter,  v/as  fed  in  opposition 
to  the  silage  to  dairy  cows  along  with  equal  quantities  of  hay  and  grain. 

At  the  Vermont  Station  the  green  fodder  corn,  converted  into  silage 
and  fed  with  hay  and  grain,  produced  11  per  ct.  more  milk  than  the 
same  amount  of  green  corn  dried  and  fed  with  the  same  allowance  of 
hay  and  grain.  In  the  Wisconsin  trial  the  corn  crop  produced  243  lbs., 
or  3  per  ct.,  more  milk  per  acre  when  fed  as  silage  than  when  fed  as 
dried  corn  fodder. 

In  the  following  table  are  summarized  the  results  of  these  and  other 
trials  in  which  the  amount  of  milk  produced  from  100  lbs.  of  total  dry 
matter  in  rations  containing  silage  or  corn  fodder  was  determined : 

Corn  silage  vs.  fodder  corn  for  milk  production 

Milk  from  100  lbs.  dry  matter 
Station  and  number  of  trials  Silage  ration     Fodder  ration 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

Wisconsin  (Rpt.  1888),  3  trials 104  .2  95  .8 

Wisconsin  (Rpt.  1889),  3  trials 110.5  104.8 

Vermont  (Rpt.  1892),  1  trial 82 .0  76 .5 

Pennsylvania  (Rpt.  1890),  1  trial 111.9  106 .3 

New  Jersey  (Bui.  122),  1  trial 116 .2  103  .0 

Average  of  9  trials 106 .0  98 .6 

^<«'Vt.  Rpt.  1891.  ^»Wis.  Rpt.  1891. 


FEEDS  FOR  THE  DAIRY  COW  381 

Averaging  these  trials  we  find  that  7.4  lbs.  more  milk  was  produced 
from  100  lbs.  of  dry  matter  in  the  silage  rations  than  in  the  rations  con- 
taining fodder  corn.  The  higher  value  of  the  silage  is  not  due  to  any- 
increased  digestibility  of  the  silage  over  well-cured  dry  fodder,  for  we 
have  seen  that  ensiling  tends  to  decrease  the  digestibility  of  forage 
rather  than  to  increase  it.  (83)  The  superiority  of  silage  must  be  largely 
due  to  the  fact  that  while  good-quality  silage  is  eaten  with  little  or  no 
waste,  a  considerable  part  of  the  corn  fodder  is  usually  left  uneaten. 
Various  trials  show  that  the  dry  matter  of  that  part  of  the  corn  fodder 
which  is  actually  consumed  may  have  just  as  high  a  nutritive  value 
as  an  equal  weight  of  dry  matter  in  corn  silage.^"*  Another  reason  why 
silage  gives  better  results  than  dry  corn  fodder  is  that  cows  fed  the 
succulent,  palatable  silage  usually  consume  a  heavier  ration  than  those 
fed  the  dry  fodder  and  hence  have  a  larger  amount  of  nutrients  avail- 
able for  milk  production  after  the  maintenance  requirements  of  the  body 
have  been  met. 

631.  Corn  silage  vs.  hay. — To  determine  the  relative  value  of  com 
silage  and  mixed  hay  (mostly  timothy)  Jordan  fed  4  cows  at  the  Maine 
Station^**^  for  three  14-day  periods.  During  the  first  period  the  cows 
were  fed  good  hay ;  during  the  second,  hay  and  silage ;  and  during  the 
last,  hay  again,  the  same  amount  of  concentrates  being  fed  thruout  the 
trial.  When  the  cows  were  changed  from  good  hay  to  both  silage  and 
hay  their  milk  flow  increased  7  per  ct.  and  when  changed  back  it  de- 
creased 8  per  ct.  The  silage  fed  in  this  trial  was  watery  and  contained 
but  16.7  per  ct.  dry  matter,  while  average  silage  from  well-matured 
corn  contains  about  26  per  ct.  dry  matter.  Jordan  found  444  lbs.  of 
this  silage,  which  had  less  than  two-thirds  the  value  of  high-quality 
silage,  slightly  superior  in  feeding  value  to  100  lbs.  of  the  hay  fed.  It 
is  fair  to  conclude  that  had  the  silage  been  of  average  quality  280  lbs. 
would  have  been  slightly  superior  to  100  lbs.  of  hay. 

In  an  extended  trial  with  6  cows  Hills  of  the  Vermont  Station^"® 
found  that  when  3.5  lbs.  of  corn  silage  was  substituted  for  1  lb.  of 
mixed  timothy,  red  top,  and  clover  hay,  the  milk  yield  was  increased 
7  per  ct.  Rating  hay  at  $10  and  silage  at  $3  per  ton,  there  was  a  gain 
of  1.66  cents  daily  per  cow  by  replacing  one-third  of  the  hay  with 
silage.  From  these  data  we  may  conclude  that  for  dairy  cows  280  to 
350  lbs.  of  good  corn  silage  is  worth  rather  more  than  100  lbs.  of  mixed 
hay.  In  the  feed  unit  system  as  revised  by  WolP°'^  and  in  the  Armsby 
table  of  energy  values  corn  silage  is  rated  at  half  the  value  of  timothy 
hay.  (171,  178) 

To  determine  the  relative  value  of  corn  silage  and  alfalfa  hay  Carroll 
of  the  Utah  Station^*^^  fed  2  lots  of  7  cows  each  the  rations  shown  in 
the  table  for  2  alternate  28-day  periods.  The  concentrate  allowance  con- 
sisted of  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  wheat  bran  and  rolled  barley. 

"*Wis.  Rpts.  1890,  1891.       "n''t.  Rpt.  1901.  "* Information  to  the  authors. 

^•^  Me.  Rpt.  1889.  ^»^Wis.  Cir.  37. 


382  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Relative  value  of  corn  silage  and  alfalfa  hay 


Average  ration 

Ration  I 
Alfalfa  hay,  22.2  lbs. 
Corn  silage,  21 .3  lbs.        Concentrates,  4 . 1  lbs 

Average 
Milk 
Lbs. 

27.2 

daily  yield 
Fat 
Lbs. 

0.99 

Ration  II 

Alfalfa  hay,  29 .0  lbs.        Concentrates,  4 .0  lbs 

26.6 

0.95 

When  fed  silage  the  cows  yielded  2  per  ct.  more  milk  and  4  per  ct. 
more  fat,  but  were  given  2.5  per  ct.  more  grain.  We  may  therefore 
conclude  that  6.8  lbs.  of  alfalfa  hay  was  fully  replaced  by  21.5  lbs.  of 
com  silage,  or  100  lbs.  of  hay  by  310  to  320  lbs.  of  silage. 

632.  Silage  from  the  sorghums. — Next  in  value  to  corn  silage  is  that 
from  the  grain  and  the  SAveet  sorghums.  Reed  and  Fitch  found  kafir 
silage  practically  equal  to  corn  silage  when  fed  with  hay  and  grain  in  a 
trial  at  the  Kansas  Station.^"''  In  each  of  2  trials  the  Qoy\^  produced  3 
per  ct.  more  milk  and  1  per  ct.  more  fat  when  fed  corn  silage  than  when 
fed  silage  from  sweet  sorghum,  showing  this  silage  to  be  but  little  inferior 
to  that  from  the  corn  plant.  (309) 

633.  Silage  from  the  legumes. — Tho  there  is  far  less  certaintj^  of  secur- 
ing silage  of  good  quality  from  clover  or  alfalfa  than  from  corn  and  the 
sorghums,  these  legumes  are  sometimes  ensiled,  especially  when  the 
weather  does  not  permit  making  them  into  satisfactory  hay.  (342,  348) 
In  each  of  3  years  Clark  ensiled  red  clover  at  the  Montana  Station^"  and 
fed  the  silage  to  dairy  cows  in  comparison  with  clover  hay.  When  from 
32  to  43  lbs.  of  clover  silage  was  fed  per  head  daily  with  clover  and  tim- 
othy hay  and  concentrates,  233  lbs.  of  the  silage  proved  equal  to  100  lbs. 
of  good  clover  hay.  On  the  silage  ration  the  yield  of  milk  was  increased 
5.7  per  ct.  and  of  fat  4.3  per  ct.  Clark  reports  that  the  cows  relished 
the  silage  during  the  winter  months,  but  that  in  summer  it  became 
darker  in  color  and  acquired  a  strong  odor,  a  point  also  observed  by 
Reed  at  the  Kansas  Station^^^  with  alfalfa  silage.  Such  combinations  as 
field  peas  with  oats,  soybeans  or  cowpeas  with  corn  or  the  sorghums,  and 
vetch  with  oats,  wheat,  or  barley,  make  satisfactory  silage.  (357-9) 

634.  Mixed  silage  vs.  heavy  concentrates. — At  the  Ohio  Station^^^ 
Williams  fed  2  uniform  lots  of  4  cows  each  the  rations  reported  in  the 
table  during  4  months  to  determine  whether  a  large  part  of  the  concen- 
trates usually  supplied  could  not  be  replaced  by  silage  composed  of  2 
parts  soybeans,  1  part  cowpeas,  and  7.5  parts  of  rather  watery  corn 
silage.  The  2  rations  contained  practically  the  same  amount  of  dry 
matter  and  crude  protein. 

^~Kan.  Cir.  28.  "'Hoard's  Dairyman,  47,  1914,  p.  889. 

""Mont.  Bui.  94.  ""  Ohio  Bui.  155. 


FEEDS  FOR  THE  DAIRY  COW  383 

Feeding  mixed  silage  in  place  of  part  of  the  concentrates 

Average  daily  yield 
^  Average  ration  Milk  Fat 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot  I 

Mixed  silage,  58 .0  lbs.  Oil  meal,  2 .0  lbs. 

Mixed  hay,  6.8  lbs.  Bran,  2.0  lbs 19.6         1.03 

Lot  II 

Stover,  4  .7  lbs.  Oil  meal,  2.5  lbs. 

Mixed  hay,  6.5  lbs.  Corn  meal,  5  .0  lbs. 

Bran,  6.0  lbs 16.9         0.80 

It  is  seen  that  the  cows  fed  58  lbs.  of  mixed  silage  with  4  lbs.  of  con- 
centrates yielded  more  milk  and  fat  than  those  receiving  13.5  lbs.  of 
rich,  expensive  concentrates  and  no  silage.  Less  dry  matter  was  con- 
sumed by  the  silage-fed  cows  for  1  lb.  of  fat  than  by  those  getting  no 
silage.  During  the  trial  the  fat  yield  of  the  silage-fed  cows  increased 
1.9  per  ct.,  while  that  of  the  others  shrank  14.2  per  ct.  These  results 
forcibly  illustrate  how  protein-rich  silage  may  aid  the  dairyman  in  re- 
ducing the  cost  of  producing  milk. 

635.  Apple-pomace  silage. — Hills^^^  fed  cows  daily  allowances  of  24  to 
35  lbs.  of  apple-pomace  silage,  as  much  as  they  would  eat  in  addition  to 
8  lbs.  of  grain  and  10  to  12  lbs.  of  hay.  On  apple-pomace  silage  the  cows 
consumed  somewhat  more  dry  matter  than  those  getting  corn  silage, 
with  a  corresponding  increase  in  milk  flow.  The  apple-pomace  silage 
had  no  deleterious  influence  on  the  cows  or  their  milk.  (384) 

636.  Other  silage  studies. — Hills  of  the  Vermont  Station"*  found  that 
rye  silage  was  drier  and  less  readily  eaten  than  corn  silage,  and  made 
10  per  ct.  less  milk  and  butter.  Cows  changed  from  corn  to  rye  silage 
shrank  20  per  ct.  in  milk,  while  on  changing  back  from  rye  to  corn  they 
gained  2  per  ct.  Good  corn  silage  gives  better  results  than  good  Hun- 
garian-grass hay  or  silage.  (318) 

637.  Roots. — Since  roots  may  be  regarded  as  watery  concentrates 
rather  than  roughages  (22,  365)  the  question  naturally  arises  as  to  their 
value  in  replacing  the  concentrates  in  the  ration.  In  studying  this  prob- 
lem Friis  of  the  Copenhagen  (Denmark)  Station"^  conducted  extensive 
trials  on  different  farms  in  which  cows  were  fed  the  same  basal  ration, 
consisting  of  6.5  lbs.  of  hay  and  10  lbs.  of  straw,  and  were  given  in  ad- 
dition varying  amounts  of  cereal  grains,  cottonseed  meal,  and  mangels 
or  other  roots.  Friis  concluded  that  1  lb.  of  dry  matter  in  roots  is  equal 
in  feeding  value  to  1  lb.  of  Indian  corn  or  of  a  mixture  of  barley,  oats,  and 
rye,  or  to  0.75  lb.  of  cottonseed  meal. 

In  trials  during  2  years  Wing  and  Savage  of  the  New  York  (Cornell) 
Station"*^  found  that  1  lb.  of  dry  matter  in  mangels  is  equal  to  1  lb.  of 
dry  matter  in  grain,  and  that  mangels  can  successfully  replace  half  the 
grain  ordinarily  fed  in  a  ration  of  grain,  mixed  hay,  and  silage.     The 

"'Vt.  Rpt.  1903.  "'N.  Y.  (Cornell)  Bui.  268. 

^*Yt.  Rpt.  1907. 

"=Expt.  Sta.  Rec.  14,  1903,  p.  801;  Landokon.  Forsog  (Copenhagen),  1902,  p.  30. 


384  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Cornell  studies  led  to  the  conclusion  that  with  concentrates  costing  $30 
per  ton  mangels  are  an  economical  feed  for  dairy  cows  when  they  can 
be  produced  and  stored  for  $4  per  ton, — a  high  figure  for  this  compara- 
tively easily-grown  crop.   (368) 

Haecker  of  the  Minnesota  Station^^^  has  likewise  found  that  1  lb.  of 
dry  matter  in  mangels  or  rutabagas  is  substantially  equal  to  1  lb.  of 
mixed  grain,  11  lbs.  of  mangels  or  9  lbs.  of  rutabagas  having  the  same 
value  as  1  lb.  of  grain. 

In  the  earlier  years  it  was  thought  that  the  feeding  of  roots  produced 
watery  milk,  but  the  extensive  experiments  in  Denmark  and  this  country 
with  roots  and  silage  prove  beyond  a  doubt  that  the  milk  of  the  cow  can- 
not be  watered  by  supplying  succulent  feeds. 

638.  Dry  matter  in  roots  and  silage. — The  value  of  the  dry  matter  in 
roots  and  corn  silage  for  milk  production  has  been  studied  at  the  Ohio,^^* 
Pennsylvania,"^   and  Vermont^-"  stations  with  the  following  results: 

Milk  from  100  lbs.  of  dry  matter  in  corn  silage  and  heet  rations 

Station  Beet  ration    Silage  ration 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

Ohio  Station,  1889 59  62 

Ohio  Station,  1890 59  60 

Ohio  Station,  1891 62  66 

Ohio  Station,  1892 69  76 

Pennsylvania  Station 87  82 

Vermont  Station 113  119 

It  will  be  seen  that,  altho  practically  all  of  the  dry  matter  in  beets  is 
digestible  and  only  a  part  of  that  in  corn  silage,  in  each  of  these  trials 
dairy  cows  gave  somewhat  better  returns  on  the  dry  matter  of  corn  silage 
than  on  that  in  the  beet  ration.  On  the  other  hand,  Wing  and  Savage  at 
the  Cornell  Station^^^  found  1  lb.  of  dry  matter  in  mangels  slightly  supe- 
rior to  1  lb.  of  dry  matter  in  corn  silage.  (365-74) 

639.  Sugar  beets  vs.  corn  silage. — Haecker  of  the  Nebraska  Stations- 
compared  corn  silage  and  sugar  beets  with  2  lots  of  5  cows  each,  fed  for 
a  period  of  5  weeks.  The  cows  were  given  6  to  10  lbs.  per  head  daily  of 
a  mixture  of  equal  parts  of  oats,  corn,  and  wheat  bran,  with  hay  and 
succulence  as  shown  in  the  table : 

Corn  silage  compared  with  sugar  beets 

Average  daily  jaeld 
Allowance  of  hay  and  succulence  Milk  Fat 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

I.     Corn  silage,  30  lbs.  Alfalfa  hay,  10  lbs 17 .4  0 .84 

//.     Sugar  beets,  30  lbs.  Alfalfa  hay,  10  lbs 16 . 1  0 .  78 

It  is  shown  that  where  30  lbs.  of  corn  silage  was  fed  against  an  equal 
weight  of  sugar  beets,  the  small  difference  in  yield  of  milk  and  fat  was  in 

"^Minn.  Rpt.  1913.  ^^^Penn.  Rpt.  1890.  »^»N.  Y.  (Cornell)  Bui.  268. 

»« Ohio  Rpt.  1893.  ^^ovt.  Rpt.  1895.  "^  Nebr.  Bui.  76. 


FEEDS  FOR  THE  DAIRY  COW 


385 


favor  of  the  silage,  as  might  be  expected  from  the  fact  that  corn  silage 
contains  considerably  more  dry  matter  than  sugar  beets. 

640.  Addition  of  roots  to  ration  containing  silage. — To  determine 
whether  the  addition  of  roots  to  an  already  excellent  ration  of  corn  silage, 
clover  hay,  and  concentrates  would  increase  the  yield  of  milk  or  fat  by 
dairy  cows,  Shaw  and  Norton  carried  on  trials  during  3  years  at  the  Michi- 
gan Station^-^  with  a  total  of  40  cows.  Each  year  2  lots  were  fed  the 
rations  shown  in  the  table  by  the  reversal  method  for  periods  averag- 
ing 26  days  in  length : 

Effect  of  roots  when  added  to  ration  containing 


Average  daily  jacld 

Average  feed  cost  of* 

Average  ration 

MUk 

Fat 

100  lbs. 
milk 

1  lb.  fat 

Ration  I 

Roots,  18.3  lbs. 
Corn  silage,  30.6  lbs. 
Clover  hay,  5.0  lbs. 

Concentrates,  9  .2  lbs 

Lbs. 

23.8 
22.5 

Lbs. 

0.93 

0.88 

Cents 

66.5 
62.3 

Cents 

17.0 

Ration  II 

Corn  silage,  30.8  lbs. 
Clover  hay,  5.0  lbs. 

Concentrates,  9  .2  lbs 

15.8 

*Cost  of  feeds  per  ton:  concentrate  mixture,  S17.60  to  $19.21;  clover  hay,  S5.00;  corn  silage,  S2.50;  and 
roots,  $2.00. 

On  Ration  I,  which  was  practically  the  same  as  Ration  II  with  the 
exception  that  it  contained  in  addition  18.3  lbs.  of  roots,  the  average 
daily  yield  of  milk  was  increased  1.3  lbs.  and  of  fat  0.05  lb.  This  gain 
was  not  enough  to  offset  the  cost  of  the  roots  fed,  for  the  average  cost  of 
100  lbs.  milk  was  4.2  cents  and  of  1  lb.  of  fat  1.2  cents  lower  on  the  ration 
containing  no  roots.  While  breeders  feeding  cows  heavily  on  official 
test  may  find  it  advisable  to  feed  roots  in  addition  to  a  liberal  allowance 
of  corn  silage  for  the  sake  of  the  small  increase  in  yield,  this  practice 
will  rarely  be  economical  for  dairymen  in  general.  (365) 

641.  Potatoes. — A  heavy  allowance  of  potatoes  produces  milk  and 
butter  of  poor  flavor.  According  to  Pott^'^  cows  of  average  weight 
should  not  be  fed  more  than  33  lbs.  per  head  daily  of  cooked  potatoes 
and  somewhat  less  of  the  raw  tubers.  When  feeding  a  heavy  allowance 
of  potatoes  Hills  of  the  Vermont  Station^-^  found  the  dry  matter  in  corn 
silage  superior  to  that  in  raw  potatoes.  The  cows  ate  the  potatoes  readi- 
ly, but  at  15  cents  a  bushel  they  were  more  costly  than  corn  silage.  But- 
ter from  the  potato-fed  cows  was  salvy.  (374) 

642.  Soilage. — During  3  summers  Woll,  Humphrey,  and  Oosterhuis  at 
the  Wisconsin  Station^ ^®  fed  1  lot  of  cows  which  had  access  to  limited 
pasture  a  succession  of  soiling  crops  in  addition  to  a  smaU  allowance  of 


-'Mich.  Bui.  240. 

"*Handb.  Emahr.  u.  Futter.,  II,  1907,  pp.  363-364. 


^=Vt.  Rpt.  1896. 
""Wis.  Bui.  235. 


386  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

mixed  concentrates.  Another  lot,  otherwise  fed  similarly,  received  corn 
silage  instead  of  soilage.  In  2  of  the  trials  each  lot  was  given  a  small 
allowance  of  hay.  The  results  of  the  trials,  which  averaged  82  days,  are 
given  in  the  following  table  : 

Soilage  vs.  silage  as  supplements  to  pasture 

Average  daily  yield 
Average  ration  Milk  Fat 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot  I 

Soilage,  28 . 1  lbs. 

Mixed  hay,  2  .2  lbs. 

Pasture,  limited  Concentrates,  5  .4  lbs 23  .9  0 .92 

Lot  II 

Corn  silage,  27.3  lbs. 

Mixed  hay,  2.0  lbs. 

Pasture,  limited  Concentrates,  5  .4  lbs 22.5  0.94 

The  cows  fed  soilage,  consisting  of  red  clover,  peas  and  oats,  sweet 
corn,  field  corn,  and  "succotash"  (mixed  oats,  peas,  and  corn),  yielded 
no  more  milk  and  slightly  less  fat  than  those  fed  corn  silage.  Silage  was 
relished  rather  better  than  the  succession  of  soiling  crops.  In  a  similar 
trial  by  Frandsen  at  the  Nebraska  Station^-^  the  feed  cost  per  pound  of 
butter  fat  was  24.5  cents  with  soiling  crops  and  21.5  cents  when  corn 
silage  was  used.  Since  soilage  is  far  more  expensive  and  much  more  in- 
convenient to  feed  than  silage  (418-20),  the  latter  is  preferred  by  dairy- 
men as  a  supplement  to  pasture,  except  where  too  few  cows  are  kept  to 
consume  the  silage  fast  enough  to  prevent  its  spoiling.  When  silage  is 
not  available  for  summer  feeding,  the  wise  dairyman  will  provide  a  well- 
planned  succession  of  soiling  crops  to  maintain  the  milk  flow  when 
pastures  are  scant,  knowing  that  it  is  well-nigh  impossible  to  bring  the 
yield  of  milk  back  to  near  the  former  amount  if  it  has  once  been  checked 
by  insufficient  feed.  (421-2) 

643.  Wet  beet  pulp. — Wing  and  Anderson  of  the  New  York  (Cornell) 
Station^-^  found  that  cows  will  eat  50  to  100  lbs.  of  fresh  beet  pulp  per 
day  in  addition  to  8  lbs.  of  grain  and  6  to  12  lbs.  of  hay.  The  dry  mat- 
ter in  wet  beet  pulp  proved  equal  to  that  in  corn  silage.  As  the  pulp 
comes  from  the  factory  it  contains  about  10  per  ct.  dry  matter,  or  about 
one-third  as  much  as  does  corn  silage  of  good  quality.  Beet  pulp  may 
have  a  higher  value  than  given  above  when  no  other  succulent  food  is 
supplied.  The  fermented  pulp  appears  to  be  more  palatable  and  satis- 
factory, tho  even  fresh  pulp  seems  to  stimulate  the  consumption  of  dry 
roughage.  There  are  occasional  reports  of  beet  pulp  tainting  the  milk. 
Buffum  and  Griffith  of  the  Colorado  Station^-"  found  2  lbs.  of  fresh  beet 
pulp  equal  to  1  lb.  of  sugar  beets  for  dairy  cows.  (274) 

"^Hoard's  Dairyman,  47,  1914,  p.  403.        ^=*Colo.  Bui.  73. 
^N.  Y.  (Cornell)  Bui.  183. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

RECORDS  OF  PRODUCTION  OF  DAIRY  COWS— FEED 
REQUIRED  BY  COW  AND   COST  OF  PRO- 
DUCING  MILK  AND   FAT 

I.  Records  of  Production  of  Dairy  Cows 

That  successful  dairying  depends  primarily  on  the  selection  of  indi- 
vidual cows  of  good  productive  capacity  has  already  been  pointed  out. 
(544-7)  It  is  therefore  important  to  consider  the  various  agencies  which 
have  been  of  service  in  pointing  out  to  dairymen  the  profitable  and  the 
unprofitable  animals  in  their  herds,  and  in  enabling  them  more  intelli- 
gently to  feed  and  breed  for  production.  Chief  among  these  agencies 
are  the  cow-testiiig  associations,  the  system  of  official  testing,  the  ad- 
vanced registers,  dairy  cow  censuses,  and  public  competitions. 

644.  Cow-testing  associations. — The  remarkable  development  of  dairy- 
ing in  northern  Europe  during  the  past  20  years  has  been  due  in  large 
part  to  the  work  of  the  cow-testing  associations.  From  1895,  when  the 
first  association  was  organized  in  Denmark  Avith  13  herds  entered,  the 
growth  has  been  most  rapid,  until  in  1914  there  were  between  2,500 
and  3,000  such  associations  in  European  countries.  In  these  organiza- 
tions a  trained  tester  is  employed,  who  spends  a  day  every  month  with 
each  of  the  herds  in  the  association.  Arriving  on  the  farm  in  the  after- 
noon he  weighs  and  samples  the  milk  from  each  cow  at  milking  time.  He 
furthermore  weighs  the  concentrates  given  each  cow  and  also  the  rough- 
age which  several  cows  get  and  then  estimates  the  approximate  amount 
given  to  each  cow  in  the  herd.  The  folloA\ing  morning  this  is  repeated, 
after  which  the  samples  of  milk  are  tested  for  butter  fat.  From  this 
day's  record  he  computes  the  milk  and  fat  production  and  cost  of  feed 
for  each  cow  for  the  current  month.  While  such  records  are  not  as 
exact  as  if  every  milking  were  weighed,  careful  studies  show  the  results 
to  be  within  2  per  ct.  of  the  actual  production  of  the  cow.  The 
tester  not  only  makes  these  records,  but  he  also  studies  the  local  feed 
market  and  aids  the  dairymen  in  working  out  the  most  economical 
rations  for  their  herds.  ]\Iany  dairymen  who  would  not  go  to  the  trouble 
of  testing  their  herds  themselves  are  glad  to  secure  this  service  at  small 
expense  as  a  member  of  the  association. 

The  improvement  wrought  by  these  associations  is  marvelous.  In  Den- 
mark, largely  due  to  their  work,  the  average  annual  yield  of  butter  per 
cow  has  increased  from  112  lbs.  in  1884  to  224  lbs.  in  1908.  In  10 
years  one  association  in  Sweden  increased  the  annual  production  of 
butter  fat  109  lbs.  per  cow.^ 

» Carroll,  Utah  Bui.  127. 

387 


388  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

645.  Cow-testing  associations  in  the  United  States.^ — ^While  the  cow- 
testing  associations  are  yet  in  their  infancy  in  this  country,  they  have 
already  accomplished  much  good.  In  1914  the  total  number  grew  from 
100  to  163,  or  63  per  ct.  The  first  association  in  the  United  States  was 
organized  in  Newaygo  County,  Michigan,  in  1905,  in  charge  of  Helmer 
Rabild,  now  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture.  The 
following  table  shows  the  improvement  brought  about  in  8  years  in  7 
herds  which  have  been  in  this  association  since  its  organization: 

Improvement  in  7  herds  in  Newaygo  cow-testing  association 


Average 

Fat 

Annual 

Annual 

Returns 

No.  of 

yield  of 

content 

yield  of 

Value 

cost  of 

over  cost 

Year 

cows 

milk 

of  milk 

fat 

of  fat 

feed 

of  feed 

Lbs. 

Per  ct. 

Lbs. 

Dollars 

Dollars 

Dollars 

1906 

50 

5885.0 

3.92 

231.1 

53.88 

31.65 

22.23 

1907 

60 

5952.7 

3.94 

234.6 

68.23 

39.79 

28.44 

1908 

69 

6095.4 

4.15 

253.3 

69.20 

40.45 

28.75 

1909 

72 

6302.6 

4.28 

269.7 

83.98 

42.05 

41.93 

1910 

79 

6208.8 

4.28 

265.7 

90  22 

49.52 

40.70 

1911 

80 

6411.0 

4.38 

280.9 

80.65 

48.48 

32.17 

1912 

80 

6154.8 

4.45 

273.9 

95.73 

44.46 

51.27 

1913 

69 

6123.4 

4.64 

284.7 

100.35 

49.27 

51.08 

These  herds  were  much  above  the  average  for  the  whole  country  when 
the  association  was  organized,  averaging  231  lbs.  of  butter  fat  per  cow, 
while  the  estimated  average  annual  production  for  the  United  States  is 
but  160  lbs.  During  the  8  years  of  record  the  average  annual  yield  of 
butter  fat  was  increased  nearly  54  lbs.  or  23  per  ct.  over  that  for  1906. 
Tho  the  prices  of  feeds  have  advanced  markedly,  the  net  returns  over 
cost  of  feed  have  more  than  doubled  in  these  herds. 

646.  Official  tests  and  advanced  registry  of  dairy  cows. — The  establish- 
ment by  the  dairy  breed  associations  of  advanced  registers  for  pure-bred 
cows  is  another  important  movement  in  the  development  of  the  dairy 
industry.  Cows  are  entitled  to  place  in  these  registers  of  production 
only  when  their  yield  in  tests  conducted  by  representatives  of  the  state 
experiment  stations  or  of  the  breed  associations  has  reached  the  standard 
set  by  the  association.  Entry  in  these  registers  increases  the  money 
value,  not  only  of  the  given  cow,  but  also  of  her  relatives,  for  progressive 
breeders  in  their  selection  of  animals  now  rely  more  and  more  upon 
records  of  production  ai^d  less  upon  show-ring  successes. 

647.  Keeping  records  on  the  farm. — For  the  dairyman  who  desires  to 
keep  his  own  records  of  the  production  of  his  cows,  the  following,  con- 
densed from  Eckles,^  will  be  helpful:  The  only  records  which  are 
entirely  satisfactory  are  those  setting  forth  the  daily  production  of 
each  individual  cow.  This  does  not  require  as  much  work  as  one  would 
anticipate,  if  a  convenient  spring  balance  and  handy  milk  sheets  for 
entry  of  the  records  are  provided.  Daily  individual  records  make  pos- 
sible the  feeding  of  each  cow  with  the  greatest  economy,  enable  the  herds- 

'  From  circular  issued  by  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr. 
'Dairy  Cattle  and  Milk  Production,  pp.  136-140. 


RECORDS  OF  PRODUCTION  OF  DAIRY  COWS 


389 


man  to  detect  sickness  quickly  by  the  decline  in  milk  flow,  and  aid  in 
judging  the  efficiency  of  the  different  milkers.  "Where  the  weight  of 
each  milking  is  recorded,  it  is  sufficient  to  take  a  sample  covering  3  to  5 
days  of  each  month  for  the  butterfat  determination. 

Those  who  feel  that  they  cannot  spend  the  time  necessary  to  weigh 
each  milking  may  obtain  reasonably  satisfactory  records  by  weighing 
and  sampling  the  milk  of  each  cow  regularly  on  3  consecutive  days 
each  month  thruout  the  year.  The  average  jdeld  of  milk  and  fat  for 
this  period  is  taken  as  the  average  for  the  month.  Another  method  of 
less  value,  but  better  than  no  testing,  is  to  record  the  production  of  each 
cow  for  7  consecutive  days  at  intervals  of  3  months. 

648.  Unreliability  of  short  tests. — Glover*  reports  that  during  3  years 
the  best  weekly  record  of  one  cow  in  an  Illinois  dairyman's  herd  was 
309  lbs.  of  milk  and  10.5  lbs.  of  fat.  In  her  best  lactation  period,  which 
lasted  266  days,  she  produced  5,355  lbs.  of  milk  and  184  lbs.  of  fat.  The 
best  weekly  record  of  another  cow  was  197  lbs.  of  milk  and  10.2  lbs.  of 
fat,  less  than  the  first  cow.  During  her  best  lactation  period  (315  days) 
this  cow,  however,  yielded  7,190  lbs.  of  milk  and  367  lbs.  of  fat.  This 
well  shows  the  unreliability  of  short  tests.  Time,  the  scales,  the  Babcock 
fat  test,  combined  with  good  judgment,  are  all  essential  in  determining 
the  true  value  of  dairy  cows. 

649.  A  herd  record. — On  taking  charge  of  the  New  York  (Cornell) 
Station^  Roberts  found  a  herd  of  cows  yielding  about  3,000  lbs.  of  milk 
per  head  yearly.  After  years  of  careful  breeding  and  selection  the  rec- 
ords shown  in  the  table  below  were  actually  made : 

Oiie  year's  milk  and  fat  record  with  a  herd  of  20  coivs 


Cost 

Milk 

Feed  cost  of 

Fat 

Feed  cost  of 

No.  of  cow 

Age 

of  feed 

produced 

100  lbs.  milk 

produced 

lib.  of  fat 

Yrs. 

Mo. 

Dollars 

Lbs. 

Dollars 

Lbs. 

Cents 

No.    1 .  . .  . 

7+ 

44.24 

8,029 

0.55 

391.6 

11.5 

No.    2.  ... 

5 

4 

47.65 

9,740 

0.49 

309.2 

15.5 

No.    3.... 

3 

5 

42.00 

4J43 

0.89 

233.6 

18.0 

No.    4.... 

1 

9 

49.07 

6,009 

0.82 

219.3 

22.5 

No.    5.  ... 

7+ 

38.74 

6,215 

0.62 

326.7 

12.0 

No.    6.  ... 

1 

10 

41.24 

2,830 

1.48 

159.0 

26.0 

No.    7.... 

6 

4 

52.06 

11,165 

0.47 

418.0 

12.5 

No.    8.... 

4 

39.96 

5,671 

0.70 

285.1 

14.0 

No.    9.  ... 

3 

36.24 

3,388 

1.07 

197.3 

18.5 

No.  10.  ... 

4 

8 

46.51 

6,324 

0.74 

224.7 

21.0 

No.  11.  ... 

1 

9 

43.80 

5,136 

0.85 

160.8 

27.0 

No.  12 ...  . 

3 

5 

43.66 

5,786 

0.75 

294.3 

15.0 

No.  13.  ... 

10 

4 

44.34 

5,459 

0.81 

195.3 

22.5 

No.  14.  ... 

2 

4 

45.98 

7,757 

0.59 

260.3 

17.5 

No.  15.  ... 

3 

4 

47.44 

9,003 

0.53 

299.1 

16.0 

No.  16 ...  . 

6 

4 

43.12 

9,777 

0.44 

330.6 

18.0 

No.  17.... 

7 

3 

47.87 

10,417 

0.46 

302.9 

16.0 

No.  18.  ... 

3 

4 

48.63 

7,955 

0.61 

282.4 

17.0 

No.  19 ... . 

7+ 

53.38 

8,656 

0.62 

382.8 

14.0 

No.  20.... 

7+ 

49.08 

10,754 

0.46 

439.4 

11.0 

111.  Clr.  84. 


N.  Y.   (Cornell)  Bui.  52. 


390 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


We  observe  a  considerable  range  in  tbe  cost  of  feed  for  the  several 
cows,  a  wide  one  in  the  yield  of  milk,  and  a  marked  difference  in  the  cost 
of  producing  milk  and  fat.  While  in  1875  the  average  milk  yield  of 
the  cows  in  the  herd  was  only  3,000  lbs.,  in  1892  the  descendants  of  the 
same  cows  averaged  more  than  7,000  lbs.  This  table  teaches  that  even 
with  good,  well-fed  herds  it  is  of  the  highest  importance  to  study  the 
feed  consumption  and  milk  and  fat  production  of  each  individual,  in 
order  that  only  the  best  cows  and  their  progeny  may  be  retained. 

650.  Dairy  cow  censuses. — Many  years  ago  Hoard's  Dairyman,  thru 
trained  representatives,  began  studying  the  returns  from  cows  on  dairy 
farms  in  many  states  and  under  varying  conditions.  Following  the  first 
"cow  census,"  conducted  under  the  supervision  of  W.  D.  Hoard  in  1887, 
a  series  of  26  canvasses  were  taken  from  1899  to  1908,  including  2,163 
herds  which  contained  28,447  cows.  In  the  following  table  are  summar- 
ized some  of  the  most  important  data  compiled  in  these  extensive 
surveys :® 

Summary  of  the  Hoard's  Dairyman  cow  censuses 


No. 
of  cows 

Annual 

yield  of 

butter 

fat 

Cost  of 
feed 

Gross 
returns 

Returns 
over  cost 
of  feed 

Received 

forSl 

worth  of 

feed 

Feed  cost 

of  butter 

fat  per 

lb. 

Type  of  cow 

Good  dairy  type 

Lacking  dairy  type .... 

Value  of  silage 

Herds  fed  silage 

Not  known  to  be  silage- 
fed 

9,365 
8,104 

6,689 
21,759 

9,506 
3,775 

6,202 
9,122 

3,848 
3,459 

Lbs. 

189.0 
138.2 

181.8 
151.2 

180.0 
130.0 

185.0 
136.7 

234.0 
102.2 

Dols. 
33.95 
32.01 

34.98 
32.95 

34.53 
32.53 

34.78 
35.00 

33.66 
33.76 

Dols. 

51.33 
34.04 

48.48 
39.41 

48.65 
32.76 

49.32 
36.85 

59.84 
40.46 

Dols. 

17.38 
2.03 

13.50 
6.46 

14.12 
0.23 

14.54 
1.85 

26.18 
-6.70 

Dols. 

1.51 
1.06 

1.39 
1.20 

1.41 
1.01 

1.42 
1.05 

1.78 
0.80 

Cts. 

18.5 
23.0 

18.9 
22.2 

Value  of  good  stables 
Herds  in  good  stables .  . 
Herds  in  poor  stables . . 

Value  of  dairy  literature 
Owners       read       dairy 
papers 

18.7 
26.6 

17.5 

Owners  read   no   dairy 

papers 

Good  and  poor  producers 
Most  profitable  herds .  . 
Least  profitable  herds .  . 

28.8 

14.5 
32.1 

The  various  differences  recorded  are  not  wholly  due  to  the  different 
single  factors.  For  example,  the  low  results  from  the  herds  in  poor 
stables  were  not  due  to  this  alone  but  also  to  the  fact  that,  compared 
with  the  cows  in  good  stables,  a  greater  proportion  of  these  cows  were 
undoubtedly  lacking  in  dairy  type  and  that  a  smaller  number  were  fed 
silage  or  belonged  to  progressive  owners  who  read  dairy  literature  and 
applied  its  teachings  in  their  business.  The  poor  dairyman  is  usually 
deficient  in  not  one  but  in  many  particulars.  While  the  herds  in  which 
the  cows  were  of  good  dairy  type  returned  $17.38  per  cow  on  the  average 

'Compiled  in  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  of  Anim.  Indus.,  Bui.  164. 


EECORDS  OF  PRODUCTION  OF  DAIRY  COWS  391 

over  cost  of  feed,  the  herds  lacking  in  dairy  type  little  more  than  paid 
for  the  feed  they  ate.  The  cows  fed  silage  yielded  $1.39  for  each  dollar's 
worth  of  feed  consumed,  while  those  not  known  to  have  been  fed  silage 
returned  but  $1.20.  Dairymen  who  read  dairy  papers  secured  a  profit 
over  cost  of  feed  of  $14.54  per  cow,  while  those  not  directly  influenced 
by  dairy  literature  received  only  $1.85  per  cow. 

651.  Exposition  breed  tests. — Tests  of  pure-bred  cows  of  various  breeds 
for  the  production  of  milk  and  butter  fat  were  conducted  at  the  World's 
Columbian  Exposition  held  in  Chicago  in  1893 ;  at  the  Pan-American 
Exposition  held  in  Buffalo  in  1901 ;  and  at  the  Louisiana-Purchase 
Exposition  held  in  St.  Louis  in  1904.  In  each  case  the  test  was  super- 
vised by  a  joint  committee  composed  of  delegates  representing,  on  the 
one  hand,  the  various  breed  associations  interested,  and  on  the  other 
the  Association  of  American  Agricultural  Colleges  and  Experiment  Sta- 
tions. The  representatives  of  the  several  breed  associations  had  direct 
and  full  charge  of  the  cows  and  their  feed  and  care  in  all  particulars. 
The  representatives  of  the  colleges  and  stations  took  charge  of  all 
weighings  of  feed  as  well  as  of  milk  and  conducted  all  analyses  of  the 
milk. 

From  the  vast  accumulation  of  data  gathered  during  these  tests  the 
following  condensed  table  is  compiled,  giving  some  of  the  more  striking 
and  helpful  findings.  The  data  for  the  Columbian  Exposition  test  are 
taken  from  the  Jersey  Bulletin,  1893,  and  the  Journal  of  the  British 
Dairy  Farmers'  Association,  1894;  for  the  Pan-American  test,  from  the 
Hoist ein-Friesian  Register,  October,  1901 ;  and  for  the  Louisiana-Pur- 
chase Exposition,  from  the  Dairy  Cow  Demonstration  of  the  Louisiana- 
Purchase  Exposition,  Farrington,  published  by  Hoard's  Dairyman. 

In  these  competitive  tests  the  cows  were  selected  and  entered  by  the 
several  breed  associations,  there  being  no  restrictions  as  to  choice.  The 
chosen  specimens  of  each  breed  were  managed  as  to  feed,  water,  and 
care  entirely  in  accordance  with  the  ideas  and  wishes  of  the  committee 
in  charge  of  that  particular  breed.  The  feeding  and  milking  of  each 
cow,  however,  was  done  in  the  presence  of  representatives  of  the  colleges 
and  experiment  stations.  A  price  was  established  for  each  and  all  kinds 
of  feed  by  the  joint  committee.  The  sub-committee  in  charge  of  each 
competing  herd  was  allow^ed  to  give  as  much  of  any  and  all  kinds  of  the 
various  feeds  as  it  wished  to  each  cow  under  its  care.  Full  records  were 
kept  of  everything  eaten,  of  all  the  milk  yielded,  the  gain  or  loss  in  the 
weight  of  the  cows,  etc.  A  price  was  established  for  milk  and  fat  so  that 
the  returns  of  each  cow  over  the  cost  of  the  feed  consumed  could  be 
credited.  The  table  which  follows  shows  the  results  of  one  test  at  each 
exposition  condensed  and  arranged  for  comparative  study. 

Since  widely  different  prices  were  charged  for  feed  and  allowed  for 
products  at  the  different  expositions,  the  returns  from  milk  and  fat  over 
cost  of  feed  in  the  different  tests  should  not  be  compared  with  one 
another. 


392 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Summary  of  principal  tests  of  pure-hred  dairy  cows  at  the  Columhian, 
Pan-American,  and  Louisiana-Purchase  Expositions 


Av.  daily  jdeld  per  cow 


Total 
Bolids 


Per  cent 
fat 


Feed 
cost  100 
lbs.  milk 


Gain 
in  live 


Daily 

return 

over 

feed  cost 


Columbian  Exposition,  Chicago,  1S93:   best  cow  in  90-day  test 


Jersey.  .  .  . 
Guernsey . 
Shorthorn 


Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Cents 

Cents 

Lbs. 

40.4 

2.0 

4.9 

70.2 

14.3 

81 

39.0 

1.7 

4.4 

64.6 

14.8 

-13 

40.9 

1.5 

3.7 

65.5 

18.0 

115 

Cents 

81.3 
64.2 
58.5 


Pan-American  Exposition,  Buffalo,  1901:   average  of  5  cows,  146  days 


Jersey  

31.0 
31.6 

1.3 
1.4 

4.2 

4.2 

4.2 
4.3 

48.8 
47.9 

11.5 
11.1 

22.5 

Guernsey 

23.1 

Ayrshire    

37.6 
36.7 
44.2 

1.2 
1.2 
1.3 

4.6 
4.4 
5.1 

3.1 
3.3 
3.0 

40.5 
48.4 
40.2 

12.9 
14.6 
13.2 

26.4 

Shorthorn 

22.7 

Holstein-Friesian .  .  . 

28.6 

Polled  Jersey 

23.4 

1.0 

3.1 

4.4 

51.5 

11.6 

15.7 

French  Canadian. .  . 

28.5 

1.1 

3.6 

3.8 

44.2 

11.8 

20.2 

Brown  Swiss 

35.8 

1.2 

3.5 

3.4 

45.7 

13.4 

23.3 

Red  Poll 

33.3 

1.3 

4.2 

3.8 

45.8 

12.1 

21.8 

Dutch  Belted 

28.0 

0.9 

3.3 

3.2 

51.4 

16.1 

15.7 

Louisiana-Purchase  Exposition 

St.  Louis 

1904:  best  and  poorest  cow,  120  days 

Jersey 

Best  cow 

48.4 

2.3 

6.7 

4.8 

55.0 

9.7 

77 

42.1 

Poorest  cow 

38.8 

1.6 

5.1 

4.1 

65.0 

13.2 

85 

22.3 

Holstein-Friesian 

Best  cow 

67.5 

2.4 

7.5 

3.5 

45.0 

11.0 

54 

38.4 

Poorest  cow 

47.1 

1.5 

5.1 

3.2 

61.0 

16.5 

147 

15.0 

Brown  Swiss 

Best  cow 

51.0 

1.8 

6.1 

3.4 

54.5 

13.7 

74 

23.1 

Poorest  cow 

38.5 

1.5 

5.1 

3.8 

69.5 

15.5 

147 

16.5 

Shorthorn 

Best  cow 

43.4 

1.7 

5.5 

4.0 

54.5 

11.7 

139 

27.1 

Poorest  cow 

21.4 

0.8 

2.7 

3.9 

107.5 

23.5 

234 

1.6 

652.  Wisconsin  Dairy  Cow  Competition. — The  most  extensive  breed 
competition  which  has  been  conducted  in  this  country  is  the  Wisconsin 
Dairy  Cow  Competition,  carried  on  under  the  supervision  of  the  Wis- 
consin Station.'^  Some  of  the  data  secured  in  this  contest,  in  which 
yearly  records  were  secured  for  395  cows,  is  condensed  in  the  table: 


Results  of  Wisconsin  Dairy  Cow  Competition 


No.  of 
cows 


Yearly 
yield  of 

milk 

Lbs. 


Yearly 
jdeld  of 

fat 


Breed  test 

Holstein 158      14,689       503 

Guernsey 157        8,465       421 

Jersey 80        7,047       363 

All  breeds 

Highest  producers  134       528 .8 

Medium  producers  133       420.6 

Lowest  producers  131       338.9 

•  Butter  fat,  $0.28  per  lb.,  ekim  milk,  $0.20  per  100  lbs. 

»Wi8.  Res.  Bui.  26;  Bui.  226. 


Value  of 
products* 

Dols. 

164.40 
131.59 
113.00 

166.82 
133.75 
108.12 


Cost  of 
feed 

Dols. 

91.07 
70.95 
53.88 

79.10 
71.08 
65.95 


Net  Value  of 
returns  products 
over  cost  per  100 
of  feed    feed  units* 


Dols. 

73.33 
60.64 
59.12 

87.72 
62.67 
42.17 


Dels. 

2.08 
2.05 
2.05 

2.33 
2.04 
1.77 


RECORDS  OF  PRODUCTION  OF  DAIRY  COWS 


393 


The  results  of  this  competition  show  plainly  the  fact,  already  empha- 
sized, that  high  producers  yield  sufficient  product  to  much  more  than 
pay  for  the  larger  amount  of  feed  they  eat,  compared  with  low-pro- 
ducing individuals.   (544-7) 

653.  Forced  feeding  of  cows  on  test. — The  feeding  of  cows  being  forced 
to  their  utmost  production  is  an  art  concerning  which  only  general 
suggestions  can  be  made.  Skilled  feeders  employ  heavy  allowances 
of  rich  concentrates  mixed  in  considerable  variety,  in  addition  to  legume 
hay,  corn  silage,  and  often  roots,  soilage,  or  other  succulence.  By  care- 
ful attention  to  all  details  and  by  adapting  the  ration  to  the  peculiar- 
ities of  the  individual  cows,  the  animals  are  kept  from  going  off  feed 
on  their  rich  rations. 

Farrington^  gives  the  following  to  show  the  actual  rations  fed  on  a 
certain  day  to  cows  of  the  several  breeds  in  the  Louisiana-Purchase 
Exposition  dairy  contest. 


Rations  fed  on  the  same  day  at  the  Louisiana-Purchase  Exposition 

Brown 

Swiss 

Holstein- 
Friesian 

Jersey 

Shorthorn 

Roughage 

Lbs. 

7 
40 

Lbs. 

is 

15 

35 

Lbs. 

18.0 

6.0 

16.0 

Lbs. 

9 

Cut  alfalfa  hay 

24 

Green  cowpeas 

Total  roughage  (green  and  dry) .  . 
Concentrates 
Wheat  bran            

47 
'8 

i 

15 

65 

2 

5 

i 

14 

40.0 

3.0 
2.0 
2.5 
2.5 
5.0 
1.5 
2.5 

33 

4 

Linseed  oil  meal         

2 

Ground  oats                 

2 

Hominy  feed            

3 

Gluten  feed               

2 

Corn  meal                     

Corn  hearts                  

2 

Cottonseed  meal   .          

2 

Distillers'  grains 

4 

Total  concentrates 

24 

22 

19.0 

21 

While  the  roughage  supply  for  the  cows  under  test  was  not  large,  a 
heavy  concentrate  allowance  of  from  19  to  24  lbs.  was  fed  daily,  the 
Brown  Swiss  cows  getting  the  largest  and  the  Jerseys  the  least.  Haeeker 
of  the  Minnesota  Station,®  on  studying  the  records  secured  in  this  con- 
test, finds  that  on  such  heavy  rations  the  cows  converted  a  smaller 
percentage  of  the  nutrients  into  milk  than  do  good  cows  on  ordinary, 
well-balanced  rations.  In  forced  feeding  especial  care  must  be  exercised 
lest  the  health  of  the  cow  be  permanently  injured. 

654.  Records  of  great  cows. — The  following  summary  of  the  records 
of  production  and  feed  for  champion  cows  of  the  leading  dairy  breeds 
will  be  of  interest  in  showing  how  such  great  cows  have  been  fed  while 

^Dalry  Cow  Demonstration,  La.-Purch.  Expo. 

•Minn.  Bui.  106.  "Hoard's  Dairyman,  46,  p.  477. 


394  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

on  test :  Auehenbrain  Brown  Kate  4th/*'  a  pure-bred  Ayrshire,  yielded 
23,022  lbs.  of  3.99  per  ct.  milk,  containing  917.6  lbs.  fat,  in  the  year 
ending  October  2,  1913.  Thruout  the  test  she  was  milked  3  times  a 
day.  During  the  year  she  consumed  704  lbs.  bran,  762  lbs.  hominy, 
1,074  lbs.  ground  oats,  548  lbs.  gluten  feed,  812  lbs.  cottonseed  meal, 
134  lbs.  peanut  meal,  908  lbs.  linseed  meal,  8,000  lbs.  silage,  21,000  lbs. 
beets,  and  2,880  lbs.  alfalfa  hay,  the  total  cost  of  feed  being  $184.62. 
The  highest  allowance  of  grain  fed  was  15  lbs.  per  day. 

During  the  year  ending  January  20,  1914,  the  pure-bred  Jersey  cow 
Sophie  19th  produced  in  her  fifth  lactation  period  17,558  lbs.  of  5.69 
per  ct.  milk,  containing  999.1  lbs.  of  fat.  In  this  and  her  preceding  4 
lactation  periods  she  yielded  a  total  of  4,428  lbs.  of  butter,  containing 
85  per  ct.  fat,^^  a  remarkable  record  of  persistent  high  production. 

Murne  Cowan,^-  a  9-yr.-old  pure-bred  Guernsey,  during  the  year 
ending  February  19,  1915  gave  24,008  lbs.  of  milk  testing  4.57  per  ct.  fat 
and  containing  1,098.2  lbs.  of  butter  fat.  Three  months  after  she  com- 
pleted her  record  she  dropped  a  vigorous  calf.  While  on  test  she  was 
milked  4  times  daily.  During  the  year  she  consumed  an  average  of 
16.3  lbs.  of  mixed  concentrates  daily,  and  ate  in  addition  3.5  lbs.  dried 
beet  pulp,  1.3  lbs.  molasses,  16.0  lbs.  of  beets,  38.0  lbs.  of  silage,  and 
8.5  lbs.  of  alfalfa  hay,  with  green  sweet  corn  and  green  alfalfa  additional 
during  the  summer.  The  wide  variety  of  feeds  often  employed  by 
skilled  feeders  with  cows  on  test  is  shown  by  the  rations  fed  this  cow 
during  2  months: 

March,  1914.  From  the  1st  to  the  18th,  17  lbs.  of  the  following  concentrate 
mixture:  bran  4.5  parts;  hominy  3.5  parts;  ground  oats  3  parts;  dried  distillers' 
grains  and  linseed  meal,  each  2  parts;  Sugar  Malt  and  gluten  feed,  each  1  part. 
In  addition  4.5  lbs.  dried  beet  pulp,  30  lbs.  beets,  36  lbs.  silage,  and  11  lbs. 
alfalfa  hay.  From  the  19th  to  the  31st.,  19.5  lbs.  of  the  following  concentrate 
mixture:  bran  4  parts;  hominy,  dried  distillers'  grains,  and  linseed  meal,  each 
1.5  parts;  ground  oats  and  wheat  feed,  each  3  parts;  flaxseed  meal  2  parts; 
Sugar  Malt,  gluten  feed,  and  peanut  meal,  each  1  part.  In  addition  3  lbs. 
dried  beet  pulp,  24  lbs.  beets,  37  lbs.  silage,  and  13  lbs.  alfalfa  hay. 

August,  1914.  Fourteen  lbs.  of  the  following  mixture:  bran  4  parts;  hominy 
2.5  parts;  ground  oats  3.5  parts;  dried  distillers'  grains  5.5  parts;  Sugar  Malt 
2  parts;  gluten  feed  0.5  part;  cottonseed  meal  and  linseed  meal,  each  1  part. 
In  addition  1.2  lbs.  oat  feed,  2  lbs.  dried  beet  pulp,  20  lbs.  beets,  15  lbs.  each 
sweet  corn  forage  and  green  alfalfa,  36  lbs.  silage,  and  9.5  lbs.  alfalfa  hay. 

The  total  cost  of  feed  for  the  year  was  $196.73  and  the  estimated 
cost  of  labor,  including  feeding,  grooming,  and  milking,  $146. 

Duchess  Skylark  Ormsby,^-*  a  5-yr.-old  pure  bred  Holstein  cow,  yielded 
27,761.7  lbs.  of  milk  testing  4.34  per  ct.  and  containing  1205.09  lbs.  of 
butter  fat  in  the  year  ending  November,  1915.  She  was  fed  about  22  lbs. 
daily  of  a  concentrate  mixture  of  wheat  bran,  oats,  brewers'  dried  grains, 
gluten  feed,  distillers'  dried  grains,  hominy  feed,  and  linseed  meal.  In 
addition  she  was  given  about  24  lbs.  of  corn  silage,  11  lbs.  alfalfa  hay, 
and  32  lbs.  roots.     She  was  not  turned  to  pasture  in  summer  but  was 

"  Hoard's  Dairyman,  47,  p.  75. 

"  Guernsey  Breeder's  Jour.,  7,  1915,  Nos.  3  and  6. 

"^Holstein-Friesian  World,  Nov.  13  and  Dec.  18,  1915. 


RECORDS  OF  PRODUCTION  OF  DAIRY  COWS 


395 


given  exercise  for  a  half  hour  daily.    At  times  during  the  summer  oat- 
and-pea  silage  and  green  corn  were  fed  and  the  roots  discontinued. 

II.  Feed  Required  by  Cow  and  Cost  of  Producing  Milk  and  Fat 

655.  Annual  feed  requirement. — The  next  table  condenses  studies 
covering  from  1  to  6  years  at  10  widely  separated  American  stations, 
showing  the  yearly  feed  requirement  of  cows  and  their  returns  in  milk 
and  fat. 

Annual  feed  requirement  of  the  dairy  cow  as  found  by  10  stations 


No.  of 

yeara 

Feed  eaten 

Av.  cost 
of  feed 
per  cow 

Returns 

stations 

Pasture 

Concen- 
trates 

Soilage, 
roots,  silage 

Hay 

Milk 

Fat 

Massachusetts! . .  . 

Connecticut^ 

New  Jersey' 

Michigan* 

Wisconsin^ 

Wisconsin^ 

Minnesota^ 

Missouri^ 

Utah^ 

6 
5 
6 
1 
3 
4 
1 
1 
5 
2 
2 

Days 
38 
152 
168* 
139 
180 
150* 
131 
191 
153 
150 
187 

Lbs. 

2,149 
2,029 
2,624 
2,774 
1,914 
2,010 
3,435 
3,027 
1,305 
1,169 
1,979 

Lbs. 
4,938 

8,694 
16,753 
3,638 
9,448 
8,318 
5,306 

'3,692 

Lbs. 

5,105 
1,830 
1,825 
3,986 
1,200 
1,490 
2,029 
3,480 
4,518 
6,468 
2,347 

Dols. 

90.04 
53.46 
44.68 
35.96 
37.68 
48.82 
37.82 
35.30 
21.43 
32.45 
31.61 

Lbs. 

6,036 
5,498 
6,165 
7,009 
7,061 
8,036 
6,408 
5,927 
5,601 
5,993 
8,783 

Lbs. 
306 
279 
277 
260 
299 
344 
301 
248 
237 

Monta,na>" 

Nebraska" 

250 
339 

»  Bui.  145.     2  Bui.  29.     3  Rpts.  1897-1904.     ■>  Bui.  166.     '  Rpts.  1905-7.     6  Buls.  167,  187,  217.  '  Bui.  35 
»BuI.  26.     3  Bui.  68.     10  Rpt.  1905.     »  Bui.  101. 
*  Pasture  limited  in  amount. 

At  the  Massachusetts  Station  the  cows  were  fed  soilage  thruout  the 
summer,  only  the  dry  cows  being  turned  to  pasture.  In  New  Jersey 
the  cows  were  likewise  maintained  in  summer  almost  wholly  on  soilage 
and  silage.  At  the  other  stations  the  pasture  period  ranged  from  131 
days  in  Minnesota  to  191  in  Missouri.  The  great  value  of  alfalfa  hay 
in  reducing  the  amount  of  concentrates  fed  and  the  cost  of  keep  is  shown 
by  the  Utah  and  Montana  reports.  The  prices  of  feed  have  advanced 
materially  since  these  results  were  reported  so  the  figures  do  not  repre- 
sent the  present  cost  of  feed  per  cow.  In  the  second  average  for  Wiscon- 
sin, for  the  years  1907-11,  the  annual  cost  of  feed  per  cow  is  $11.14  higher 
than  the  average  for  the  first  3  years  reported,  1904-7.  Since  1911  the 
prices  have  advanced  still  further.  The  milk  returns  varied  from  5,498 
lbs.  per  cow  in  Connecticut  to  8,783  lbs.  in  Nebraska,  and  the  fat  from 
237  lbs.  in  Utah  to  344  lbs.  in  Wisconsin. 

From  this  table  the  intelligent,  experienced  dairyman  can  closely 
estimate  the  quantity  and  cost  of  the  concentrates  and  roughages  re- 
quired to  maintain  his  herd  of  cows  during  the  year,  and  the  returns  in 
milk  and  fat  he  may  reasonably  expect  therefrom. 

656.  Monthly  feed  cost  of  milk. — The  following  data  from  4  widely 
separated  stations,  compiled  in  1897,  show  the  feed  cost  of  milk  and 
fat  for  different  months  of  the  year  at  the  prices  prevailing  for  feeds 
and  pasture  at  that  date : 


396 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Feed  cost  of  100  lbs.  of  milk  and  1  lb.  of  fat  by  months 


New  York! 

Minnesota" 

Missouri' 

Utah* 

Average 

Number  of  cows 

Average  weight  of  cows 

Average  fat  per  cow 

20 
1,123  lbs. 
286  lbs. 

23 
976  lbs. 
301  lbs. 

12 
990  lbs. 
248  lbs. 

15 
970  lbs. 
222  lbs. 

Month 

100 
lbs. 
milk 

lib. 
fat 

100 
lbs. 
mUk 

1  lb. 
fat 

100 
lbs. 
milk 

lib. 
fat 

100 

lbs. 
milk 

lib. 
fat 

MUk 

Fat 

$   .64 
.68 
.71 
.71 
.58 
.28 
.38 
.65 
.51 
.41 
.65 
.63 

S   .17 
.18 
.18 
.18 
.145 
.075 
.095 
.155 
.125 
.105 
.175 
.155 

$   .65 
.67 
.67 
.71 
.59 
.32 
.37 
.51 
.51 
.60 
.68 
.65 

$   .149 
.151 
.165 
.162 
.132 
.076 
.078 
.114 
.106 
.140 
.159 
.164 

$   .94 

1.01 

1.21 

1.01 

.43 

.24 

.23 

.14 

.21 

.42 

.65 

1.03 

$  .240 
.253 
.299 
.234 
.096 
.053 
.053 
.033 
.052 
.098 
.153 
.265 

$   .56 
.62 
.59 
.49 
.48 
.15 
.19 
.21 
.26 
.38 
.59 
.63 

S  .138 
.160 
.142 
.121 
.113 
.038 
.049 
.051 
.066 
.091 
.135 
.143 

.76 
.71 
.54 
.26 
.31 
.42 
.41 
.47 
.65 
.71 

$   .168 

February 

March 

April 

.179 
.187 
.171 

May 

.125 

June. .    .    . 

.064 

July 

.072 

August 

September. .          .        

.098 
.094 

October 

November 

December 

.112 
.157 
.174 

Average 

$   .57 

$   .145 

$   .58 

$    .133 

$    .63 

S    .152 

$   .43 

$    .104 

$    .55 

$    .133 

1  Bui.  52.     2  Bui.  35.     »  Bui.  26.     <  Bui.  43. 

Since  these  data  were  gathered  the  cost  of  feeding  stuffs  has  greatly- 
advanced,  so  that  the  figures  are  only  relatively  valuable.  They  show 
that  in  1897  the  feed  necessary  to  produce  100  lbs.  of  milk  in  March  cost 
76  cts.,  while  when  the  same  cows  were  on  pasture  in  June  it  fell  to 
26  cts.  Winter  prices  were  again  reached  in  November.  The  average 
feed  cost  for  the  year  at  the  4  stations  was  55  cts.  for  100  lbs.  of  milk 
and  13.3  cts.  for  a  pound  of  fat.  To  get  the  present  feed  cost  of  milk 
and  fat  in  the  United  States  the  figures  should  be  increased  by  from 
40  to  75  per  ct. 

657.  Cost  of  keeping  cows. — In  addition  to  the  cost  of  feed,  the  dairy 
cow  should  be  charged  with:  (1)  depreciation,  interest,  and  taxes  on  the 
cow  herself;  (2)  depreciation,  interest,  and  taxes  on  barn;  (3)  depreci- 
ation and  interest  on  barn  tools  and  dairy  implements ;  (4)  cost  of  perish- 
able tools  and  supplies,  including  bedding,  ice,  salt,  brushes,  record 
sheets,  etc.;  (5)  proportionate  cost  of  pure-bred  sire;  (6)  cost  of  labor 
in  caring  for  cow.  These  charges  are  estimated  by  various  authorities  as 
follows : 

Cost  of  keeping  cows  in  addition  to  cost  of  feed 


Lindsay, 
Mass. 
Station! 

Trueman, 
Conn. 

stations 

Rasmussen, 
N.  H. 
Station' 

Cook  and 

Minkler,  N.  J. 

Station* 

Dollars 

16.50 
7.50 

1.15 

9.00 

4.00 

35.00 

Dollars 
]      21 .40 

■7^06 

3.00 
33.60 

DoUars 

22.43 

'7^57 

3.79 
33.73 

Dollars 

/     15.00 
\       5.00 

Barn  for  housing  cow  and  feed ....... 

Int.  and  depreciation  on  tools  and  im- 
plements                                 

3.65 

Cost  of  pure-bred  bull,  per  cow 

1.93 
30.34 

73.15 

65.00 

67.52 

55.92* 

1  Mass.  Bui.  145.     2  Conn.  (Storrs)  Bui.  73.     '  N.  H.  Exten.  Bui.  2.     *  N.  J.  Rpts.  31,  33. 

*  Does  not  include  charge  for  dairy  apparatus,  milk  utensils,  insurance,  or  incidental  expenses. 


RECORDS  OF  PRODUCTION  OF  DAIRY  COWS  397 

These  charges  will  vary  greatly  for  the  different  sections  of  the 
country,  depending  on  the  price  of  labor,  the  shelter  required,  etc. 
The  above  figures  will,  however,  give  an  approximate  idea  of  the  amount 
which  should  be  added  to  the  cost  of  feed  to  obtain  the  total  cost  of 
maintaining  a  cow  for  a  year.  In  turn,  the  cow  should  be  credited  not 
only  with  the  value  of  her  product,  either  milk,  or  butter  fat  and  skim 
milk,  but  also  with  the  value  of  her  calf  and  of  the  manure  she  produces. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

FEED  AND  CARE  OF  THE  DAIRY  COW 
I.  Feeding  for  Milk  Production 
Every  dairyman  knows  that  it  is  in  late  spring  or  early  summer 
while  on  luxuriant  pasture,  that  the  dairy  herd  normally  reaches  the 
maximum  production  for  the  year.  As  Eckles^  points  out,  this  fact 
teaches  that  to  secure  the  largest  total  yield  of  milk  the  dairyman  should 
imitate  these  summer  conditions  as  closely  as  possible  during  the  other 
months  of  the  year.  The  summer  conditions  which  bring  about  the 
maximum  production  of  milk  and  butter  fat  are: 

1.  An  abundance  of  feed. 

2.  A  balanced  ration. 

3.  Succulent  feed. 

4.  Palatable  feed. 

5.  A  moderate  temperature. 

6.  Comfortable  surroundings. 

7.  Reasonable  exercise. 

Upon  the  ability  of  the  dairyman  to  maintain  these  favorable  con- 
ditions for  his  herd  thruout  the  year,  depend  in  large  measure  the 
profits  he  will  receive. 

658.  Generous  feeding. — As  before  pointed  out  (540-2),  the  properly- 
bred  and  properly-fed  dairy  cow  is  the  most  efficient  animal  machine 
in  existence  for  the  conversion  of  the  gross  products  of  the  fields  and 
pastures  into  refined  articles  of  the  highest  palatability  and  nutritive 
properties  for  human  consumption.  Yet  many  dairymen  make  the 
serious  mistake  of  failing  to  supply  this  responsive  animal  machine 
with  sufficient  raw  material,  in  the  shape  of  feed,  to  ensure  the  most 
economical  production.  Since  it  requires  about  half  of  all  the  feed  that 
even  the  good  dairy  cow  will  eat,  merely  to  maintain  her  body,  if  she 
is  given  but  little  beyond  the  maintenance  ration  obviously  only  a 
small  portion  will  be  available  for  milk  production.  Since  the  1000-lb. 
cow  requires  about  7.9  lbs.  total  digestible  nutrients  daily  for  her 
maintenance,  as  shown  in  Appendix  Table  V,  the  following  table^  shows 
the  theoretical  economy  with  which  she  will  produce  milk  when  given 
additional  feed: 

*  Dairy  Cattle  and  Milk   Production,   p.   257. 

'Adapted  from  Eckles,  Dairy  Cattle  and  Milk  Production,  p.   261. 


FEED  AND  CARE  OF  THE  DAIRY  COW       399 

Economy  of  milk  production  on  varying  allowances  of  feed 


Half  ration,  7  .90  lbs.  dig.  nutrients 

Three-fourths  ration,  11 .85  lbs.  dig.  nutrients. 
Full  ration,  15  .80  lbs.  dig.  nutrients 


Jutrients 

for 
lintenance 
Lbs. 

Available 

for 

production 

Lbs. 

Proportion 

available  for 

production 

Per  ct. 

7.90 
7.90 
7.90 

0 
3.95 
7.90 

0 
25 
50 

Theoretically,  when  fed  7.9  lbs.  digestible  nutrients  the  1000-lb.  cow 
requires  the  entire  amount  for  the  up-keep  of  her  body,  leaving  nothing 
for  milk  production.  While  she  will  continue  for  a  time  to  yield  some 
milk  on  this  meager  allowance,  such  return  will  be  at  the  expense  of 
her  own  body  tissues.  (543)  When  fed  three-fourths  of  a  full  ration 
the  cow  can  then  utilize  the  added  fourth  for  milk  production,  while 
if  given  a  full  ration  half  her  feed  is  available  for  milk  production. 

659.  The  proper  concentrate  allowance. — The  question  of  how  much 
concentrates  should  be  fed  the  dairy  cow  is  of  great  economic  impor- 
tance to  dairymen,  for  under  normal  conditions  roughages  are  the  cheap 
and  concentrates  the  costly  part  of  the  ration.  The  amount  of  concen- 
trates advisable  depends  first  of  all  on  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the 
roughages  furnished;  and  second,  on  the  productive  capacity  of  the 
cows.  We  have  seen  in  the  preceding  chapter  that  a  ration  containing 
only  legume  hay  and  good  corn  silage  mil  sustain  a  fair  production  of 
milk.  Indeed,  "wdth  ordinary  cows  such  a  ration  may  prove  the  most 
economical  when  concentrates  are  high  in  price.  However,  a  cow  of 
good  dairy  type  and  temperament  will  generally  pay,  thru  the  increased 
product,  for  a  reasonable  allowance  of  concentrates  added  to  all  the 
good  roughage  she  will  eat.  Linfield  of  the  Utah  Station,^  where  alfalfa 
hay  is  largely  fed  for  roughage,  states  that  any  excess  over  6  lbs.  of 
concentrates  in  the  ration  usually  increases  the  cost  of  production. 
Stewart  and  Atwood  of  the  West  A^irginia  Station,*  feeding  timothy 
hay  and  corn  silage  for  roughage,  found  that  any  increase  in  concen- 
trates beyond  5  or  6  lbs.  per  cow  daily  did  not  bring  corresponding 
returns.  Hills  of  the  Vermont  Station,^  after  years  of  study  of  rations 
in  which  mixed  hay  and  corn  silage  usually  formed  the  roughage,  con- 
cludes that  10  lbs.  of  concentrates  will  rarely  pay  over  a  smaller  allow- 
ance, while  2  lbs.  is  too  little,  even  with  a  full  supply  of  roughage. 
When  good  quality  roughage  is  plentiful,  4  lbs.  of  concentrates  is  likely 
to  yield  net  returns  nearly  equal  to  an  8-lb.  concentrate  allowance ;  but 
when  the  after-production  and  the  manurial  value  of  the  ration  are  con- 
sidered, a  concentrate  allowance  of  6  to  8  lbs.  seems  advisable.  Woll  and 
Carlyle  in  2  trials  at  the  Wisconsin  Station*^  found  that  with  hay  and  corn 
silage  for  roughage  8  lbs.  of  concentrates  gave  as  good  returns  in  milk 
and  fat  as  12  lbs. 

Attention  is  directed  to  the  relatively  small  allowance  of  concen- 
trates recommended  by  the  various  investigators.     This  material  reduc- 

='Utali  Bui.  43.      "W.  Va.  Bui.  106.     =Vt.  Bui.  137.       "Wis.  Rpts.  1899,  1900. 


400  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

tion  from  earlier  recommendations  tends  to  the  more  economical  pro- 
duction of  dairy  products.  The  reader  should  note,  however,  that 
where  small  allowances  of  concentrates  proved  the  most  economical  the 
roughage  fed  was  always  ample  in  quantity  and  desirable  in  quality, 
corn  silage  carrying  more  or  less  grain,  and  clover  or  alfalfa  hay  usually 
being  employed.  The  dairyman  who  persists  in  feeding  his  cows  wholly 
on  such  low-grade  roughages  as  timothy  hay,  corn  stover,  etc.,  must  pay 
the  penalty  by  feeding  from  10  to  12  lbs.  of  expensive  concentrates  daily 
if  his  cows  are  to  maintain  a  reasonable  flow  of  milk. 

The  wise  dairyman  will  hold  in  mind  that  a  good  dairy  cow  in  full 
flow  of  milk  is  expending  fully  as  much  energy  as  a  horse  at  hard  labor 
and  this  without  cessation  for  many  months.  We  know  that  the  harder 
a  horse  works  the  more  grain  and  the  less  roughage  he  must  have,  and 
the  same  is  true  for  the  cow.  (457)  In  feeding,  the  aim  should  be  to 
supply  as  much  good  roughage  as  the  cow  will  readily  consume,  and  to 
this  add  sufficient  concentrates  to  keep  the  digestible  matter  up  to  the 
standard  set  by  the  scientists.  (Chapter  VII) 

660.  The  ration  should  be  properly  balanced. — As  we  have  seen  (310), 
immature  grass  is  rich  in  protein  compared  with  carbohydrates  and  fat. 
Indeed  Wolff  based  his  standard,  in  which  he  advocated  a  heavy  allow- 
ance of  protein  for  the  dairy  cow,  upon  the  composition  of  pasture  grass. 
(156-7)  While  we  have  learned  thru  actual  feeding  trials  that  it  is 
not  necessary  to  furnish  the  dairy  cow  with  as  much  protein  as  was 
advised  by  Wolff,  her  ration  should  nevertheless  be  much  richer  in  pro- 
tein than  those  for  fattening  or  work  animals.  (150)  Owing  to  the 
heavy  demand  for  lime  and  phosphorus  in  milk  production,  the  supply 
of  these  mineral  nutrients  must  likewise  be  ample.  Fortunately,  both 
of  these  constituents  are  furnished  in  abundance  by  legume  hay.  The 
amount  of  protein  it  will  pay  to  feed  the  dairy  cow  will  depend,  as  has 
already  been  pointed  out,  on  the  relative  prices  of  nitrogenous  and 
carbonaceous  feeds.  In  no  case  should  the  protein  allowance  fall  far 
below  the  minimum  amounts  shown  in  Appendix  Table  V.  In  districts 
where  protein-rich  feeds  are  cheap,  it  is  often  more  important  to  know 
how  narrow  a  ration  may  safely  be  fed.  Michels^  and  McNutt^  found 
in  trials  at  the  North  Carolina  Station  that  rations  containing  4  to  6  lbs. 
of  cottonseed  meal  and  having  nutritive  ratios  as  narrow  as  1 :4  were 
entirely  satisfactory. 

661.  Cows  should  be  fed  individually. — So  pronounced  is  the  tendency 
to  milk  production  in  cows  of  marked  dairy  temperament  that,  in  spite 
of  the  most  liberal  feeding,  they  will  rarely  lay  on  flesh  when  in  full 
flow  of  milk,  provided  their  ration  is  well  balanced.  On  the  other  hand, 
cows  of  ordinary  capacity  may  easily  be  overfed,  in  which  case  they  will 
store  the  surplus  nutrients  in  the  form  of  body  fat,  rather  than  increasing 
their  milk  production.  Since  even  in  a  well-bred  and  well-selected  herd 
the  different  cows  vary  widely  in  productive  ability,  for  the  greatest 

1 N.  C  Bui.  213.  *  Proc.  Amer.  See.  Anim.  Prod.,  1914. 


FEED  AND  CARE  OF  THE  DAIRY  COW  401 

profit  the  cows  must  be  fed  as  individuals,  rather  than  each  animal 
being  given  the  same  ration.  Only  under  exceptional  conditions  does 
this  mean,  however,  that  it  is  practicable  to  compute  a  balanced  ration 
for  each  different  animal.  Ordinarily  it  will  suffice  to  determine  what 
amounts  and  proportions  of  feeds  should  be  used  to  provide  an  econom- 
ical ration  that  will  meet  the  standards  for  the  average  of  the  herd,  in 
the  manner  shown  in  Chapters  VII  and  VIII.  Each  cow  may  then  be 
given  all  the  roughage  she  will  eat,  and  the  allowance  of  concentrates 
adjusted  according  to  her  production.  A  dairy  cow  will  usually  con- 
sume about  2  lbs.  of  dry  roughage  of  good  quality  daily  per  100  lbs.  live 
weight,  or  1  lb.  of  dry  roughage  and  3  lbs.  of  silage.  Common  rules 
for  feeding  concentrates  are : 

1.  Feed  1  lb.  of  concentrates  per  day  for  each  pound  of  butter  fat  the  cow 
produces  per  week,  or 

2.  Peed  1  lb.  of  concentrates  per  day  for  each  3  to  4  lbs.  of  milk,  depending 
on  its  richness,  or 

3.  Feed  as  heavy  an  allowance  as  the  cow  will  pay  for  at  the  ruling  prices 
for  feeds  and  products,  increasing  the  allowance  gradually  until  she  fails  to 
respond  by  an  increase  in  production  which  will  cover  the  increase  in  cost. 

The  first  2  rules  apply  only  when  abundant  roughage  of  good  quality 
is  supplied.  Heavy  producers  require  a  narrower  nutritive  ratio  than 
ordinary  animals,  and  hence  it  may  be  advisable  to  alter  the  character 
of  the  grain  mixture  for  them.  It  is  also  wise  to  feed  a  more  nitrog- 
enous concentrate  allowance  to  cows  which  show  a  tendency  to  fatten, 
while  animals  which  are  losing  flesh  should  receive  a  larger  proportion 
of  the  carbonaceous  concentrates,  such  as  the  farm-grown  grains. 

662.  Feeding  concentrates  on  pasture. — The  economy  of  feeding  con- 
centrates to  cows  on  pasture  has  been  studied  at  a  number  of  stations. 
Shelton  and  Cottrell  of  the  Kansas  Station''  found  that  feeding  grain  to 
cows  on  pasture  did  not  directly  pay,  even  tho  the  yield  of  milk  was 
increased  as  much  as  31  per  ct.  Moore  of  the  Mississippi  Station,^**  on 
feeding  3  lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal  and  4  lbs.  of  wheat  bran  daily  per  cow 
to  a  dairy  herd  on  pasture,  found  that  the  increased  milk  flow  did  not 
justify  the  expense,  tho  the  firmness  of  the  butter  was  greatly  improved 
by  feeding  the  cottonseed  meal.  At  the  Utah  Station'^^  Linfield  found 
that  cows  getting  some  concentrates  while  on  pasture,  at  first  showed 
no  great  advantage  therefrom;  later  the  effects  of  such  feed  became 
apparent,  the  difference  being  very  marked  by  the  following  winter. 

Roberts  of  the  New  York  (Cornell)  Station^^  found  that  cows  fed  con- 
centrates while  on  luxuriant  pasture  gave  less  milk  and  no  more  fat  than 
those  on  grass  alone.  With  luxuriant  pasture  except  for  a  short  period, 
both  lots  did  equally  well.  Grain-fed  cows  that  were  fed  grass  for 
soilage  gave  just  enough  more  milk  than  others  fed  no  grain  to  pay  for 
the  concentrates  fed.    The  study  was  then  transferred  to  a  nearby  dairy 

•Kan.  Rpt.  1888.  "Utah  Bui.  68. 

^"Mlss.  Bui.  70.  "N.  Y.   (Cornell)   Buls.  13,  22,  36,  49. 


402  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

farm.  A  herd  of  16  cows  lightly  fed  the  previous  winter  was  divided  into 
2  lots  of  8  cows  each,  all  grazing  on  the  same  pasture.  Each  cow  in  Lot  I 
was  given  4  quarts  daily  of  rich  concentrates,  while  those  in  Lot  II  re- 
ceived none.  When  the  grass  began  to  fail  in  August  soilage  was  fed.  The 
returns  for  22  weeks  are  as  follows: 

Feeding  concentrates  to  cows  on  pasture 

Lot  I  Lot  II 

Pasture  with       Pasture  without 
concentrates  concentrates 

Concentrates  fed,  pounds 5,200                

Milk  yield,  pounds 22,629  17,698 

Excess  of  milk  in  favor  of  Lot  I,  pounds 4,931                 

Gain  in  weight  per  cow,  pounds 166  113 

Average  per  cent  fat  in  milk 4 .67  4 .70 

Average  per  cent  total  solids 14 .08  14 .19 

In  this  trial  the  pastured  cows  getting  concentrates  gave  28  per  ct. 
more  milk  than  those  getting  no  concentrates,  and  each  pound  of  con- 
centrates fed  returned  about  1  lb.  of  milk. 

The  following  year  no  concentrates  were  fed  to  either  lot  while  on 
pasture.  The  6-months  yield  from  6  cows  that  remained  in  each  lot  was 
as  follows: 

Residual  effect  of  feeding  concentrates 

Lot  I  Lot  II 

Fed  no 
Fed  concentrates         concentrates 
previous  year  previous  year 

Average  yield  per  cow,  6  months,  pounds 3,440  2,960 

In  favor  of  Lot  I,  pounds 480  .... 

Tho  getting  no  concentrates,  Lot  I  returned  480  lbs.,  or  16  per  ct., 
more  milk  than  Lot  II.  Roberts  holds  that  this  was  due  to  feeding  con- 
centrates the  preceding  year.  The  benefits  were  especially  marked  in 
the  case  of  the  heifers,  the  2-  and  3-yr.-olds  fed  concentrates  the  year 
before  developing  into  better  animals  than  their  mates  which  had  been 
fed  no  concentrates  the  previous  year  while  on  pasture. 

In  a  test  on  the  Elmendorf  Farm,  Hooper  of  the  Kentucky  Station" 
found  that  one  lot  of  cows,  fed  4  lbs.  of  a  grain  mixture  per  head  daily 
while  on  bluegrass  pasture,  returned  19  cents  per  head  daily  more  profit 
over  cost  of  feed  than  another  lot  on  bluegrass  pasture  alone.  A  third 
lot,  fed  10  lbs.  of  corn  silage  per  head  daily,  returned  only  2  cents 
more  profit  than  the  cows  on  pasture  only,  and  a  fourth  lot,  fed  4  lbs.  of 
grain  and  10  lbs.  of  silage,  but  12  cents  more  over  the  cost  of  feed. 

Foster  and  Latta  found  at  the  New  Mexico  Station"  that  altho 
the  production  was  increased  by  feeding  grain  to  cows  on  good  mixed 
pasture,  the  additional  product  did  not  pay  for  the  greater  cost  of  feed. 

The  advisability  of  feeding  concentrates  to  cows  on  ample  pasture 
thus  depends  entirely  on  the  relative  cost  of  pasturage  and  concentrates, 

»*Ky,  Bui.  171.  "N.  M.  Bui.  98. 


FEED  AND  CARE  OF  THE  DAIRY  COW  403 

the  price  secured  for  dairy  products,  and  the  productive  capacity  of 
the  cows.  While  the  animal  giving  only  an  average  quantity  of  milk 
may  not  pay  for  such  addition  of  concentrates,  the  heavy-yielding  cow 
can  not  continue  long  on  her  level  of  high  production  without  some 
concentrates,  unless  the  pasture  he  unusually  luxuriant.  Eckles^^  con- 
cludes that  a  Jersey  giving  as  much  as  20  lbs.  of  milk  per  day,  or  a 
Holstein  yielding  25  lbs.  of  milk  or  more,  should  be  fed  some  concen- 
trates on  pasture.  The  amount  to  be  fed  must  be  left  to  the  business 
judgment  of  the  individual  dairyman. 

663.  Supplementing  short  pasture. — It  is  of  the  greatest  importance 
that  additional  feed  be  provided  for  dairy  cows  when  pastures  become 
parched  and  scant  in  midsummer.  Corn  or  sorghum  silage  usually 
furnishes  the  cheapest  feed  for  this  purpose  (412),  but  where  this  is 
not  available  soiling  crops  should  be  specially  gro\^Ti.  (418-22)  When 
the  pasturage  is  scant,  the  increased  milk  flow  will  fully  and  directly 
compensate  for  additional  succulence  or  other  feed  supplied.  Where 
the  pastures  are  short,  unless  soilage  crops  or  concentrates  are  fed,  the 
milk  flow  will  surely  decrease,  and,  even  should  the  pastures  improve 
later,  the  cows  cannot  be  brought  back  to  their  normal  milk  flow.  The 
greater  value  to  the  pastures  of  the  droppings  from  concentrate-fed 
cows  will  often  prove  the  deciding  factor  with  thoughtful  dairymen. 
The  residual  effects  upon  the  cows  from  concentrate-feeding  on  pastures, 
as  pointed  out  by  Roberts  and  Linfield,  are  most  important  and  should 
not  be  overlooked. 

664.  Succulent  and  palatable  feed. — The  great  importance  of  succulent 
feed  for  the  dairy  cow  has  been  shown  in  the  trials  which  have  been 
reviewed  in  the  preceding  chapter.  (629-43)  These  show  clearly  that 
it  pays  to  provide  succulence,  either  corn  silage  or  roots,  for  winter 
feeding  to  take  the  place  of  the  green  grass  the  cows  get  in  summer. 
The  value  of  succulent  feed  is  due  in  no  small  measure  to  its  beneficial 
laxative  effect  and  to  its  palatability,  which  undoubtedly  tends  to  stim- 
ulate digestion.  (109)  In  general,  not  only  should  succulence  be 
supplied,  but  the  rest  of  the  ration  for  cows  yielding  a  good  flow  of 
milk  should  be  as  palatable  as  possible.  Such  roughages  as  timothy 
hay,  straw,  and  corn  stover  may  be  used  in  limited  amount,  but  for  the 
best  results  should  not  constitute  the  chief  roughage.  As  has  been 
pointed  out  before,  concentrates  which  are  not  relished  when  fed  alone 
may  be  mixed  with  well-liked  feed,  the  whole  forming  a  palatable  mix- 
ture. (594,  608) 

The  concentrate  allowance  should  be  composed  of  a  reasonable  num- 
ber of  feeds,  for  a  mixture  is  relished  better  than  only  a  single  kind  of 
grain  or  roughage.  It  is  also  best  to  feed  at  least  2  kinds  of  roughage. 
The  most  successful  dairymen  maintain  that  when  a  satisfactory  bal- 
anced ration  has  been  provided,  it  is  then  best  to  make  as  few  changes  as 
possible.^^ 

'^  Dairy  Cattle  and  Milk  Production,  p.  256. 

"Haecker,  Minn.  Bui.  130;    Eckles,  Dairy  Cattle  and  Milk  Production,  p.  284. 


404  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

665.  Water. — Cows  require  a  large  amount  of  water  for  their  bodily- 
needs  and  for  the  milk.  Eekles^^  found  that  cows  in  milk  drank  4  times 
as  much  water  as  when  they  were  dry  and  farrow.  Collier  of  the  New 
York  (Geneva)  Station^'  found  that  cows  obtained  4.6  lbs.  of  water  in 
feed  and  drink  for  every  pound  of  milk  they  yielded.  At  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Station^''  Armsby  found  that  cows  averaging  about  750  lbs.,  fed 
fresh  grass  in  stalls  where  the  temperature  averaged  70°  F.,  drank  about 
60  lbs.  of  water  each  daily.  Others  fed  dry  grass  where  a  temperature 
of  73°  F.  prevailed  drank  107  lbs.  When  at  the  Wisconsin  Station-<>  the 
same  investigator  found  that  cows  drank  more  water  on  protein-rich 
than  on  protein-poor  rations.  In  general  the  water  provision  for  dairy 
cows  should  be  about  100  lbs.,  or  12.5  gallons,  per  head  per  day.  Heavy 
yielding  cows  wall  require  much  larger  amounts,  for  Eckles  found  that  a 
Holstein  cow  producing  about  100  lbs.  of  milk  per  day  on  a  ration  of 
18  lbs.  alfalfa  hay,  10  lbs.  corn  silage,  and  14  to  20  lbs.  of  concentrates 
drank  from  216  to  307  lbs.  of  water  daily.  As  cows  are  creatures  of 
habit,  those  of  ordinary  productive  capacity  will  have  their  needs  sup- 
plied if  once  each  day  they  have  opportunity  to  secure  easily  all  the 
water  they  then  can  drink.  Most  authorities  agree  that  high-producing 
animals  should  have  water  at  least  twice  a  day.  The  supply  should  be 
of  good  quality  and  close  by,  so  the  cows  will  not  be  forced  to  travel  far. 
The  dairyman  who  boasts  of  a  spring  or  creek  to  which  his  cows  must 
daily  journey,  often  in  inclement  weather,  wall  find  a  conveniently 
located  well  with  windmill  or  gasoline  lift  far  superior.  (103) 

Opinions  differ  as  to  the  advisability  of  warming  water  for  cows  in 
winter.  Owing  to  the  heavy  rations  cows  in  milk  consume  there  is  a 
large  amount  of  heat  produced  in  their  bodies  thru  the  energy  expended 
in  the  mastication,  digestion,  and  assimilation  of  the  feed.  When  com- 
fortably housed  probably  little  or  no  nutrients  need  be  burned  in  the 
body  for  warming  the  water  drunk  in  winter,  provided  it  is  no  colder 
than  that  from  a  deep  well.  Hills  of  the  Vermont  Station-^  found  no 
benefit  from  warming  water  for  cows  in  comfortable  quarters.  An 
important  reason  for  warming  the  water  for  heavy-yielding  cows  is 
that  unless  this  is  done  they  may  not  drink  a  sufficient  quantity  to  make 
possible  the  maximum  production  of  milk.  There  has  been  much  dis- 
cussion in  regard  to  watering  the  cows  in  their  stalls.  Haj^ward  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Station-  and  Hills  of  the  Vermont  Station-^  found  no 
advantage  in  keeping  water  continuously  before  cows,  instead  of  allowing 
them  to  drink  once  daily.  In  regions  with  severe  winters  most  author- 
ities recommend  that  the  animals  be  watered  indoors  when  the  weather 
is  so  inclement  that  it  is  not  desirable  to  turn  them  out  for  exercise.  Some 
devices  for  stall-watering  are  actually  dangerous,  for  tho  the  drinking 
basin  may  be  kept  clean,  the  supply  pipe  coming  into  it  from  below  re- 

"  Dairy  Cattle  and  Milk  Production,  p.  242.                           "Vt.  Rpt.  1907. 

I'Proc.  of  "N.  Y.  Farmers,"  1892-3.  =^  Penn.  Bui.  56. 

^Penn.  Rpt.  1888.  ='Vt.  Rpt.  1907. 
^"Wis.  Rpt.  1886. 


FEED  AND  CARE  OF  THE  DAIRY  COW      405 

tains  saliva  and  particles  of  food  which  may  drop  into  the  basin.  Such 
material  quickly  putrefies,  lines  the  pipes  with  a  slimy  mass,  and  con- 
taminates the  water  which  rises  into  the  basin. 

666.  Salt. — The  studies  of  Babcock  and  Carlyle,  already  reviewed 
(101),  show  that  dairy  cows  require  salt  to  thrive.  The  amount  to  be 
fed  will  vary  according  to  the  salt  content  of  the  feeding-stuffs  in  the 
ration.  More  should  be  supplied  when  heavy  allowances  of  rich  concen- 
trates are  fed.  These  investigators  found  that  when  allowed  free  access 
to  salt  cows  consumed  about  1  ounce  daily,  and  conclude  that  0.75  ounce 
daily  per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight,  with  0.6  ounce  in  addition  for  each  20  lbs. 
of  milk,  is  generally  sufficient.  The  salt  allowance  may  be  regularly 
mixed  with  the  feed,  or  it  may  be  placed  where  the  animals  can  consume 
it  as  their  appetite  directs. 


II.  Hints  on  Caring  for  Dairy  Cows 

667.  Shelter  and  comfort. — The  steer,  gorged  with  feed  and  every  day 
adding  to  the  heat-holding  fat  layer  just  beneath  the  skin,  prefers  the 
yard  or  open  shed  to  the  stable.  (727)  The  dairy  cow  standi  in  strong 
contrast,  her  system  being  relaxed  thru  the  annual  drain  of  maternity 
and  the  daily  loss  of  milk,  the  combination  severely  taxing  her  digestive 
and  assimilative  powers  and  drawing  heavily  on  her  vitality.  In  winter 
the  cow  should  be  comfortably  housed  in  a  well-lighted,  well-ventilated 
stable,  the  temperature  of  which  should  range  from  40°  to  50°  F.  (91) 

To  preserve  the  health  of  the  herd  as  well  as  for  sanitary  reasons  it 
is  advisable  to  have  not  less  than  4  square  feet  of  window  glass  for 
each  animal.  It  is  well  to  clean  and  disinfect  the  stable  thoroly  at  least 
once  a  year,  to  check  any  possible  spread  of  disease.-*  As  the  dairy  cow 
is  a  sensitive,  nervous  animal  the  wise  dairyman  will  provide  comfort- 
able stalls  or  swinging  stanchions,  and  see  that  the  cows  are  well  bedded. 
The  benefits  from  dehorning  have  already  been  pointed  out.  (569)  The 
sharp  decline  in  milk  production  which  often  occurs  in  midsummer, 
charged  by  many  to  the  annoyance  of  the  cows  by  flies,  undoubtedly  is 
more  often  due  to  a  shortage  of  feed.  Beach  and  Clark  of  the  Connect- 
icut (Storrs)  Station, ^^  and  Eckles  of  the  Missouri  Station,-"  found  no 
increase  in  milk  production  when  the  herd  was  sprayed  with  a  fly  re- 
pellant,  tho  the  cows  were  less  restless  during  milking  when  they  had 
been  previously  sprayed. 

668.  Preparation  of  feed. — The  cow  giving  a  large  flow  of  milk  is 
working  as  hard  as  the  horse  ever  does,  and,  this  true,  any  grain  given 
her  should  be  ground  or  crushed  if  not  otherwise  easy  of  mastication 
and  digestion.  Com  and  oats  should  generally,  and  wheat,  rye,  barley, 
kafir,  and  milo  always,  be  ground  or  "chopped,"  and  roots  should  be 
sliced  or  pulped.  Because  the  cow  takes  kindly  to  dry  feed  and  every- 
thing which  enters  the  paunch  is  quickly  soaked  and  softened,  there 

"Lindsey,  Mass.  Bui.  145.  ^'Conn.  (Storrs)  Bui.  32.  »Mo.  Bui.  68. 


406  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

seems  no  occasion  for  feeding  slops,  nor  is  there  any  advantage  from 
cooking  ordinary  feeding  stuifs.   (423-31) 

669.  Frequency  of  feeding. — The  ample  paunch  and  the  considerable 
time  needed  for  rumination  teach  that  the  common  practice  of  feeding 
cows  twice  daily,  morning  and  evening,  with  possibly  a  little  roughage 
additional  at  midda}^,  is  a  reasonable  one.  Those  who  give  their  cows 
first  a  little  of  this  and  then  a  little  of  that,  busying  themselves  all  day  in 
the  stable,  usually  ascribe  success  to  their  irksome  system  of  feeding, 
when  in  truth  it  is  due  to  good  care  generally  and  not  to  the  particular 
system  of  feeding.  Habit  is  strong  with  the  cow,  and  a  simple  system  of 
feeding  and  stable  management  once  established  should  be  rigorously  con- 
tinued. (571) 

670.  Order  of  feeding. — In  the  roomy  paunch  hay  and  grain,  eaten 
separately,  are  rapidly  and  thoroly  commingled  by  the  churning  action 
of  that  organ  and  gradually  softened  in  the  warm,  abundant  liquid  it 
contains.  This  true,  the  particular  order  of  feeding  roughages  and  con- 
centrates is  not  important.  While  the  particular  time  of  feeding  is  not 
of  prime  importance,  it  is  essential  that  the  cows  be  fed  at  regular  in- 
tervals. If  then  satisfied  they  are  content  until  the  time  for  another 
feed.  The  cow  seems  best  satisfied  when  the  concentrates  are  given  first, 
and  these  out  of  the  way,  she  proceeds  to  dispose  of  the  roughage  be- 
fore her.  Some  cows  give  down  their  milk  more  freely  when  eating  their 
concentrate  allowance,  but  this  is  probably  due  to  habit,  for  others 
which  have  always  been  fed  their  concentrates  either  before  or  after 
milking  seem  equally  contented.  Hay  or  other  dry  forage  is  usually  not 
fed  till  after  milking,  because  it  fills  the  air  with  dust.  Silage,  turnips, 
cabbage,  or  other  feeds  with  a  marked  odor  should  be  given  only  after 
milking. 

671.  Regularity  and  kindness. — To  skillful  feeding  and  wholesome 
quarters  the  successful  dairyman  adds  regularity  and  kindness.  On 
this  point  Babcock  of  the  Wisconsin  Station^^  writes :  "I  would  recom- 
mend, therefore,  in  order  to  obtain  the  best  results  from  any  cow,  that 
first  of  all  she  be  treated  kindly,  all  sources  of  excitement  being  avoided 
so  far  as  possible.  She  should  also  be  fed  and  milked  at  regular  inter- 
vals by  the  same  person,  and  all  conditions  should  be  maintained  as 
nearly  uniform  as  possible  at  all  times.  It  is  my  opinion  that  kind  treat- 
ment and  pleasant  surroundings  will  have  a  greater  influence  upon  the 
quality  of  milk  than  the  kind  of  food,  provided  the  ration  given  contains 
sufficient  nutriment  for  the  maintenance  of  the  animal. ' ' 

While  milking  is  usually  regarded  as  a  simple  task  which  anyone  can 
do,  there  may  be  a  great  difference  in  the  returns  which  different  milk- 
ers get  from  the  same  cow.  A  cow  should  be  milked  quietly  with  the  dry 
hand,  and  stripped  out  thoroly,  the  milker  bearing  in  mind  that  the  last- 
drawn  milk  carries  about  10  times  as  much  fat  as  that  drawn  first.  (552) 
If  the  teats  are  chapped  or  injured,  vaseline  or  other  ointment  should  be 

*'Wis.  Rpt.  1889. 


FEED  AND  CARE  OF  THE  DAIRY  COW  407 

applied,  and  the  milker  should  be  especially  patient,  lest  the  evil  habit 
of  kicking  be  developed. 

On  the  general  treatment  of  the  herd  Haeeker  of  the  Minnesota  Sta- 
tion-^ offers  the  following  sage  advice : 

"We  know  of  many  instances  where  the  best  of  dairy  cows  were  kept, 
and  where  good  methods  of  feeding  were  practiced ;  and  still  results  fell 
far  short  of  what  might  reasonably  be  expected,  simply  because  the 
animals  did  not  receive  that  kindly  treatment  which  is  so  essential  to  a 
cow  giving  much  milk  for  a  long  period.  The  herd  as  a  whole  should 
always  be  moved  slowly.  Never  hurry  a  cow,  or  strike  her  or  speak 
loudly  and  harshly.  A  gentle  voice  and  a  caressing  touch  are  quite  as 
potent  as  is  digestible  protein.  If  you  so  handle  the  cows  that  they  are 
fond  of  you,  you  have  learned  one  of  the  most  important  lessons  that 
lead  to  profitable  dairying.  The  most  successful  milk-producers  are 
always  in  close  touch  with  every  cow  in  the  herd.  The  milk-producer 
has  to  do  with  motherhood,  in  which  affection  always  plays  an  important 
part.  A  cow's  affection  for  the  calf  prompts  the  desire  to  give  it  milk; 
if  you  gain  her  affection,  she  will  desire  to  give  you  milk.  If  you  have 
not  been  in  the  habit  of  caressing  the  cows,  the  time  to  inaugurate  the 
practice  is  when  they  approach  the  time  of  calving,  as  it  is  at  that  par- 
ticular time  when  they  take  kindly  to  grooming  and  to  gentle  rubbing  of 
the  udder. 

' '  Each  cow  should  have  a  name,  which  should  always  be  spoken  when 
approaching  her.  This  one  point  counts  for  much  in  the  successful  hand- 
ling of  a  herd.  Suppose  the  cows  are  slowly  filing  into  the  barn,  and  you 
see  that  Rose  is  about  to  go  into  the  wrong  stall.  A  quick  call  of  ' '  Rose  ! ' ' 
will  attract  her  attention,  and  she  will  forget  that  she  was  about  to  go 
into  her  neighbor's  stall  to  steal  a  mouthful  of  her  feed.  If  Rose,  when 
in  the  yard,  is  about  to  hook  another  member  of  the  herd,  and  just  at 
that  moment  hears  her  name  called,  she  will  forget  what  she  was  about 
to  do.  Again,  suppose  the  herd  is  slowly  wending  its  way  down  the  lane 
to  the  pasture,  and  someone  has  thoughtlessly  left  a  side  gate  open, 
leading  into  a  grain  field.  Rose  is  in  the  lead,  and,  as  you  see  her  turning 
toward  the  open  gate,  a  quick,  sharp  call  of  ' '  Rose  ! ' '  will  exert  a  wonder- 
ful influence  in  bringing  her  back  into  line.  It  is  by  such  methods  that 
a  herd  can  be  gradually  taught  to  do  the  right  things,  to  save  you  many 
steps,  and  at  the  same  time  bring  a  larger  return. ' ' 


III.  Feed  and  Care  Before  and  After  Calving 

672.  Giving  the  cow  a  rest. — Practically  all  observing  dairymen  agree 
that  it  is  most  profitable  to  give  the  dairy  cow  a  rest  between  lactation 
periods,  for  experience  has  shown  that  she  will  produce  more  milk  an- 
nually if  dry  6  to  8  weeks  than  if  milked  continuously.  Carroll  of  the 
Utah  Station,^*  studying  data  secured  with  496  cows  in  a  cow-testing 

''  Minn.  Bui.  130.  ="  Utah  Bui.  127. 


408  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

association,  found  that  cows  dry  for  2  months  produced  more  fat  and 
returned  more  profit  than  those  allowed  to  rest  but  a  single  month. 
Eckles^"  recommends  that  under  ordinary  conditions  the  cow  be  dry  6 
weeks  and  preferably  2  months  if  in  a  thin  condition.  Dairymen  differ 
as  to  the  best  length  of  lactation  period,  but  so  far  as  the  available  data 
warrant  conclusions,  there  is  no  apparent  difference  in  the  annual  re- 
turns from  cows  again  freshening  9,  10,  or  12  months  after  calving, 
providing  they  are  allowed  to  be  dry  for  6  weeks  to  2  months.^^ 

To  avoid  injury  to  the  udder  the  cow  should  be  dried  off  gradually. 
It  is  well  to  milk  only  once  daily  for  a  few  days,  not  stripping  the  udder 
out  clean ;  then  but  once  in  2  days  for  3  or  4  days,  after  which  the  inter- 
val is  lengthened  to  twice  a  week.  When  the  milk  yield  is  decreased  to 
10  lbs.  per  day  or  less,  according  to  Eckles,''-  milking  may  be  entirely 
discontinued.  The  udder  A\dll  fill  for  a  few  days,  but  the  milk  will  be 
gradually  reabsorbed,  and  no  harm  will  result.  If  the  cow  continues  to 
produce  more  than  10  lbs.  a  day  her  concentrate  allowance  should  be 
wnthheld  and  only  poor  roughage,  like  timothy  hay,  fed  until  the  flow 
is  checked. 

673.  Feed  for  the  cow  when  dry. — To  ensure  a  good  flow  of  milk  the 
cow  should  be  in  good  condition  at  freshening,  as  has  already  been 
pointed  out.  (557)  When  the  animal  is  in  a  thrifty  condition  there  is 
also  less  trouble  in  calving.  Only  sufficient  concentrates  should  be  fed  to 
put  the  cow  in  proper  flesh,  for  if  she  has  been  heavily  fed  with  rich  con- 
centrates while  giving  milk,  a  helpful  change  may  now  be  made  to  a 
ration  which  will  rest  and  cool  the  digestive  tract.  Just  previous  to 
calving  time  the  feed  should  be  slightly  laxative,  tho  if  on  pasture  no  es- 
pecial attention  need  be  given  to  this  point.  For  cows  that  freshen  while 
housed  nothing  is  better  than  legume  hay  and  silage,  mth  a  couple  of 
pounds  of  concentrates  added,  if  necessary.  The  cow  soon  to  calve  should 
have  exercise,  but  should  not  be  chased  by  dogs  or  driven  thru  narrow 
gates. 

674.  Gestation  period;  calving  time. — The  average  gestation  period  of 
the  cow  is  placed  by  various  authorities  at  from  280  to  285  days.  Wing 
of  the  New  York  (Cornell)  Station^^  found  the  average  of  182  recorded 
gestation  periods  for  the  cow  to  be  280  days,  ranging  from  264  to  296 
days.  About  an  equal  number  of  births  occurred  on  each  day  from  the 
274th  to  the  287th,  inclusive.  The  gestation  period  was  not  different  for 
the  sexes. 

Unless  the  herd  is  at  pasture  the  cow  should  be  kept  in  a  clean,  com- 
fortable, well  bedded  box  stall  at  calving  time.  If  her  bowels  are  not 
moving  freely  give  a  drench  of  Epsom  salts.  As  parturition  approaches 
the  udder  Avill  become  distended  and  hard,  and  when  the  muscles  on  each 

'"' Dairy  Cattle  and  Milk  Production,  p.  229. 
»  Carroll,  Utah  Bui.  127. 

'^  Dairy  Cattle  and  Milk  Production,    p.  230. 
"N.  Y.  (Cornell)  Bui.  162. 


FEED  AND  CARE  OF  THE  DAIRY  COW       409 

side  of  the  tail  head  relax,  leaving  a  hollow  on  each  side,  the  calf  may  be 
expected  within  24  hours,  or  3  to  4  days  at  the  longest.  The  cow  should 
not  be  molested  during  calving  unless  assistance  is  required.  For  2  or  3 
days  after  calving  her  drinking  water  should  be  lukewarm,  and  she 
should  be  protected  from  cold  drafts,  for  her  vitality  is  low.  The  feed 
for  the  first  few  days  should  be  limited  in  amount  and  cooling  and  laxa- 
tive in  nature.  Besides  legume  hay  and  silage  she  may  be  given  such 
feeds  as  bran  (often  fed  as  a  mash),  oats,  and  linseed  meal.  High-pro- 
ducing cows  should  be  watched  closely  for  signs  of  milk-fever,  and  the 
air  treatment,  the  great  boon  to  dairymen,  used  if  necessary. 

The  yearly  production  of  the  cow  depends  in  a  large  measure  on  the 
feed  she  receives  during  the  first  month  after  calving.  The  concentrate 
allowance,  small  at  first,  should  be  increased  gradually,  at  the  rate  of  a 
a  half-pound  every  other  day  until  the  full  allowance  is  reached,  for 
heavy  feeding  immediately  after  calving  is  apt  to  lead  to  digestive  dis- 
turbances. If  the  udder  is  swollen  and  hard,  even  more  care  should  be 
used  in  getting  the  cow  to  the  full  ration. 

It  is  quite  customary  to  save  the  seventh  milking  after  the  cow  calves 
for  human  use,  altho  sometimes  the  milk  is  not  normal  before  the  eighth 
or  ninth  milking.  A  simple  test  for  normal  milk,  advised  by  Hoard's 
Dairyman,^*  is  to  heat  a  small  quantity  to  boiling;  if  the  sample  does 
not  thicken,  due  to  the  high  content  of  albumin,  the  milk  is  usable.  (115) 

675.  Fall  vs.  spring  freshening. — Spring-fresh  cows  yield  most  of  their 
milk  when  low  prices  prevail  for  dairy  products  and  the  dairyman  is 
busiest  with  the  crops.  In  winter  such  cows  yield  only  a  small  flow  at 
most.  On  the  other  hand,  the  fall-fresh  cow  gives  a  large  supply  of  milk 
during  the  winter,  and  flushes  again  with  the  stimulus  of  pasture  in 
springtime.  Fall-fresh  cows  should  annually  yield  from  10  to  15  per  ct. 
more  milk  than  those  calving  in  the  spring.  When  cows  freshen  in  the 
fall  more  of  the  work  of  milking  comes  in  the  winter  when  farm  work  is 
slack.  More  time  can  be  given  to  the  raising  of  the  calves,  and  less 
trouble  will  be  experienced  from  scours  than  during  the  summer.  Fall- 
dropped  calves  are  large  enough  by  spring  to  make  good  use  of  pasture 
and  better  able  to  stand  the  hot  weather.  Under  this  system  a  larger 
supply  of  skim  milk  is  available  for  the  young  spring  pigs. 


IV.  Reducing  the  Cost  op  Milk  Production 

676.  The  burden  of  dairying. — So  large  are  the  feed  and  labor  bills  on 
many  dairy  farms,  especially  in  the  older  settled  portions  of  our  country, 
that  when  these  have  been  met  little  remains  for  the  proprietor.  To 
reduce  the  cost  of  milk  production  to  a  point  where  a  reasonable  profit 
may  be  made  the  dairyman  must  first  of  all  cull  out  all  cows  whose 
product  will  not  under  any  conditions  pay  for  their  keep.  (544-7)  An 
analysis  of  his  expenses  will  then  show  that  in  nearly  every  case  it  is  the 

"^  Hoard's  Dairyman  43,  1912,  p.  865. 


410 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


feed  bills  and  not  those  for  labor  that  are  the  real  burden.  Whoever 
would  improve  his  condition  must  cut  the  monthly  feed  bills  to  the 
minimum,  not  thru  parsimonious  feeding,  but  by  growing  great  crops  of 
the  best  feeding  stuffs.  With  rare  exceptions  the  dairy  farm  should 
produce  all  the  roughage  and  the  greater  part  of  the  concentrates  the 
herd  consumes.  Growing  the  needed  feeding-stuffs  will  increase  labor 
and  fertilizer  bills,  but  such  shifting  of  expenditure  should  prove  highly 
economical  in  the  end.  Indian  com  or  the  sorghums  flourish  over  a 
large  portion  of  the  United  States,  furnishing  both  concentrates  and 
roughage,  and  one  or  more  kinds  of  legumes,  furnishing  protein-rich 
roughage,  can  be  successfully  grown  on  every  farm.  By  the  judicious 
and  generous  use  of  these  best  allies  of  the  dairyman  the  great  burden  of 
the  feed  bills  can  be  lessened. 

677.  Selecting  economical  rations. — In  Chapter  XXII  the  values  of  the 
different  feeding  stuffs  for  the  dairy  cow  have  been  discussed  in  detail 
and  with  the  data  there  given  the  dairyman  can  readily  determine  the 
most  economical  rations  to  employ.  In  computing  rations  the  general 
principles  which  have  been  pointed  out  in  Chapter  VII  should  always 
be  considered.  (158-67) 

To  illustrate  the  widely  different  value  for  milk  production  of  rations 
which  are  balanced  so  far  as  amount  and  proportion  of  digestible  nutri- 
ents are  concerned,  the  following  rations,  which  meet  the  requirements 
for  a  1000-lb.  cow  giving  25  lbs.  of  4  per  ct.  milk,  are  presented : 

Rations  that  are  lalanced,  hut  of  unequal  value  for  milk  production 


Dry 
matter 

Digestible 
protein 

Total  dig. 
nutrients 

Nutritive 
ratio 

A  poor  ration 

Timothy  hay  20  lbs                

Lbs. 

17.7 
1.8 
6.7 
1.4 

Lbs. 

0.60 
0.15 
0.94 
0.45 

Lbs. 

9.70 
1.71 
4.56 
1.17 

Dent  corn  2  0  lbs                 

Wheat  bran  7  5  lbs              

T,int!PPf]  TTiPfll    1    Ft  lbs                   .  .  . 

27.6 

2.14 

17.14 

1  :7.0 

A  fair  ration 

Clover  hay,  22  .0  lbs 

19.2 
6.3 

1.67 
0.52 

11.22 
5.99 

Dent  corn,  7  0  lbs 

25.5 

2.19 

17.21 

1  :  6.9 

A  good  ration 

Corn  silage,  35  0  lbs 

9.2 
13.1 

2.7 
0.9 

0.38 
1.14 
0.22 
0.37 

6.20 
7.65 

2.57 
0.78 

Clover  hay,  15  0  lbs 

Dent  corn,  3  0  lbs 

Cottonseed  meal,  choice,  1 .0  lb. .. 

25.9 

2.11 

17.20 

1  :7.1 

In  the  first  ration,  where  timothy  hay,  low  in  protein  and  not  palatable 
to  the  cow,  supplies  the  roughage,  11  lbs.  of  expensive  concentrates  are 
required  to  provide  the  additional  nutrients  needed.     Even  then  this 


FEED  AND  CAKE  OF  THE  DAIRY  COW  411 

expensive  ration  is  unsatisfactory,  for  timothy  hay  is  a  poor  cow  feed  at 
best.  (623) 

The  second  ration  of  clover  hay  and  ground  com  is  better  and  less 
expensive  than  the  first.  Such  a  ration  is  theoretically  ample,  but  there 
should  be  a  larger  variety  of  feeding-stuffs  to  make  it  satisfactory.  (163) 

The  last  ration  is  much  superior.  Legume  hay  and  corn  silage  make 
a  combination  of  roughages  which  is  most  palatable  and  acceptable  to 
the  cow,  and  there  is  further  required  only  4  lbs.  of  concentrates  to 
balance  the  ration.  As  has  been  pointed  out  (659),  when  the  after- 
effect of  the  ration  on  the  animal  and  on  the  manurial  value  of  the  ration 
are  considered,  it  may  be  advisable  to  feed  at  least  6  lbs,  of  concentrates 
to  cows  of  good  dairy  temperament,  when  concentrates  are  not  too  high 
in  price.  The  third  ration,  containing  only  4  lbs.  of  concentrates,  is  less 
expensive  and  more  desirable  than  the  second  one,  and  far  less  expensive 
and  much  more  desirable  than  the  first.  Altho  all  are  theoretically 
' '  balanced, ' '  the  last  one  is  not  only  the  lowest  in  cost,  but  if  put  to  the 
test  will  probably  produce  from  20  to  30  per  ct.  more  milk  than  the 
first,  and  somewhat  more  than  the  second. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

RAISING  DAIRY  CATTLE 

I.  The  Skim-Milk  Calf 

The  profitableness  of  dairying  depends  to  a  large  degree  upon  the 
careful  rearing  of  the  heifer  calves  from  the  best  cows  in  the  herd  and 
sired  by  a  pure-bred  bull  of  quality.  Improvement  of  the  herd  can  best 
be  made  by  replacing  the  discards  with  well-bred,  home-reared  heifers 
of  greater  productive  capacity.  Starting  with  common  cows,  one  may 
by  this  means  in  a  few  years  build  up  a  high-producing  herd.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  dairyman  who  replenishes  his  herd  by  purchase  must 
pay  high  prices  for  animals  which,  tho  of  good  appearance,  may  not  be 
well-bred.  Careful  dairymen  are  loath  to  part  with  their  best  heifers, 
preferring  to  keep  them  to  improve  their  own  herds.  Another  import- 
ant reason  for  rearing  the  heifers  is  that  it  is  much  easier  to  keep  the 
herd  free  from  such  diseases  as  tuberculosis  and  contagious  abortion 
when  the  heifers  are  home-raised,  than  when  they  are  continually  being 
brought  in  from  outside  sources. 

Tho  the  value  of  the  calf  at  birth  depends  primarily  on  its  breeding, 
the  feed  and  care  it  receives  while  young  are  fully  as  important  factors 
in  deciding  its  future  usefulness  in  the  herd.  The  general  principles  of 
calf-rearing,  which  are  presented  in  this  chapter,  are  well  founded  upon 
scientific  trials  and  practical  experience,  but  the  raising  of  calves  will 
ever  remain  an  art,  in  which  much  depends  on  the  skill  and  judgment 
of  the  feeder,  who  should  study  the  individual  requirements  of  the  ani- 
mals, rather  than  blindly  following  hard  and  fast  rules. 

678.  Raising  calves  on  skim  milk. — The  fat  of  milk  is  so  valuable  that 
but  few  dairy  calves  are  now  reared  on  whole  milk  when  skim  milk  is 
available.  Those  prejudiced  against  the  rearing  of  calves  on  skim  milk 
by  the  sight  of  unthrifty,  undersized  skim-milk-fed  specimens  should 
know  that  such  results  are  not  due  to  the  removal  of  the  fat  from  the 
milk  on  which  they  were  fed,  but  to  the  ignorance  or  carelessness  of  the 
feeder.  Careful  dairymen  have  abundantly  demonstrated  that  skim- 
milk  calves,  properly  fed,  develop  into  as  good  cows  as  those  fed  whole 
milk  until  weaning  time. 

679.  Skim  milk  vs.  whole  milk. — In  a  trial  at  the  Kansas  Station^  Otis 
fed  one  lot  of  calves  skim  milk  and  a  second  whole  milk,  while  a  third  lot 
ran  with  their  dams  at  pasture.  Those  getting  skim  milk  or  whole  milk 
were  given  in  addition  equal  parts  of  corn  meal  and  kafir  meal,  with 
alfalfa  hay  for  roughage.     After  weaning,  all  the  calves,  which  were 

'Kan.  Bui.  126. 

412 


RAISING  DAIRY  CATTLE 


413 


steers,  were  placed  in  the  feed  lot  and  given  the  same  feeds  until  1  year 
of  age.  The  following  table  shows  the  rate  and  cost  of  the  gains  of  the 
calves  in  each  lot. 

Bate  of  gain  of  calves  variously  fed  up  to  1  year  of  age 


Before  weaning 

210  days  in  feed  lot, 
after  weaning 

No.  of 
calves 

Length 
of  time 

Av.  daily 
gain 

Feed  cost  of 
100  lbs.  gain 

Av.  daUy 
gain 

Concentrates  per 
100  lbs.  gain 

10 
10 
22 

Days 

154 
154 
140 

Lbs. 

1.5 
1.9 

1.8 

Dollars 
2.26 
7.06 
4.41 

Lbs. 
2.1 
1.9 
2.0 

Lbs. 
439 

Whole  milk 

Running  with  dam  . 

470 

475 

The  skim-milk  calves,  tho  not  gaining  so  rapidly  as  the  others  up  to 
weaning,  cost  less  for  a  given  gain  than  either  of  the  other  lots. ;  In  the 
feed  lot  the  skim-milk  calves  made  the  most  rapid  gains  and  also  the  most 
economical  ones,  measured  by  the  feed  consumed.  Otis  reports  that  the 
22  calves  running  with  their  dams  lost  73  lbs.  the  week  following  separa- 
tion at  weaning  time,  requiring  several  weeks  to  recover  this  loss.  In 
estimating  the  cost  of  the  several  lots  before  weaning,  skim  milk  was 
valued  at  15  cents  per  100  lbs.,  and  whole  milk  at  21.1  cents  for  each 
pound  of  fat  it  contained.  Hay  was  rated  at  $4  per  ton,  and  concen- 
trates at  $10.  The  cost  of  a  calf  running  with  its  dam  until  weaned  was 
placed  at  $12,  and  of  one  raised  on  skim  milk  at  $5.27. 

Hooper  of  the  Kentucky  Station-  fed  one  lot  of  6  calves  whole  milk  in 
a  79-day  trial,  while  another  was  changed  in  a  few  days  to  skim  milk. 
Each  lot  received  in  addition  0.5  lb.  per  head  daily  of  a  mixture  of  equal 
parts  corn  meal,  bran,  and  linseed  meal,  besides  what  hay  they  would 
eat.  The  skim-milk  calves  made  slightly  larger  gains  than  those  fed 
whole  milk,  and  were  just  as  thrifty. 

680.  Supplements  to  skim  milk. — It  has  already  been  pointed  out  that 
whole  milk  is  the  ideal  food  for  young  animals,  being  rich  in  protein  and 
ash.  (115)  Skim  milk  differs  in  composition  from  whole  milk  only  in 
having  had  most  of  the  fat  removed.  Provided  no  water  has  been  added, 
this  will  increase  the  percentage  of  water,  protein,  sugar,  and  ash  over 
that  in  whole  milk.  Owing  to  the  removal  of  the  fat,  skim  milk  is  a 
much  more  nitrogenous  food  than  whole  milk,  having  a  nutritive  ratio  of 
1 :1.5  compared  with  1 :  4.4  for  unskimmed  milk.  Not  appreciating  this 
fact,  early  investigators  usually  advised  supplementing  skim  milk  with 
nitrogenous  concentrates,  such  as  linseed  meal  and  wheat  bran.  It  is 
evident,  however,  that  in  a  skim-milk  supplement  the  need  is  not  for 
additional  protein,  but  for  an  abundance  of  energy-giving  carbohydrates 
or  fat  to  replace  the  fat  removed  from  the  milk. 

While  various  fats  and  oils  may  be  used  to  supplement  skim  milk,  the 
cereal  grains,  rich  in  carbohydrates,  are  cheaper  supplements  than  the 

=Ky.  Bui.  171. 


414 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


oils  available  for  calf  feeding.  Moreover,  unless  oil  is  fed  as  an  emulsion 
with  the  milk  it  is  apt  to  produce  indigestion  and  scours,  for  young  ani- 
mals in  general  have  but  limited  ability  to  digest  fat.  (117)  At  the 
Massachusetts  Station^  Lindsey  found  cod-liver  oil  added  to  skim  milk 
unsatisfactory,  the  calves  sometimes  refusing  the  combination.  A  cheap 
grade  of  oleomargarine  was  heated  to  110°  F.  and  mixed  with  skim  milk 
by  churning.  It  was  found  that  1  ounce  of  oil  per  quart  of  skim  milk  was 
all  that  the  calf  could  take  without  indigestion  being  produced.  Cot- 
tonseed oil  and  corn  oil  to  the  amount  of  one-half  ounce  per  quart  of  milk 
were  fed  without  bad  effect.  A  calf  fed  skim  milk  containing  1  part  oleo 
and  2  parts  brown  sugar  gained  over  2  lbs.  daily,  with  kidneys  well 
covered  with  fat.  Calves  thus  fed  were  superior  to  those  receiving  skim 
milk  only,  but  not  equal  in  fatness  to  sucking  calves, 

681.  Farm  grains  as  skim-milk  supplements. — During  3  trials  lasting  60 
to  90  days  at  the  Iowa  Station*  Curtiss  fed  skim  milk  fresh  from  the 
farm  separator,  having  a  temperature  of  90°  F.,  to  Shorthorn  and  Hol- 
stein  calves  weighing  180  to  200  lbs.  An  average  allowance  of  15.4  lbs.  of 
milk  and  2.9  lbs.  of  hay  was  given  to  each,  with  either  linseed  meal, 
sieved  ground  oats,  or  corn  meal  with  a  little  flax  seed.  Eight  calves 
were  fed  each  ration  with  the  following  results : 


Fresh  separator  skim  milk  with 

various 

concentrates  for  calves 

Average  concentrate  allowance 

Av.  total 
gain 

Av.  daUy 
gain 

Dry  matter 

per  100  lbs. 

gain 

Feed  cost  of 
gain 
per  lb. 

Nutritive 
ratio 

Lot     I,  Linseed  meal,  1 .2  lbs.  .  . 

Lot    IL  Oatmeal,  1 .5  lbs 

Lot  III,  Corn  meal,  1.3  lbs. 

Flax  seed,  0 .  1  lb 

Lbs. 
109 
116 

116 

Lbs. 
1.47 
1.57 

1.56 

Lbs. 
339 
337 

330 

Cts. 

2.8 
2.1 

2.2 

1  :  2.6 
1  :3.6 

1  :4.0 

These  trials  show  no  advantage  in  using  a  protein-rich  concentrate 
such  as  linseed  meal  to  supplement  skim  milk.  In  one  of  the  trials  corn 
meal  alone  produced  larger  and  cheaper  gains  than  linseed  meal,  oat 
meal,  or  corn  meal  and  flaxseed.  Curtiss  concludes:  "In  the  corn-belt 
states,  with  their  surplus  of  corn  and  oats,  there  is  no  necessity  for  the 
purchase  of  a  high-priced  nitrogenous  product  to  be  used  in  supple- 
menting the  skim-milk  ration." 

Cottrell,  Otis,  and  Haney  of  the  Kansas  Station^  report  that  kafir  meal, 
given  dry,  is  particularly  suited  to  feed  with  skim  milk  because  its  con- 
stipating nature  overcomes  the  scouring  tendency  of  the  milk.  (237) 

Fain  and  Jarnagin  at  the  Virginia  Station*'  found  barley  an  excellent 
supplement  to  skim  milk.  (226)  Bran  was  helpful  in  teaching  the  calves 
to  eat  grain,  but  no  benefit,  either  in  the  rate  of  gain  or  the  appearance 
of  the  calf,  was  secured  from  adding  it  to  a  ration  of  shelled  corn  and 
skim  milk.  (218) 

'Mass.  Rpts.  1893,  1894.        ^owa  Bui.  35.         'Kan.  Bui.  93.         *Va.  Bui.  172. 


RAISING  DAIRY  CATTLE  415 

At  the  Kansas  Station^  Otis  found  ground  soybeans  unsatisfactory  as 
a  skim  milk  supplement  for  calves  on  account  of  their  laxative  nature. 
(256)  Duggar  of  the  Alabama  Station^  reports  that  rice  meal  is  de- 
cidedly inferior  to  corn  meal  as  a  supplement  to  skim  milk.  Because  it 
was  impossible  to  get  the  calves  to  eat  sufficient  rice  meal,  one-third  wheat 
bran  was  added.  (234) 

Cottonseed  meal  is  not  a  safe  feed  for  young  calves,  as  is  shown  else- 
where. (249)  Soule  of  the  Georgia  Station^  states  that  after  calves  are 
6  to  8  months  old  they  may  be  fed  2  lbs.  per  head  daily  with  silage  and 
such  feeds  as  shredded  corn  stover  and  oat  straw.  The  allowance  should 
be  gradually  increased  from  about  0.5  lb.  per  head  daily. 

682.  Grinding-  grain  for  calves. — Otis^°  found  that  calves  fed  whole 
com  were  less  subject  to  scours  and  more  thrifty  than  when  given  ground 
corn  (com  chop).  Ground  kafir  gave  better  results  than  whole  kafir, 
owing  to  the  hardness  of  the  seeds. 

At  the  Virginia  Station^^  Fain  and  Jarnagin  secured  a  gain  of  1.4 
lbs.  daily  when  feeding  calves  com  meal  with  skim  milk,  and  1.6  lbs.,  or 
14  per  ct.  more,  when  whole  corn  was  used.  Kildee  of  the  Iowa  Station^^ 
prefers  whole  oats  to  ground  oats  for  calves.  In  teaching  calves  to  eat, 
ground  grain  is  usually  fed,  and  whole  corn  or  oats  substituted  later. 
After  the  calves  are  several  months  old  they  masticate  their  feed  less 
thoroly,  and  grinding  corn  or  oats  may  then  be  profitable. 

683.  Various  concentrate  mixtures  with  skim  milk. — ^WoU  conducted  2 
trials,  both  with  2  lots  of  8  dairy  calves  each,  at  the  California  Station^^ 
to  compare  the  value  of  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  ground  barley,  oats, 
and  middlings  with  a  mixture  of  1  part  linseed  meal  and  2  parts  each  of 
ground  barley,  oats,  and  middlings,  when  fed  with  skim  milk  and  hay: 

Value  of  linseed  meal  added  to  concentrate  mixture  for  calves 


Average  ration 

Concen-         Skim 

Age  at 

Wt.  at 

Daily 

Concentrate  mixture             trates            milk 

Hay* 

beginning 

beginning 

gain 

Lbs.             Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Days 

Lbs. 

First  trial,  70  days 

Without  linseed  meal  ...     0.9           12 . 1 

2.3 

40 

126 

1.14 

With  linseed  meal 0.9           12  . 1 

2.2 

31 

127 

1.27 

Second  trial,  84  days 

Without  Unseed  meal ....     2.01         11.3 

5.7 

115 

201 

1.84 

With  linseed  meal 1 .96        10 .8 

5.7 

106 

200 

1.74 

*Not  all  of  the  hay  offered  was  consumed. 

In  the  first  trial  the  lot  receiving  linseed  meal  made  slightly  the 
larger  gains,  while  in  the  second  trial  the  results  were  reversed.  There 
was  no  difference  in  the  appearance  or  thrift  of  the  2  lots.  Woll  con- 
cludes that  there  was  no  decided  advantage  from  including  linseed  meal 
in  the  ration  for  skim  milk  calves  so  far  as  the  immediate  gains  are  con- 

'Kan.  Bui.  126.  "Va.  Bui.  172. 

*AIa.  Bui.  128.  "Iowa  Cir.  16. 

'Breeder's  Gaz.,  63,  1913,  p.  81.  "Information  to  the  authors. 

^'Kan.  Bui.  126. 


416  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

cerned.     The  linseed  meal,  however,  aids  somewhat  in  making  the  mix- 
ture palatable. 

To  determine  whether  any  advantage  resulted  from  including  a  large 
variety  of  feeds  in  the  concentrate  allowance  for  skim-milk  calves,  Otis 
at  the  Kansas  Station"  fed  one  lot  of  10  calves  equal  parts  of  shelled 
corn  and  ground  kafir,  while  another  was  fed  a  mixture  of  10  parts 
shelled  corn,  10  parts  ground  kafir,  6  parts  whole  oats,  6  parts  bran,  2 
parts  linseed  meal,  and  0.5  part  dried  blood.  The  corn  and  kafir  mixture 
produced  larger  gains  than  that  supplying  a  greater  variety  of  feeds.  In 
another  trial  no  advantage  resulted  from  adding  either  ground  flaxseed 
or  a  proprietary  calf  feed  to  ground  kafir  for  skim  milk  calves.  With 
Otis  we  may  therefore  conclude :  ' '  While  calves  may  do  well  on  high- 
priced  concentrates,  they  are  unnecessarily  expensive  and  give  no  better 
results  than  the  cheaper  carbonaceous  grains,  as  corn,  barley,  oats,  kafir, 
or  sorghum." 

For  calves  up  to  3  or  4  months  of  age  some  dairymen  advocate  feeding 
ground  flax  seed,  either  added  directly  to  the  milk  or  made  into  a  jelly 
with  boiling  water  and  then  mixed  with  the  milk,  about  a  tablespoonful 
of  the  flax  seed  being  used  to  each  quart.  Others  report  equally  good 
results  from  starting  directly  on  farm  grains. 

From  experiments  at  the  Louisiana  Station^^  Woodward  and  Lee 
conclude  that  "blackstrap,"  or  cane  molasses,  cannot  be  used  as  a  supple- 
ment to  skim  milk  for  calf  feeding  in  sufficient  quantity  to  be  of  any 
practical  value,  as  it  tends  to  produce  scours.  (279) 

In  Europe  the  use  of  ''saccharified"  starch,  or  starch  which  has 
largely  been  converted  into  sugar  thru  the  action  of  diastase,  has 
attracted  considerable  attention  as  a  supplement  to  skim  milk.  In 
experiments  covering  3  years  with  70  calves  Hansen^ ^  found  saccharified 
starch  a  cheap  substitute  for  milk  fat  when  fed  with  skim  milk.  Calves 
reared  on  skim  milk  and  saccharified  starch  produced  cheaper  gains 
than  from  whole  milk,  were  sleek  and  thrifty,  and  developed  afterwards 
in  a  thoroly  satisfactory  manner.  Feeding  more  than  0.8  lb.  of  sacchari- 
fied starch  per  head  daily  leads  to  scouring.  The  use  of  saccharified 
starch  is  held  to  make  possible  a  somewhat  earlier  change  from  whole 
to  skim  milk.  On  account  of  the  good  results  secured  with  the  cereal 
grains,  which  are  much  cheaper,  this  product  is  little  known  in  America. 

684.  Dried  blood. — Otis  of  the  Kansas  Station"  found  that  sickly 
calves,  given  at  first  a  teaspoonful  and  later  a  tablespoonful  of  dried 
blood  with  their  allowance  of  skim  milk,  rapidly  regained  their  health. 
Blood  meal  which  has  been  especially  prepared  for  calves  is  best.  In 
all  cases  it  should  be  carefully  incorporated  with  the  milk  to  prevent 
settling.   (271) 

685.  Mineral  matter. — In  many  cases  calves  otherwise  well  nourished 
suffer  from  the  lack  of  lime  or  phosphorus,  or  both.  (119)     Even  tho 

"Kan.  Bui.  126.  ^'Landw.  Jahrb.,  37,  1908,  Sup.  Ill,  p.  235. 

«La.  Bui.  104.  "Kan.  Bui.  126. 


RAISING  DAIRY  CATTLE  417 

milk  is  high  in  both  lime  and  phosphorus,  Kellner^^  recommends  feeding 
half  an  ounce  of  common  chalk  (carbonate  of  lime)  daily  to  calves  on 
milk,  in  view  of  their  rapid  growth  in  skeleton  and  consequent  need 
of  an  abundant  supply  of  lime.  As  hay  from  the  grasses  contains  a  fair 
amount  of  lime,  and  legume  hay  is  rich  in  this  mineral  constituent, 
calves  will  ordinarily  receive  enough  lime  when  they  are  eating  hay 
regularly.  In  districts  where  the  feeding  stuffs  are  low  in  lime  or 
phosphorus,  or  when  straw,  which  is  deficient  in  these  mineral  nutrients, 
forms  the  roughage,  either  lime  alone  or  both  lime  and  phosphorus 
should  be  added  to  the  ration.  Gouin  and  Andouard  of  France^''  as  a 
result  of  long  continued  studies  recommend  feeding  ground  bone, 
such  as  is  used  in  commercial  fertilizers,  to  calves.  Based  on  the  studies 
with  pigs  by  Hart,  McCollum,  and  Fuller  of  the  Wisconsin  Station,  it 
is  reasonable  to  recommend  that  one-half  ounce  of  ground  rock  phosphate 
(floats)  be  given  daily  to  calves  in  place  of  chalk  or  ground  bone. 

686.  Water  and  salt. — The  calf  should  be  amply  supplied  with  pure 
fresh  water,  something  which  is  often  neglected  with  calves  fed  milk. 
At  the  Kansas  Station-"  Otis  observed  that  skim-milk  calves  would 
drink  water  several  times  a  day,  sipping  a  little  at  a  time,  sometimes 
soon  after  their  feed  of  milk.  Calves  2  to  3  months  old  consumed  on 
the  average  10  lbs.  of  water  each  daily.  (103) 

As  soon  as  the  calf  begins  to  eat  grain  and  hay  it  should  be  given 
salt,  the  same  as  in  the  case  of  older  animals.  (101) 

687.  Starting  the  calf  on  whole  milk. — The  skim-milk  calf  is  usually 
allowed  to  get  its  milk  from  the  dam  for  2  or  3  days,  tho  many  dairymen 
never  allow  it  to  draw  milk  from  the  mother,  claiming  that  if  separated 
at  once  it  learns  more  readily  to  drink  from  the  pail.  In  any  event 
the  calf  should  always  get  the  first  milk,  or  colostrum,  which  is  designed 
by  nature  for  cleansing  the  bowels  and  starting  the  digestive  functions. 
(115)  If  the  cow  is  a  heavy  milker  the  calf  should  not  be  allowed  to  gorge 
on  milk  lest  scours  result.  After  each  feeding  the  cow  should  be 
stripped  clean.  When  the  cow's  udder  is  caked,  leaving  the  calf  with 
her  will  aid  in  reducing  the  inflammation. 

The  calf  is  best  taught  to  drink  milk  from  the  pail  by  using  the  fingers. 
If  it  is  allowed  to  go  12  to  24  hours  without  feeding,  or  until  it  becomes 
genuinely  hungry,  much  less  difficulty  will  be  experienced  in  the  first 
lesson.  Some  dairymen  use  calf  feeders,  claiming  that  the  slowness 
with  which  calves  suck  milk  from  the  nipple,  compared  with  drinking 
from  the  bucket,  aids  digestion.  Hooper  found  at  the  Kentucky  Sta- 
tion^^  that  during  the  first  7  to  10  weeks  calves  were  more  thrifty  when 
fed  thru  the  nipple.  After  the  70th  day,  however,  the  feeder  was  no 
more  effective  than  bucket  feeding,  and  by  the  time  the  calves  were  6 
months  old  there  was  little  difference  in  size  or  vigor  between  the  lots. 
Many  of  the  calf  feeding  devices  on  the  market  are  unsatisfactory,  and 

^Ernahr.  Landw.  Nutztiere,  1907,  p.  472.        =»Kan.  Bui.  126. 
"Bxpt.  Sta.  Rec,  19,  p.  468.  "Ky.  Bui.  171. 


418  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

all  are  dangerous  unless  extreme  care  is  exercised  in  cleansing  and  steril- 
izing them. 

The  young  calf  has  a  small  stomach  and  naturally  takes  milk  fre- 
quently and  in  small  quantities.  Too  large  an  allowance  of  milk  pro- 
duces indigestion  and  scours.  When  milk  feeding  begins,  for  the  first 
day  or  two  only  5  to  6  pounds  should  be  fed  daily,  or  somewhat  more 
for  a  large  lusty  calf,  the  allowance  being  usually  divided  between  2 
feedings.  Some  advocate  feeding  at  least  3  times  a  day  at  first,  w^hicli 
occasions  little  extra  work  if  the  cow  is  milked  thrice  daily.  When 
the  cow  is  milked  twice  a  day,  the  bother  of  warming  the  milk  at  noon 
is  held  by  many  not  to  be  repaid.  In  all  cases  the  milk  should  be  fed 
as  fresh  as  possible  and  at  blood  heat,  the  temperature  being  determined 
by  a  thermometer,  which  all  careful  feeders  use.  The  allowance  of 
milk  should  be  gradually  increased,  but  over-feeding,  the  common  cause 
of  poor  success  in  calf  rearing,  should  be  avoided  at  all  times.  A  safe 
rule  is  always  to  keep  the  calf  a  little  hungry.  Calves  should  be  fed 
individually,  the  allowance  for  each  being  measured  or  weighed  and  the 
amount  fed  depending  on  the  size  and  vigor  of  the  individual.  Guernsey 
and  Jersey  calves  do  not  require  over  8  to  10  lbs.  daily  for  the  first  3 
to  4  weeks,  while  10  to  12  lbs.  is  all  a  calf  of  the  larger  breeds  should 
have. 

688.  Feeding  skim  milk. — ^When  the  calf  is  2  to  4  weeks  old,  the 
exact  age  depending  on  its  vitality,  skim  milk  may  gradually  replace 
the  whole  milk,  the  change  being  usually  made  at  the  rate  of  0.5  to  1  lb., 
or  slightly  more,  per  day,  a  week  or  10  days  being  required  to  get  the 
calf  on  skim  milk  alone.  With  cows  giving  very  rich  milk,  some  prefer 
to  dilute  with  skim  milk  from  the  start.  A  few  breeders  feed  some 
whole  milk  for  as  long  as  2  months. 

After  the  change  to  skim  milk  has  been  made  the  allowance  may  be 
increased  very  gradually,  but  should  not  exceed  18  lbs.  daily  until  the 
calf  is  6  weeks  old,  and  only  in  rare  cases  should  over  20  lbs.  be  fed 
at  any  time.  Skim  milk  is  at  its  best  when,  still  warm,  it  goes  at  once 
from  the  farm  separator  to  the  calf.  Milk  held  for  any  length  of  time 
or  chilled  should  always  be  warmed  to  blood  temperature  before  feeding. 
In  cold  weather  it  is  not  safe  to  rely  on  the  skim  milk  being  warm 
enough  as  it  comes  from  the  separator,  but  the  thermometer  should  be 
used.  When  the  calf  is  3  to  4  months  old  it  can  usually  be  accustomed 
to  cooler  milk  provided  the  temperature  is  reasonably  uniform.  The 
calf  pails  in  which  the  milk  is  fed  should  be  kept  scrupulously  clean, 
a  good  rule  being  to  cleanse  them  as  thoroly  as  the  milk  pails.  Feeding 
skim  milk  which  is  sour,  stale,  and  teeming  with  undesirable  bacteria 
is  a  frequent  cause  of  scours.  Trials  by  the  United  States  Department 
of  Agriculture-^  indicate  that  satisfactory  results  may  be  secured  in 
summer  with  clean  milk  when  soured  quickly  by  lactic  acid  bacteria, 
such  as  are  used  in  starters  in  butter  making.     In  winter  some  of  the 

'"Breeder's  Gazette.  66,  1914,  p.  17. 


RAISING  DAIRY  CATTLE  419 

calves  showed  a  distaste  for  the  sour  milk.  Skim-railk  feeding  should 
usually  continue  for  8  to  10  months,  but  when  the  supply  of  milk  is 
scant  a  thrifty  calf  may  be  weaned  after  3  months,  provided  good  substi- 
tutes for  milk  are  fed,  as  shown  later.  (697) 

At  feeding  time  hand-reared  calves  should  be  confined  in  stanchions, 
to  remain  for  a  time  after  the  milk  is  drunk  until  they  consume  their 
concentrate  allowance  and  overcome  the  desire  to  suck  each  other's 
ears  or  udders.  When  this  precaution  is  neglected  the  shape  of  the 
udder  may  be  injured  or  a  heifer  may  later  persist  in  sucking  herself  or 
others. 

689.  Pasteurizing  creamery  skim  milk. — Patrons  of  creameries  should 
insist  that  all  skim  milk  be  pasteurized  before  it  is  returned  to  the 
farm.  This  precaution  keeps  the  milk  sweet  and  kills  the  disease-pro- 
ducing bacteria,  thereby  lessening  trouble  from  scours  and  preventing 
the  possible  introduction  of  tuberculosis. 

In  2  trials  at  the  Ontario  Agricultural  College-^  Dean  found  that 
calves  fed  pasteurized  skim  milk  (heated  to  160°  F.)  made  somewhat 
better  gains  than  others  fed  unpasteurized  skim  milk.  At  the  Kansas 
Station-*  Otis  found  practically  no  difference  in  the  feeding  value  of 
pasteurized  creamery  skim  milk  and  that  fed  directly  from  the  hand 
separator,  except  that  the  pasteurized  skim  milk  caused  less  trouble 
from  scouring. 

690.  Feeding  concentrates. — ^When  1  to  2  weeks  old  the  calf  should 
be  taught  to  eat  concentrates.  Such  feeds  as  corn  meal,  sieved  ground 
oats,  barley  meal,  kafir  meal,  wheat  bran,  red  dog  flour,  and  linseed 
meal,  alone  or  in  mixture,  may  be  placed  in  the  bottom  of  the  pail  after 
the  calf  has  finished  drinking  its  milk.  Some  add  the  concentrates  to 
the  milk,  but  this  is  inadvisable  as  the  meal  is  then  less  thoroly  mixed 
with  the  saliva.  The  addition  of  such  concentrates  as  bran  or  linseed 
meal  to  the  farm  grains  may  be  helpful  in  teaching  the  calf  to  eat. 
The  dull  calf  may  be  taught  to  eat  the  meal  by  rubbing  a  little  on  its 
muzzle  when  it  is  thru  drinking  milk.  Having  learned  the  taste  of  the 
meal,  the  calf  should  thereafter  be  fed  its  allowance  dry  from  a  con- 
venient feed  box.  Until  it  becomes  accustomed  to  the  new  article  of  diet, 
a  supply  of  meal  may  be  kept  before  it.  After  this,  however,  only  as 
much  should  be  fed  as  will  be  eaten  up,  and  the  feed  box  should  be 
cleaned  out  regularly.  At  6  weeks  the  calf  will  usually  eat  0.5  lb.  of 
concentrates  a  day ;  at  2  months,  about  1  lb. ;  and  at  3  months,  2  lbs. 
Unless  it  is  desired  to  push  the  animal  ahead  rapidly  no  more  than  this 
need  be  fed  the  skim-milk  calf  up  to  6  months.-^ 

691.  Concentrates  for  skim-milk  calves. — The  following  list  by  Otis^® 
will  aid  dairymen  in  selecting  feeds  for  skim  milk  calves : 

^"Ontario  Agr.  Col.  Rpt.  1899. 

^*Kan.  Bui.  126. 

^Eckles,  Dairy  Cattle  and  Milk  Production,  p.  184. 

^-Wis.  Bui.  192. 


420  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

"1.  Corn  meal  gradually  changed  in  4  to  6  weeks  to  shelled  corn  with  or 
without  bran. 

"2.  Whole  oats  and  bran. 

"3.  Whole  oats  and  corn  chop,  the  latter  gradually  replaced  by  shelled  corn 
in  4  to  6  weeks. 

"4.  Ground  barley  with  bran  or  shelled  corn. 

"5.  Shelled  com  and  ground  kafir  or  sorghum. 

"6.  Whole  oats,  ground  barley,  and  bran. 

"7.  A  mixture  of  20  lbs.  of  corn  meal,  20  lbs.  of  oat  meal,  20  lbs.  of  oil  meal, 
10  lbs.  of  blood  meal,  and  5  lbs.  of  bone  meal,  changed  to  corn,  oats,  and  bran 
when  calves  are  3  months  old. 

"8.  A  mixture  of  5  lbs.  whole  oats,  3  lbs.  bran,  1  lb.  com  meal,  and  1  lb.  of 
linseed  meal." 

The  Guernsey  Breeder's  Journal,"  on  gathering  the  experience  of 
over  100  breeders  of  Guernsey  cattle,  found  that  the  following  were  used 
as  supplements  to  skim  milk : 

Thirteen  fed  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  oats  and  wheat  bran;    11,  a  mixture  of 

5  parts  oats,  3  parts  bran,  1  part  linseed  meal,  and  1  part  corn  meal;  8,  whole 
oats;  7,  ground  oats;  7,  oats,  bran,  and  linseed  meal;  6,  corn  and  oats;  6,  the 
concentrate  mixture  given  the  dairy  herd;  5,  corn  meal,  oats,  and  bran;  4, 
corn  meal,  bran,  and  linseed  meal;  and  others,  mixtures  of  wheat  middlings  and 
linseed  meal,  of  corn  meal  and  linseed  meal,  of  hominy  and  bran,  and  of  corn 
and  bran. 

The  feeder  thus  has  an  extended  list  of  successful  mixtures  from  which 
to  select  the  one  most  economical  for  his  local  conditions. 

692.  Hay  for  calves. — Calves  will  begin  to  eat  hay  at  about  the  same 
age  as  they  do  grain,  consuming  nearly  the  same  quantity  of  each  at 
first.  As  the  calf  grows  and  its  paunch,  or  first  stomach,  develops,  the 
proportion  of  roughage  to  concentrates  should  be  increased  until  when 

6  months  old  it  will  be  consuming  about  3  times  as  much  hay  as  grain. 
The  Guernsey  Breeder's  Journal"^  found  in  replies  from  over  100  suc- 
cessful breeders  in  various  parts  of  the  country  that  the  great  majority 
preferred  clover  or  alfalfa  hay  for  calves.  Some  report  better  results 
from  bluegrass,  native,  or  mixed  hay  for  the  first  2  or  3  months  because 
they  are  less  liable  to  cause  scours.  Bright,  early-cut  hay  which  is  fine 
and  leafy  is  best  for  the  calf.  If  legume  hay  is  fed,  it  may  be  necessary 
to  restrict  the  amount  lest  the  calves  gorge  on  this  palatable  roughage. 
The  heifer  should  be  encouraged  to  eat  a  goodly  amount  of  hay  to 
develop  the  roomy  digestive  tract  desired  in  the  dairy  cow.  Uneaten 
portions  of  the  roughage  should  be  removed  from  the  rack  or  manger 
before  the  next  feeding  time,  for  calves  do  not  like  hay  which  has  been 
"blown  on." 

693.  Succulent  feeds. — A  small  amount  of  silage  from  well-matured 
corn,  free  from  mold,  may  be  fed  to  calves  when  6  to  8  weeks  old.  In 
teaching  them  to  eat  this  succulence  it  is  well  to  offer  them  only  the 
leaves  at  first.  WolP"  recommends  2  lbs.  of  silage  daily  for  calves  old 
enough  to  eat  roughage,  and  5  to  10  lbs.,  along  with  dry  roughage,  for 

"Guernsey  Breeder's  Jour.,  May,  1915,  p.  38. 
='  Guernsey  Breeder's  Jour.,  May,  1915,  p.  38. 
==* Productive  Feeding  of  Farm  Animals,  p.  222. 


RAISING  DAIRY  CATTLE 


421 


older  ones.  (300)  When  roots  are  available  they  are  a  most  satisfactory 
succulent  feed.  (365) 

Pasture  is  excellent  for  calves  old  enough  to  make  good  use  of  it. 
To  avoid  scours  they  should  be  turned  on  grass  gradually,  say  for  an 
hour  the  first  day  and  for  slowly  lengthening  periods  thereafter. 
Another  method  is  to  accustom  them  to  green  feed  by  giving  increasing 
allowances  of  soilage  before  turning  to  pasture.  It  is  well  to  keep 
spring  or  summer  calves  in  their  stalls  until  they  are  2  to  4  months  old, 
as  there  is  less  trouble  from  scours,  and  the  young  things  will  not  suffer 
as  much  from  the  flies  and  the  heat. 

694.  Gains  of  skim-milk  calves. — Otis  of  the  Kansas  Station^"  gives  the 
following  table  showing  the  weight  by  months  of  calves  reared  on  skim 
milk,  grain,  and  pasture  from  birth  until  1  year  of  age : 

Weight  of  calves  from  hirtli  until  1  year  old 


No.  of 

Age 

Range  in 

Average 

No.  of 

Range  in 

Average 

calves 

weight 

weight 

calves 

Age 

weight 

weight 

Months 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Months 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

23 

Birth 

59-lOS 

77 

38 

7 

288-461 

403 

45 

1 

70-154 

111 

28 

8 

332-507 

455 

66 

2 

88-199 

144 

21 

9 

370-575 

515 

60 

3 

111-248 

181 

20 

10 

427-645 

578 

60 

4 

148-290 

229 

20 

11 

444-730 

626 

54 

5 

183-362 

287 

19 

12 

476-770 

669 

43 

6 

228-425 

349 

It  is  shown  that  calves  averaging  77  lbs.  each  at  birth  attained  an 
average  weight  of  669  lbs.  at  the  end  of  12  months,  showing  an  average 
daily  gain  of  1.6  lbs.  for  the  entire  period. 

Properly  fed  on  skim  milk,  along  with  suitable  grains  and  roughage 
in  liberal  supply,  the  thrifty  calf  should  gain  from  1.5  to  2  lbs.  daily 
for  the  first  4  to  6  months.  The  aim  should  be  not  to  fatten  the  calf 
but  to  keep  it  in  a  vigorous,  growing  condition,  building  strong  bone 
and  muscle.  Where  skim-milk  calves  do  poorly,  the  blame  usually  rests 
with  the  feeder.  The  cause  of  the  trouble  A\dll  ordinarily  be  found  in 
some  one  or  more  of  the  following  conditions:  Lack  of  sunlight  and 
fresh  air ;  unsanitary  stalls  or  boxes  that  are  not  properly  cleaned  and 
disinfected;  feeding  too  much  milk,  or  at  irregular  intervals;  feeding 
stale  or  chilled  milk;  feeding  from  pails  that  have  not  been  scalded 
daily ;  feeding  improper  concentrates  or  allowing  the  excess  to  ferment 
and  stale  in  the  feed  box. 


II.  Raising  Calves  On  Skim-milk  Substitutes 

Increasing  numbers  of  dairymen  thruout  the  country  are  selling 
whole  milk  for  city  consumption,  for  cheese  making,  or  for  the  manu- 
facture of  condensed  and  evaporated  milk.     Because  it  is  too  expensive 

=°Kan.  Bui.  126. 


422  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

to  rear  the  calves  on  whole  milk  alone,  many  of  these  men  sell  the  heifer 
calves  from  even  their  best  cows  for  veal  and  depend  upon  buying  cows 
to  replenish  their  herds.  Since  this  practice  prevents  any  improvement 
in  their  herds,  the  successful  raising  of  calves  on  skim-milk  substitutes 
is  a  question  of  prime  importance. 

695.  Buttermilk  and  whey. — Where  available,  fresh  buttermilk  is  per- 
haps the  best  substitute  for  skim  milk,  but  the  watery  slop  sometimes 
obtained  from  creameries,  often  from  filthy  tanks,  should  be  avoided,  as 
such  material  is  almost  sure  to  cause  scours.  At  the  Kansas  Station^^ 
Otis  found  that  buttermilk  gave  slightly  less  returns  with  calves  than 
skim  milk  but  caused  less  trouble  from  scours.  (267) 

The  whey  usually  obtained  from  the  cheese  factory,  acid  and  often 
loaded  with  germs  that  derange  digestion,  is  unsuited  for  calf  feeding. 
Where  is  it  pasteurized  and  can  be  obtained  sweet  and  undiluted,  whey 
may  give  fair  results  when  fed  under  the  strictest  rules  as  to  quantity, 
regularity  of  feeding,  and  cleanliness  of  the  vessels  employed.  Graef^- 
secured  a  daily  gain  of  2  lbs.  with  calves  fed  skim  milk,  while  those 
getting  whey  gained  from  1  to  1.4  lbs.  At  the  Kansas  Station^^  Otis 
changed  calves  from  skim  milk  to  whey  when  3  to  5  weeks  old,  feeding 
10  to  14  lbs.  of  whey  daily  with  alfalfa  hay,  prairie  hay,  kafir  meal, 
and  sieved  ground  oats.  The  whey-fed  calves  were  thrifty  and  healthy, 
tho  less  fat  than  those  getting  skim  milk.  In  feeding  whey  it  should  be 
remembered  that  instead  of  being  a  protein-rich  food  like  skim  milk,  it 
is  relatively  poor  in  this  nutrient.  Instead  of  the  cereal  grains,  feeds 
high  in  protein,  such  as  wheat  bran  and  linseed  meal,  should  therefore 
be  fed  Avith  it.  (268) 

696.  Minimum  amount  of  milk  needed  by  calf. — Fraser  and  Brand  con- 
ducted 3  trials  with  a  total  of  28  calves  at  the  Illinois  Station^*  to 
determine  the  minimum  total  amount  of  whole  milk  and  skim  milk 
necessary  to  ensure  dairy  calves  getting  a  good  start  before  placing 
them  upon  concentrates  and  hay  alone.  It  was  found  that  after  the 
dam's  milk  was  fit  for  human  use  calves  could  be  raised  successfully  on 
a  total  of  137  to  167  lbs.  of  whole  milk  and  378  to  491  lbs.  of  skim  milk, 
with  good  clover  hay,  and  such  concentrates  as  bran,  oats,  linseed  meal, 
and  corn.  The  calves  were  fed  whole  milk  for  the  first  4  days,  while 
the  milk  could  not  be  used  otherwise.  Starting  with  the  fifth  day,  10 
lbs.  of  whole  milk  and  2  lbs.  of  skim  milk  was  fed  daily  per  calf  for 
about  10  days  following,  after  which  the  whole  milk  was  gradually 
replaced  with  skim  milk  at  the  rate  of  1  lb.  per  day.  Each  calf  was  then 
fed  12  lbs.  of  skim  milk  per  day  for  20  days,  or  until  45  days  old,  when 
the  allowance  was  reduced  1  lb.  each  day,  no  milk  being  fed  after  the 
calves  were  about  56  days  old.  The  calves  were  rather  thin  for  a  time, 
but  after  being  kept  on  pasture  with  a  limited  allowance  of  grain  until  6 
months  old  all  were  in  good  thrifty  condition,  and  later  several  developed 
into  good-producing  cows. 

»^Kan.  Bui.  126.   '^Milchzeitung,  1880,  p.  143.    «' Kan.  Bui.  126.    '» 111.  Bui.  164. 


RAISING  DAIRY  CATTLE  423 

697.  Substitutes  for  milk. — Several  different  concentrate  mixtures  have 
been  used  Avith  more  or  less  success  as  substitutes  for  milk  in  calf  feeding. 
While  carbonaceous  grains  are  better  supplements  to  skim  milk  than  are 
concentrates  rich  in  protein,  substitutes  for  milk  must  supply  an  abun- 
dance of  protein,  as  does  milk  itself.  At  the  Pennsylvania  Station^*^ 
Hayward  fed  calves  whole  milk  for  7  to  10  days  and  then  gradually 
substituted  a  home-mixed  calf  meal  consisting  of  30  parts  wheat  flour, 
25  parts  cocoanut  meal,  20  parts  skim-milk  powder,  10  parts  linseed  meal, 
and  2  parts  dried  blood,  the  mixture  costing  about  3  cents  per  pound. 
One  pound  of  the  mixed  meal  was  added  to  6  lbs.  of  hot  water,  and  after 
stirring  for  a  few  minutes,  cooled  to  blood  heat  before  feeding.  With 
careful  feeding  the  calves  receiving  the  calf  meal  made  as  good  growth 
as  others  fed  skim  milk.  Hayward  points  out  that  calves  raised  upon 
a  milk  substitute  should  have  warm,  dry  quarters  as  they  are  apt  to  be 
less  resistant  to  disease  than  milk-fed  calves. 

Dean  of  the  Ontario  Agricultural  College^®  reports  success  with  cocoa- 
shell  milk  as  a  milk  substitute.  The  "milk"  was  made  by  boiling 
one-fourth  pound  of  cocoa  shells  in  2  gallons  of  water,  and  1.5  to  2 
gallons  per  day  was  fed  with  bran,  oats,  and  soilage. 

At  the  North  Carolina  Station^^  Michels  obtained  satisfactory  results 
with  rolled  oats  as  a  substitute  for  skim  milk.  Thrifty  calves  were  raised 
when  the  allowance  of  whole  milk  was  decreased  to  2  lbs.  per  head 
daily  by  the  fifth  week,  being  gradually  replaced  by  a  gruel  made  by 
adding  12  ounces  of  rolled  oats  to  1  gallon  of  boiling  water  and  allow- 
ing the  mixture  to  stand  until  cool  enough  to  feed.  Hooper  at  the  Ken- 
tucky Station^^  found  calves  reared  on  rolled-oats  gruel  less  vigorous 
than  those  fed  skim  milk. 

At  the  Kansas  Station^''  Otis  boiled  hay,  previously  soaked  in  a  tank, 
for  1  or  2  hours.  It  was  then  removed  and  the  liquid  which  remained 
was  concentrated  by  boiling,  12.5  lbs.  of  the  hay  jaelding  about  100  lbs. 
of  "tea."  With  kafir  meal,  wheat  middlings,  and  oil-meal  jelly  for  con- 
centrates the  calves  fed  alfalfa  hay  tea  gained  but  0.4  lb.  daily,  poor 
returns.  On  tea  from  mixed  hay  calves  gained  0.9  lb.  daily,  making  fair 
growth,  but  much  less  than  others  fed  skim  milk.  Stewart*"  successfully 
reared  5  calves  on  hay  tea  with  one-fourth  pound  each  of  flaxseed  and 
wheat  middlings  per  head  daily.  He  states  that  the  hay  should  be  cut 
early,  when  it  has  the  most  soluble  matter,  and  the  tea  boiled  until  well 
concentrated. 

At  the  Indiana  Station*^  Caldwell  fed  2  lots,  each  of  3  calves,  for  6 
months  from  birth  to  test  the  value  of  a  home-mixed  calf  meal  consisting 
of  equal  parts  of  hominy  meal,  linseed  meal,  red  dog  flour,  and  blood 
meal,  with  the  following  results : 

^Penn.  Bui.  60.  ''Kan.  Bui.  126. 

^'Ontario  Dept.  Agr.,  Rpt.  1903,  Vol.  I.    '°  Feeding  Animals,  p.  246. 
"N.  C.  Bui.  199.  ^^Information  to  the  authors.  ■ 

'"Ky.  Bui.  171. 


424  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Home-mixed  calf  meal  vs.  skim  milk 

Wt.  at 

Av.  daily 

Average  ration 

beginning 

gain 

Lot  I 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Calf  meal,  1 .25  lbs. 

Whole  milk,  1 .25  lbs.                       Alfalfa  hay,  2 .66  lbs. 

Ground  oats  and  corn,  0 .96  lb.      Corn  sUage,  0 .  19  lb 

.       57 

0.99 

Lot  II 

Skim  milk,  10.85  lbs. 

Whole  milk,  0 .  76  lb.                        Alf aKa  hay,  2 .  54  lbs. 

Ground  oats  and  com,  1 .04  lbs.     Corn  silage,  0 .23  lb 

.     53 

1.09 

The  calves  fed  the  calf  meal,  tho  making  slightly  smaller  gains  than 
those  receiving  skim  milk,  were  equally  thrifty  and  vigorous  at  the  close 
of  the  trial. 

698.  Proprietary  calf  meals. — There  are  on  the  market  several  calf 
meals,  which  are  more  or  less  complex  mixtures  of  such  feeds  as  linseed 
meal  or  flaxseed  meal,  ground  cereals,  and  wheat  by-products,  with  or 
without  dried  milk,  casein,  and  mild  drugs.  (285,  289)  These  meals  are 
fairly  satisfactory  substitutes  for  skim  milk,  but  give  no  better  returns 
than  home-mixed  meals  that  are  much  less  expensive.  Dean*-  of  the  On- 
tario Agricultural  College  found  ground  oats  and  bran  superior  to  a  pro- 
prietary calf  meal.  Savage  and  Tailby  in  2  trials  at  the  New  York 
(Cornell)  Station*^  with  a  total  of  37  calves  compared  3  proprietary 
calf  meals  and  skim  milk  powder  with  skim  milk.  The  calves  fed  skim 
milk  made  the  best  gains,  closely  followed  by  those  fed  the  skim-milk 
powder.  Those  fed  the  calf  meals  made  fair  to  good  gains,  but  at  a 
greater  expense.  Tho  in  most  instances  less  thrifty  at  the  close  of  the 
trial  when  5  months  of  age,  by  the  time  they  were  2  to  3  years  old  they 
had  developed  into  as  likely  animals  as  those  fed  skim  milk. 

III.  General  Problems  in  Rearing  Calves 

699.  Birth  weights  of  dairy  calves. — The  following  table  shows  the 
birth  weight  of  dairy  calves  and  the  weight  of  their  dams,  as  determined 
at  the  Connecticut  (Storrs),**  IVIissouri,*^  and  Wisconsin  Stations:*^ 

Birth  weight  of  calves  of  the  dairy  hreeds 

Average  of  both  sexes 

Number        Av.  wt.         Av.  wt.         Av.  wt.  Wt.  of  Wt.  of  calf  to 

Breed  of  calves       of  males      of  females        of  calf  dam  wt.  of  dam 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Per  ct. 

Jersey 119  58            49  55  900  6.11 

Guernsey 57  75            68  71  996  7.13 

Ayrshire 34  77            74  76  976  7 .79 

Holstein 104  94            85  89  1,153  7.72 

Brown  Swiss 5  107            90  100  1,123  8.90 

Dairy  Shorthorn. .  8  76  1,249  6.08 

*^ Ontario  Agr.  Col.  Rpts.  1900,  1905. 

"N.  y.  (Cornell)  Buls.  269,  304. 

"Beach,  Conn.   (Storrs)   Rpt.  1907. 

'^Eckles,  Dairy  Cattle  and  Milk  Production,  p.  174. 

*•  Unpublished  data  compiled  by  the  authors. 


RAISING  DAIRY  CATTLE  425 

The  table  shows  that  in  each  breed  the  bull  calves  average  heavier 
than  the  heifers.  The  weights  of  the  Jersey  calves  at  the  Wisconsin 
Station  ranged  from  44  to  80  lbs. ;  of  the  Guernseys,  from  48  to  87  lbs. ; 
of  the  Ayrshires,  from  62  to  89 ;  and  of  the  Holsteins,  from  62  to  108. 
Calves  from  mature  cows  are  generally  somewhat  heavier  at  birth  than 
from  heifers. 

700.  Econcniy  of  gains  by  calves. — Linfield  of  the  Utah  Station*^  found 
that  up  to  14  weeks  of  age  the  calf  takes  less  dry  matter  than  the  pig 
for  1  lb.  of  gain,  and  after  that  more,  because  of  the  greater  amount  of 
roughage  then  used  in  the  ration.  Beach  of  the  Connecticut  (Storrs) 
Station*^  found  that  calves  required  1.03;  lambs  1.08;  and  pigs  1.36 
lbs.  of  dry  matter  in  whole  milk  for  each  pound  of  gain  made.  Martiny*'* 
found  that  from  3.5  to  6  lbs.  of  new  milk  was  sufficient  to  produce  a 
pound  of  gain,  live  weight,  with  calves  between  the  first  and  fifth  weeks, 
while  older  ones  required  from  16  to  20  lbs. 

At  the  Pennsylvania  Station^**  Hunt  fed  3  calves  whole  milk  con- 
taining 4.6  per  ct.  of  fat  for  161  days.  They  gained  1.77  lbs.  each  daily, 
requiring  8.8  lbs.  of  whole  milk  and  1  lb.  each  of  hay  and  grain  for 
a  pound  of  gain. 

701.  Feed  required  by  the  calf. — The  following  table  shows  the  total 
amount  of  feed  required  by  skim-milk  calves  up  to  6  months  of  age,  as 
determined  by  Beach  at  the  Connecticut  (Storrs)  Station^^  and  by 
Eckles  at  the  Missouri  Station  :^^ 

Feed  required  hy  skim-milk  calves  to  6  months  of  age 


Station 

No.  of 
calves 

Wt.  at 
beginning 

Average 
daily  gam 

Whole 
milk 

Skim 
milk 

Concen- 
trates 

Hay 

Pasture 

Connecticut 

Fed  whole  milk  4  weeks . 
Fed  whole  milk  2  weeks . 

8 
9 

Lbs. 

65 
59 

Lbs. 

1.31 
1.25 

Lbs. 

220 
90 

Lbs. 
2,908 

3,001 

Lbs. 
127 

Lbs. 

619 
337 

Days 

Missouri 

Spring  calves 

4 
3 

74 
51 

1.42 
1.10 

367 
367 

3,041 
2.331 

90 
159 

80 
275 

90 

Fall  calves 

From  these  data  the  cost  of  feed  for  a  calf  up  to  6  months  of  age 
may  be  readily  computed  at  market  prices. 

702.  Fall  calves. — Where  cattle  are  reared  under  natural  conditions, 
the  rule  that  the  young  be  dropped  in  the  spring  will  continue,  but 
this  practice  is  not  necessarily  the  most  successful  in  the  older  sections 
of  the  country.  Fall-dropped  calves  come  at  a  time  when  the  little 
attentions  they  need  can  easily  be  given,  and  they  occupy  but  little 
space  in  barn  or  shed.  Subsisting  on  the  mother's  milk,  or  on  skim 
milk  with  a  little  grain  and  hay,  when  spring  comes  the  youngsters  are 
old  enough  to  make  good  use  of  the  pastures  and  to  stand  the  hot  weather 
and  the  attacks  of  flies  and  mosquitoes. 

"  Utah  Bui.  57.  ''"Penn.  Rpt.  1891. 

**Conn.  (Storrs)  Rpt.  1904,  p.  118.  "^Conn.  (Storrs)  Rpt.  1903. 

«Die  Milch,  2,  1871,  pp.  9-15.  "  Dairy  Cattle  ajid  Milk  Production,  p.  180. 


426  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

703.  Scours. — The  most  frequent  trouble  in  raising  calves  by  hand  is 
indigestion,  or  common  scours.  This  is  usually  caused  by  over-feeding, 
by  the  use  of  cold  milk  or  that  laden  with  disease  germs,  by  dirty  pails 
or  feed  boxes,  or  by  keeping  calves  in  dark,  dirty,  poorly-ventilated 
stalls.  Each  animal  should  be  watched  closely  for  signs  of  scours,  for 
a  severe  case  gives  the  calf  a  setback  from  which  it  recovers  but  slowly. 
Since  soft,  foul-smelling  dung  is  often  the  first  indication  of  trouble,  it 
is  well  to  keep  each  new-born  calf  in  a  pen  by  itself  for  2  to  3  weeks 
where  it  can  be  observed  more  closely  than  if  it  ran  with  others.  At 
the  first  indication  of  scours  the  ration  should  be  reduced  to  less  than 
half  the  usual  amount.  Such  remedies  as  castor  oil,  formalin,  and  a 
mixture  of  salol  and  bismuth  subnitrate,  are  used  with  success  by 
dairymen. 

Common  scours  should  be  distinguished  from  contagious,  or  white, 
scours,  also  called  calf  cholera,  which  is  due  to  an  infection  of  the 
navel  soon  after  birth.  This  most  serious  disease,  from  which  an  animal 
once  affected  rarely  recovers,  may  usually  be  avoided  by  providing 
that  the  calf  be  dropped  in  a  clean  stall  or  on  pasture.  When  the  calf 
is  born  in  the  barn,  it  is  best  to  wet  the  navel  thoroly  with  a  disinfectant, 
such  as  a  weak  solution  of  creoline,  zenoleum,  or  bichloride  of  mercury. 


IV.  The  Heifer 

The  rearing  of  the  heifer  after  6  to  8  months  of  age  is  an  easy  task, 
and  perhaps  because  of  this  many  are  stunted  for  lack  of  suitable  feed. 
Since  the  usefulness  of  the  cow  when  mature  is  dependent  on  her 
proper  development  before  the  first  calf  is  dropped,  it  is  important  to 
heed  the  few  essentials  in  feeding  and  caring  for  the  heifer. 

704.  Feeding  the  heifer. — Heifers  on  good  pasture  usually  require  no 
additional  feed.  In  winter  there  is  no  better  ration  than  legume  hay, 
silage,  and  sufficient  grain  to  keep  them  thrifty  and  growing  without 
becoming  fat.  The  ration  should  supply  an  abundance  of  protein  and 
mineral  matter,  and  hence  unless  legume  hay  forms  the  roughage,  the  con- 
centrate allowance  should  be  more  nitrogenous  in  character  than  advised 
for  skim-milk  calves.  From  2  to  3  lbs.  of  concentrates  with  8  to  10  lbs. 
of  legume  hay  and  12  to  20  lbs.  of  silage,  or  12  to  15  lbs.  of  legume  hay 
alone,  if  no  silage  is  available,  should  be  provided  for  the  ration  during 
the  second  year. 

Many  breeders  hold  that  if  the  heifer  is  allowed  to  become  fat  she  will 
develop  a  tendency  toward  using  her  feed  for  the  formation  of  body 
fat,  which  will  persist  when  she  is  in  milk.  Eckles  states  that  in  trials 
at  the  Missouri  Station"  in  which  heifers  were  variously  fed  before 
calving,  heavy  feeding  while  young  had  no  injurious  effect  on  the  pro- 
ductive capacity  of  the  animals  when  mature.  Heifers  which  were  kept 
fat  from  birth  until  calving  lost  the  surplus  body  fat  within  a  short 

"Dairy  Cattle  and  Milk  Production,  p.  206. 


RAISING  DAIRY  CATTLE  427 

time  thereafter  and  showed  no  more  tendency  to  fatten  later  on  in  the 
lactation  period  than  those  raised  on  a  less  abundant  allowance  of  con- 
centrates. The  most  marked  effect  of  heavy  feeding  of  concentrates 
was  a  more  rapid  growth  and  quicker  maturity.  The  results  show,  how- 
ever, that  feeding  a  heavy  allowance  of  concentrates  is  a  much  more 
expensive  way  of  raising  heifers  than  giving  them  a  ration  consisting 
mostly  of  good  roughage. 

705.  Age  to  breed. — The  age  at  which  heifers  should  drop  their  first 
calves  depends  on  the  breed  and  the  size  and  development  of  the  indi- 
vidual. Jerseys  and  Guernseys  which  have  been  well-fed  are  usually 
bred  to  calve  at  24  to  30  months  of  age,  while  the  slower  maturing  Hol- 
steins,  Ayrshires,  or  Brown  Swiss  should  not  calve  until  30  to  36  months 
old.  Some  breeders  believe  that  if  the  heifer  calves  at  an  early  age,  the 
tendency  to  milk  production  will  be  intensified.  Owing  to  the  demands 
of  the  fetus,  the  heifer  makes  but  little  growth  in  her  own  body  during 
the  last  few  months  before  calving,  even  when  liberally  fed.  Where 
early  calving  is  practiced,  breeders  therefore  usually  allow  18  to  20 
months  to  elapse  between  the  first  and  second  calves  in  order  to  give 
the  heifer  an  opportunity  to  continue  her  groAvth.  Further,  it  is  believed 
that  lengthening  the  first  lactation  period  tends  to  make  the  heifer  a 
more  persistent  milker.  As  a  rule  cows  that  have  dropped  their  first 
calves  at  an  early  age  are  finer  in  bone  and  often  considerably  smaller 
than  those  which  do  not  calve  until  more  mature. 

706.  Feed  eaten  by  heifers;  cost  of  rearing. — The  following  table 
shows  the  total  amount  of  feed  eaten  by  heifers  during  the  first  and 
second  years,  as  determined  in  trials  by  Trueman  at  the  Connecticut 
(Storrs)  Station^*  with  5  head,  by  Bennett  and  Cooper  of  the  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture^^  Avith  17  to  20  heifers  on  a  Wisconsin 
farm,  and  by  Shaw  and  Norton  at  the  Michigan  Station^"  with  57  calves : 

Feed  eaten  hy  heifers  up  to  2  yrs.  of  age 

Connecticut  Wisconsin  Michigan 

First  year 

Whole  milk,  lbs 445  342  405 

Skim  milk,  lbs 2,953  3,165  3,968 

Concentrates,  lbs 303  547  1,144 

Hay,  lbs 918  857  1,007 

Silage,  roots,  or  soilage,  lbs 1,245  353  1,354 

Pasture,  days 135  123  .... 

Second  year 

Concentrates,  lbs 434                   .... 

Hay  or  other  dry  fodder,  lbs 2,227  1,792 

Silage,  lbs 1,693  3,250 

Pasture,  days 165  171                     

In  the  Connecticut  trial  the  heifers  were  fed  a  limited  allowance  of 
concentrates  during  their  second  year,  while  in  the  Wisconsin  test  they 
were  fed  only  hay  and  silage  during  the  winter  and  grazed  on  pasture 
without  additional  feed  in  the  summer.    In  the  Michigan  test  the  calves 

"Conn.  (Storrs)  Bui.  63.  ^U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  Bui.  49.  ^^Mich  Bui.  257. 


428  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

were  not  turned  to  pasture  during  the  summer  and  were  fed  a  heavier 
allowance  of  grain  than  is  usual  thruout  the  year. 

Trueman  estimates  the  cost  of  rearing  a  heifer  to  2  years  of  age  in 
Connecticut  as  follows:  Cost  of  feed,  first  year,  $28.34;  cost  of  feed, 
second  year,  $27.25;  labor  for  both  years,  $10.00;  bedding  for  both 
years,  $2.00;  barn  rent,  insurance,  and  taxes,  $4.00;  total  gross  cost, 
$71.59 ;  credit  for  manure,  $5.00 ;  net  cost  for  two  years  $66.59. 

From  records  for  117  calves  Bennett  and  Cooper  found  that  the  cost 
of  rearing  dairy  heifers  born  in  the  fall  was  as  follows : 

Cost  of  rearing  dairy  heifers  in  Wisconsin 

Cost  to  1  year  Cost  to  2  years 

Dollars  Dollars 

Initial  value  of  calf 7 .04  7 .04 

Feed 24.67  40.83 

Labor 4.45  7.81 

Other  costs 6.36  13.73 

Gross  cost 42.52  69.41 

Credit  for  manure 3 .00  8 .00 

Net  cost 39.52  61.41 

Under  "other  costs"  are  included  charges  for  barn  equipment  and 
utensils,  interest,  bedding,  losses  by  death  and  from  discarding  poor 
individuals,  share  of  general  overhead  expense  in  running  farm,  and 
miscellaneous  expenses.  Many  of  these  items  are  not  ordinarily  taken 
into  consideration  by  the  dairyman  in  estimating  how  much  it  costs  him 
to  raise  heifers.  Labor,  both  man  and  horse,  is  charged  at  a  uniform 
figure  thruout  the  year.  It  should  be  remembered  that  with  fall  calves 
most  of  the  labor  comes  in  the  winter  when  farm  work  is  light  and  labor 
worth  much  less  than  in  summer.  The  cost  of  raising  heifers  will  natur- 
ally vary  widely  in  different  districts  depending  on  prices  for  feed  and 
labor,  the  shelter  required,  etc. 


V.  The  Bull 

Despite  the  fact  that  improvement  in  the  productive  capacity  of  the 
dairy  herd  rests  as  much  with  the  bull  as  with  the  cows,  the  feed  and 
care  of  the  sire  at  the  head  of  the  herd  is  often  neglected.  To  build  up 
a  profitable  herd  a  pure-bred  bull  which  has  been  bred  for  dair}^  pro- 
duction should  be  selected;  this  done,  he  should  be  so  fed  as  to  keep 
in  the  best  condition  for  breeding. 

707.  The  young  bull. — The  same  principles  apply  to  the  rearing  of  the 
bull  calf  as  to  the  heifer.  The  bull  should  be  fed  from  birth  to  maturity 
so  as  to  make  normal  growth,  for,  while  the  offspring  of  an  animal  which 
is  thrifty  but  is  undersized  on  account  of  insufficient  feed  will  not  neces- 
sarily be  smaller  than  those  from  a  larger  sire,  such  an  animal  will  bring 
a  lower  price  when  it  is  desired  to  sell  him  to  another  dairyman.  From 
6  months  of  age,  when  the  bull  calves  should  be  separated  from  the 


RAISING  DAIRY  CATTLE  429 

heifers,  they  should  be  fed  a  somewhat  heavier  allowance  of  grain.  The 
bull  should  be  sufficiently  mature  for  very  light  service  at  10  to  12 
months  of  age.  He  should  be  halter  broken  as  a  calf  and  when  about 
1  year  old  should  have  a  stout  ring  inserted  in  his  nose.  He  should 
be  so  handled  from  calfhood  that  he  "will  recognize  man  as  his  master 
and  should  never  be  given  an  opportunity  to  learn  his  great  strength. 
Stall  and  fences  should  always  be  so  strongly  built  that  there  is  no  possi- 
bility of  his  learning  how  to  break  loose. 

708.  Feed  and  care  of  the  bull. — The  ration  for  the  bull  in  full  service 
should  be  about  the  same  as  for  a  dairy  cow  in  milk.  He  should  be  given 
good  legume  hay  or  hay  from  mixed  legumes  and  grasses  and  fed  from  4 
to  8  lbs.  of  concentrates,  supplying  an  ample  amount  of  protein.  When 
idle  or  but  in  partial  service  less  concentrates  will  be  required.  Some 
breeders  hold  that  feeding  corn  silage  impairs  the  bull's  breeding  powers 
and  therefore  prefer  roots.  Hoard's  Dairyman,^^  holds  that  a  bull  may 
be  fed  10  to  15  lbs.  of  silage  per  day  with  satisfactory  results  in  a 
properly  balanced  ration. 

Except  in  severe  climates  the  best  quartei^s  for  the  bull  are  an  open 
shed  with  an  adjoining  paddock  where  he  may  exercise.  Tho  this 
open-air  treatment  is  admirable  for  the  health  of  the  animal,  it  results 
in  a  heavier  and  rougher  coat  of  hair,  and  hence  breeders  offering  ani- 
mals for  sale  usuallj^  prefer  to  keep  the  bulls  in  comfortable  box  stalls, 
turning  them  out  only  on  fair  days.  Rather  than  confine  the  bull  in 
isolation,  it  is  well  to  have  his  stall  so  located  and  built  that  he  can  see 
the  other  members  of  the  herd.  The  hoofs  of  the  bull  spending  most 
of  his  time  in  the  stall  need  regular  trimming.  The  bull  should  be  tied 
by  a  strong  halter  to  one  end  of  the  manger  and  by  his  ring  to  the  other 
end,  so  that  the  attendant  may  approach  him  from  either  side  without 
danger.  The  bull  should  be  dehorned  and  should  always  be  handled 
with  a  strong,  safe  staff.  Even  with  a  quiet,  peaceable  bull  safety  lies 
only  in  handling  him  without  displaying  fear  and  yet  as  if  he  were 
watching  for  an  opportunity  to  gore  his  attendant.  Nearly  all  the  acci- 
dents occur  with  ' '  quiet ' '  bulls  that  have  been  too  much  trusted. 

To  maintain  health  and  virility,  the  bull  must  have  ample  exercise. 
This  is  perhaps  most  conveniently  furnished  by  a  tread  power,  where  he 
may  run  the  separator,  pump  water,  do  other  useful  work,  or  run  the 
power  for  exercise  only.  Many  declare  that  the  purchase  of  a  tread 
power  merely  to  furnish  exercise  for  the  bull  is  a  wise  investment. 
Others  fix  a  long  sweep  on  a  post  and  tie  the  bull  at  the  end,  allowing 
him  to  walk  around  the  circle.  Another  device  is  a  light  cable  stretched 
between  2  high  posts,  the  bull  being  attached  to  it  by  a  sliding  chain 
so  that  he  is  able  to  walk  back  and  forth  the  length  of  the  cable.  The 
bull  may  also  be  harnessed  and  hitched  to  cart  or  wagon  for  such  odd 
jobs  as  hauling  manure  or  feed.  Whatever  the  plan  adopted,  it  is 
essential  that  the  bull  receive  ample  and  regular  exercise,  else  he  is 
almost  certain  to  develop  an  ugly  disposition  and  may  become  impotent. 

■^^oard's  Dairyman,  46,  1914,  p.  339. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

GENERAL   PROBLEMS    IN    BEEF    PRODUCTION 

During  recent  years  the  number  of  beef  cattle  in  the  United  States 
has  decreased,  rather  than  increased,  while  our  population  has  been 
growing  rapidly.  Hence  we  find  that  the  number  of  beef  cattle  per 
thousand  people  has  fallen  off  markedly.  In  1900  there  were  about  660 
cattle,  other  than  milch  cows,  per  1,000  inhabitants  in  this  country,  but 
in  1910  the  number  had  decreased  to  450,  and  later  estimates  indicate 
a  further  failure  of  beef  cattle  to  keep  pace  with  population.  Among 
the  reasons  for  this  condition  are  the  breaking  up  of  large  areas  of  the 
western  ranges  into  farms,  the  high  prices  ruling  for  grain  and  the 
consequent  tendency  of  many  farmers  to  sell  their  crops  for  cash  rather 
than  feed  them  to  stock,  the  increase  in  the  number  of  tenant  farmers 
who  have  insufficient  capital  to  stock  their  farms,  the  growth  in  dairying 
due  to  the  demand  from  the  rapidly  growing  cities  for  dairy  products, 
and  the  fact  that  not  infrequently  the  fattened  steer  has  been  gro-vvn  or 
finished  at  a  loss. 

Beef  production  has  naturally  become  separated  to  a  considerable 
extent  into  2  distinct  phases.  In  sections  where  the  land  is  unsuited  for 
tillage,  either  by  reason  of  its  rough  nature  or  deficient  rainfall,  breed- 
ing herds  are  maintained  and  cattle  raised  to  be  sold  as  feeder  steers. 
On  the  other  hand,  in  the  corn  belt,  where  land  is  high  in  price,  the 
majority  of  the  steers  which  are  fattened  for  market  are  not  raised  by 
the  men  who  finish  them,  but  are  shipped  in  from  the  range  districts. 
Altho  many  steers  are  still  fed  by  farmers  who  handle  only  a  few  head 
each  year,  the  fattening  of  cattle  has  passed  to  a  considerable  extent 
into  the  hands  of  professional  feeders,  who  fatten  from  a  few  carloads 
to  hundreds  of  animals  yearly.  In  many  instances  these  men  make  but 
little  use  of  the  manure  produced  and  purchase  most  of  their  feed.  On 
such  a  basis  the  enterprise  is  largely  speculative. 

Fortunately  for  the  American  public,  which  would  be  exceedingly 
loath  to  give  up  beef  as  a  common  article  of  diet,  our  experiment  stations 
have  pointed  out  the  manner  in  which  the  cost  of  beef  production  may 
be  brought  down  to  where  it  yields  a  reasonable  profit  to  the  farmer 
without  the  finished  product  being  unduly  costly  to  the  consumer.  The 
trials  reviewed  in  these  chapters  show  how  the  breeding  herd  may  be 
maintained  cheaply,  utilizing  the  roughage  which  would  otherwise  be 
wasted  on  the  farm,  and  the  steer  finished  for  market  on  a  much  smaller 
allowance  of  concentrates  than  was  formerly  believed  to  be  necessary. 
The  next  few  years  should  see  beef  breeding  herds  established  on 
thousands  of  farms  in  the  corn  belt,  where  the  maximum  use  will  be 

430 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  BEEF  PRODUCTION    431 

made  of  corn  silage  and  only  limited  pasture  be  employed,  in  the  eastern 
states,  with  their  low-priced  grazing  land,  and  in  the  South,  with  its 
tremendous  possibilities  for  beef  production,  especially  where  the  cattle 
tick  has  been  eradicated.  These  farmers  ■v\dll  look  for  their  profits 
largely  in  the  increased  fertility  which  will  come  to  their  fields  and  in 
the  profitable  utilization  of  roughages  which  would  otherwise  be  wasted. 
As  is  explained  in  Chapter  XXIX,  the  general  methods  followed  will  be 
adapted  to  the  local  conditions  in  each  region. 


I.  Influence  of  Age  ;  Long  and  Short  Feed 

709.  Margin. — Under  usual  conditions,  the  cost  of  the  feed  consumed 
by  fattening  cattle  or  sheep  per  100  lbs.  of  gain  is  greater  than  the  sell- 
ing price  per  cwt.  of  the  finished  animal.  With  normal  market  con- 
ditions, this  is  offset  by  the  fact  that  fattened  animals  usually  sell  for 
a  higher  price  per  100  lbs.  than  feeders,  which  are  animals  in  thinner 
flesh.  This  difference  between  the  cost  per  cwt.  of  the  feeder  and  the 
selling  price  per  c^vt.  of  the  same  animal  when  finished  is  called  the 
margin.  In  studying  all  commercial  aspects  of  the  fattening  of  meat- 
producing  animals  a  clear  understanding  of  this  term  is  most  essential. 

The  principle  of  the  margin  may  be  illustrated  thus :  If  a  1000-lb.  steer 
costs  the  feeder  $7.00  per  cwt.  when  placed  in  the  feed  lot,  its  initial  cost 
is  $70.00.  If  during  fattening  it  gains  400  lbs.  at  a  feed  cost  of  $36.00, 
each  cwt.  of  gain  costs  $9.00.  Assuming  that  the  manure  produced 
pays  for  the  labor,  the  steer,  now  weighing  1,400  lbs.,  has  cost  $106.00 
and  accordingly  must  bring  $7.57  per  cwt.  at  the  feed  lot  to  even  the 
transaction.  On  account  of  the  high  cost  of  the  gains,  under  all  usual 
conditions  a  margin  must  be  secured  in  fattening  cattle  or  sheep  to 
make  a  profit  or  "break  even"  on  the  transaction.  The  term  necessary 
margin  is  used  to  denote  the  margin  needed  to  prevent  loss.  In  this 
case  it  will  be  $0.57,  the  difference  between  $7.57  and  $7.00.  The  actual 
margin  is  the  difference  between  the  actual  selling  price  and  the  purchase 
price. 

The  factors  which  influence  the  necessary  margin  in  fattening  are: 
1,  the  initial  cost  of  the  cattle ;  2,  their  initial  weight ;  3,  the  cost  of  the 
gains ;  and  4,  the  expenses  incidental  to  getting  the  steers  to  the  feed  lot 
and  then  to  the  market  when  finished. 

Other  conditions  remaining  the  same,  the  higher  the  initial  cost,  or 
purchase  price,  of  the  feeder  the  narrower,  or  smaller,  is  the  necessary 
margin.  For  example,  let  us  assume  that  a  feeder  steer  weighing  1,000 
lbs.  is  fed  until  he  has  reached  a  weight  of  1,300  lbs.,  the  gain  costing  10 
cents  per  pound  for  feed.  If  the  feeder  costs  $4.00  per  cwt.,  he  will  have 
to  bring  $70.00,  or  $5.38  per  cwt.,  to  break  even.  The  necessary  margin 
would  then  be  $5.38 -$4.00  =  $1.38.  Had  the  feeder  been  bought  for 
$7.00  per  cwt.,  no  money  would  be  lost  if  he  were  sold  for  $100.00,  or 
$7.69  per  cwt.    In  this  case  the  necessary  margin  would  be  only  $0.69. 


432 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


The  heavier  the  animal  when  placed  on  feed  the  narrower  -will  be 
the  necessary  margin,  for  the  increased  selling  price  is  secured  for  a 
greater  number  of  pounds  of  initial  weight.  This  factor  may  be  offset, 
as  is  shown  later,  if  the  heavier  cattle  are  older  and  hence  make  more 
expensive  gains. 

It  is  evident  that  any  factor  which  increases  the  feed  cost  of  the  gains 
makes  necessary  a  wider  margin.  The  necessary  margin  is  thus  greater 
when  feeds  are  high  in  price,  and  is  wider  with  mature  animals  than  with 
younger  ones,  which  make  more  economical  gains.  (710-13)  Since 
gains  on  grass  are  usually  cheaper  than  in  the  dry  lot,  a  wider  margin 
is  required  for  winter  feeding  than  in  fattening  animals  on  pasture. 
(814)  The  higher  the  degree  of  finish,  or  fatness,  to  which  the  animals 
are  fed,  the  more  expensive  the  gains  become  and  the  wider  the  necessary 
margin.  (714) 

From  statistics  gathered  from  feeders  in  Missouri,  Iowa,  and  Illinois 
in  1902,  Waters^  found  that  an  average  margin  of  $1.02  was  required 
to  cover  the  entire  cost  of  fattening  cattle  in  summer — that  is,  they 
must  sell  for  $1.02  per  cwt.  above  the  purchase  price  to  break  even  on 
cost  of  production.  For  the  6  months  of  winter  feeding  with  2-yr.-olds, 
Waters  held  that  a  margin  of  $1.50  per  cwt.  was  necessary.  Skinner 
and  Cochel  of  the  Indiana  Station^  found  in  1906  that  with  Indiana 
cattlemen  it  cost  $4.80  per  cwt.  for  summer  gains  and  $7.20  per  cwt.  for 
winter  gains,  and  that  an  average  margin  of  $1.07  per  cwt.,  or  20  cents 
per  cwt.  per  month,  was  required.  Conditions  have  changed  materially 
since  these  dates.  Any  one  can  readily  compute  the  approximate  margin 
required  under  his  local  conditions  from  the  cost  of  feeders,  the  price 
of  the  available  feeding  stuffs,  and  the  amount  of  feed  required  for  100 
lbs.  gain. 

710.  Feed  and  gains  from  birth. — To  determine  the  amount  of  feed 
consumed  by  a  steer  from  birth  to  maturity  and  the  feed-cost  of  gains 
in  successive  periods  of  its  growth,  Zavitz^  of  the  Ontario  Agricultural 
College  confined  an  animal  from  3  days  of  age  until  3  years  old  in  a 
well-bedded  box  stall,  giving  exercise,  when  required,  by  leading.  Ac- 
count was  kept  of  all  water  and  food  supplied,  and  of  the  voidings,  as 
shown  in  the  table  : 

Veed  and  gains  hy  steer  from  hirth  to  maturity 


Daily  gain 

Total  gain 

Feed  per  100  lbs.  gain 

Milk 

Concentrates 

Hay 

Succulent  feed 

Digestible  nutrients  per  100  lbs.  gain 

Water  drank  daily 

Excrement  voided  daily 

^Mo.  Bui.  76.  *Ind.  Cir.  12, 


First  year       Second  year       Third  year 


Lb3. 

785 

492 
159 
184 
314 
315 

27 

30 


Lbs. 

1.2 
456 


480 

777 

1,928 

875 

43 


Lbs. 

1.0 

350 


776 

2,637 

1,183 

47 

50 


'Ont.  Agr.  Col.  Rpt.  1893. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  BEEF  PRODUCTION 


433 


During  the  first  year  the  steer  gained  2.2  lbs.  per  day,  or  a  total  of 
785  lbs.,  while  the  daily  gain  for  the  second  year  was  only  1.2  lbs.  and 
for  the  third  year  but  1.0  lb.  In  the  first  year  there  were  required  on 
the  average  for  100  lbs.  gain  492  lbs.  of  milk,  159  lbs.  of  concentrates, 
184  lbs.  of  hay  and  314  lbs.  of  succulent  feed  (roots,  silage,  or  green 
fodder),  containing  a  total  of  only  315  lbs.  digestible  nutrients.  The 
second  year  nearly  3  times  and  the  third  year  nearly  4  times  as  much 
digestible  nutrients  were  required  for  the  same  amount  of  gain.  A 
small  part  of  this  difference  is  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  the  flesh 
of  the  calf  is  more  watery  and  contains  less  nutrients  per  pound  than 
that  of  the  older  animal.  (123)  The  average  amount  of  water  con- 
sumed and  of  excrement  voided  is  shown  in  the  last  lines  of  the  table. 

At  the  end  of  the  3  years  the  steer  weighed  1,588  lbs.  and  would  have 
yielded  about  1,000  lbs.  of  dressed  carcass.  During  this  time  it  had 
consumed  a  total  of  3,862  lbs.  of  milk  (in  the  first  6  months),  5,857  lbs. 
of  concentrates,  7,716  lbs.  of  hay,  and  20,511  lbs.  of  succulent  feed. 
Accordingly,  for  each  pound  of  meat  as  sold  by  the  butcher  there  was 
required  about  3.9  lbs.  of  milk,  5.9  lbs.  of  concentrates,  7.7  lbs.  of  hay 
and  20.5  lbs.  of  succulent  feed.  When  we  realize  that  there  are  many 
other  items  of  expense  besides  the  mere  cost  of  the  feed  consumed  by  the 
steer,  it  is  evident  that  the  price  which  the  producer  gets  for  the  live 
steer  is  less  rather  than  more  than  it  should  be.  It  is  doubtful  if  any 
other  article  of  universal  use  and  necessity  is  continuously  sold  on  so 
narrow  a  margin  over  cost,  if  any,  as  the  live  fattened  steer. 

711.  Influence  of  age  on  cost  of  fattening. — At  the  Ottawa  Experi- 
mental Farms*  in  trials  during  4  winters  with  153  head  in  all,  Grisdale 
compared  the  rate  and  cost  of  gains  made  by  steers  of  different  ages 
during  feeding  periods  of  about  6  months.  The  results  are  shown  in  the 
following  table,  partially  as  arranged  by  Waters.^ 

Bate  and  cost  of  gains  for  fattening  steers  of  various  ages 


Av.  wt.  at 
beginning 

Av.  daily 
gain 

Av.  cost  of 

100  lbs. 

gain 

For  equal  profit  compared  with  calves 

Purchase  price 

per  cwt.  must  be 

less  by: 

Or  selling  price 

per  cwt.  must  be 

greater  by: 

Calves* 

Yearlings 

2-yr.-olds 

3_yr  -olds 

Lbs. 
397 

883 
1,011 
1,226 

Lbs. 
1.8 
1.6 

1.8 
1  7 

Dollars 
4.22 

5.31 

5.62 
6.36 

Cents 

35 
43 
53 

Cents 

27 
33 
43 

It  is  seen  that  6-months  calves  averaging  397  lbs.  in  weight  made 
an  average  daily  gain  of  1.8  lbs.  during  the  fattening  period  of  about  6 
months,  yearlings  to  3-yr.-olds  averaging  about  the  same.  The  feed  cost 
for  100  lbs.  of  gain  was  $4.22  with  the  calves,  and  increased  with  the 
age  of  the  animals,  the  gains  made  by  the  3-yr.-olds  costing  $6.36,  or  50 
per  ct.  more  than  the  calves,  for  each  100  lbs. 

'Ottawa  Expt.  Farms  Rpts.  1900-1904.      'Mo.  Bd.  Agr.  Rpt.  1907. 


434 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


The  greater  cost  of  the  gain  by  the  older  animals  might  have  been 
offset  by  buying  these  steers  as  feeders  at  slightly  lower  prices  per  100 
lbs.  than  the  younger  animals,  or  by  a  small  increase  in  their  selling 
price  when  fattened,  because  of  their  superior  condition.  Had  the 
yearlings  been  purchased  for  35  cents  per  100  lbs.  less  than  was  paid 
for  the  calves  and  sold  at  the  same  price  per  100  lbs.,  or  if  after  fattening 
they  had  been  sold  for  27  cents  more  per  100  lbs.,  the  increased  cost  of 
the  gains  by  the  yearlings  would  have  been  met. 

712.  Fattening  calves,  yearlings,  and  2-yr.-olds. — During  each  of  3 
winters.  Skinner  and  Cochel  fed  1  lot  of  ten  2-yr.-old  steers,  1  of  10 
yearlings,  and  another  of  20  calves  at  the  Indiana  Station®  to  determine 
the  influence  of  age  on  the  economy  of  gains  and  the  profit  from  feeding 
cattle.  The  calves  were  of  the  best  type  and  breeding  possible  to  obtain, 
as  it  is  not  practicable  to  attempt  to  produce  fine  yearling  beef  from 
inferior  calves.  The  yearlings  and  2-yr.-olds  compared  favorably  with 
the  calves  in  capacity  and  condition  at  the  beginning  of  each  test,  though 
not  of  quite  so  good  type.  Each  lot  was  fed  until  all  would  sell  as  prime 
beeves.  The  following  table,  in  which  the  results  for  2  winters  in  which 
the  same  feeds  were  used  are  averaged,  shows  that  the  time  required  to 
make  the  steers  fat  was  greater  with  the  younger  animals  because  the 
older  ones  had  more  nearly  reached  their  limit  in  growth : 


Fattening  calves,  yearlings,  and  2-yr.-olds 


Number  of  cattle 

Initial  value  per  cwt 

Av.  initial  weight,  lbs 

Length  of  feeding  period,  months 

Av.  daily  gain,  lbs 

Av.  total  gain,  lbs 

Av.  feed  consumed  per  head: 

Shelled  com,  lbs 

Cottonseed  meal,  lbs 

Clover  hay,  lbs 

Com  silage,  lbs 

Feed  per  100  lbs.  gain  by  steers: 

Shelled  corn,  lbs 

Cottonseed  meal,  lbs 

Clover  hay,  lbs 

Corn  silage,  lbs 

Feed  cost  per  100  lbs.  gain* 

Selling  value   per   cwt  with   prices  during   trial 

stationary* _ 

Profit  per  head  with  stationary  prices* 

Pork  per  bushel  of  corn  fed  to  steers,  lbs* 


Calves 


20 

$4.50 
518 
9 

1.88 
508 

3,026 

445 

857 
1,950 

596 

88 
168 
385 

$7.74 

$6.60 

$4.25 

1.00 


Yearlings 


10 

$4.15 
888 
6.5 
2.22 
431 

3,034 

480 

714 
2,849 

704 
111 
165 
660 
$9.09 

$6.45 

$6.43 

1.85 


2-yr-old8 


10 

$4.12 
1,067 
6 

2.6 
471 

3,212 

510 

760 
2,700 

681 
108 
160 
573 
$9.37 

$6.35 

$7.95 
2.50 


*Av.  of  3  trials. 

As  is  usual,  the  calves  cost  more  per  100  lbs.  live  w^eight  than  did  the 
older  feeders.  The  rate  of  daily  gain  increased  with  the  age  of  the 
steers,  yet  the  older  ones  required  more  feed  per  100  lbs.  gain  than  did  the 
calves,  thus  making  their  gains  more  expensive.    The  calves  ate  less  feed 

"Ind.  Bui.  146. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  BEEF  PRODUCTION    435 

per  head  daily,  but  required  a  longer  time  to  finish,  and  so  there  was 
little  difference  in  the  amount  of  feed  required  to  make  the  steers  of  the 
various  ages  prime.  Skinner  and  Cochel  state  that  with  quality,  breed- 
ing, and  type  the  same,  calves,  yearlings,  and  2-yr.-olds  will  sell  at  about 
the  same  price  per  100  lbs.  if  equally  fat.  From  the  3  trials  they  con- 
clude that  the  average  margin  required  between  buying  and  selling 
prices  to  prevent  loss  was  $1.60  per  cwt.  on  calves,  $1.71  on  yearlings, 
and  $1.55  on  2-yr.-olds.  The  smaller  necessary  margin  with  the  2-yr.- 
olds  was  due  to  their  greater  initial  weight  and  the  smaller  gains  neces- 
sary to  finish  them.  These  two  factors  more  than  offset  the  cheaper 
gains  made  by  the  calves  and  their  higher  cost  per  100  lbs.  "With  the  year- 
lings, the  differences  in  the  initial  weight  and  in  the  amount  of  gain  re- 
quired for  finishing  were  not  sufficient  to  overcome  the  advantage  due 
to  the  cheaper  gains  and  greater  cost  of  the  calves.  Hence  a  larger 
necessary  margin  was  required  with  the  yearlings  than  with  the  calves. 
Based  on  stationary  market  prices  thruout  the  trial,  the  profit  per 
head  increased  with  the  age  of  the  animals  fed.  Skinner  and  Cochel 
conclude  that  the  experienced  farmer  who  buys  feeders  and  finishes 
them  for  the  market  should  handle  older  cattle  in  preference  to  calves, 
while  one  who  both  raises  and  finishes  his  cattle  may  find  calves  more 
profitable.  The  table  shows  an  added  advantage  with  the  older  cattle 
in  the  amount  of  pork  produced  by  the  pigs  following  the  cattle,  per 
bushel  of  corn  fed  the  steers.  In  similar  trials  at  the  South  Dakota  Sta- 
tion'^  Wilson  found  with  2-  and  3-yr.-old  steers  that  1  lb.  of  pork  was 
made  for  every  5  lbs.  of  beef  produced,  while  with  yearlings  only  1  lb. 
was  made  for  every  9  lbs.  of  beef. 

In  a  survey  of  the  cattle  feeding  industry  in  Indiana,  Skinner  and 
CocheF  found  that  of  929  feeders,  76  per  ct.  fed  2-yr.-olds,  16  per  ct. 
yearlings,  and  only  7  per  ct.  calves.  The  average  weight  desired  in  a 
2-yr.-old  Avas  1,000  lbs.  Some  feeders  preferred  steers  3  years  old  or 
over,  the  reason  being  that  such  cattle  usually  carry  more  flesh  and  make 
more  rapid  gains,  thus  requiring  a  shorter  feeding  period.  They  also 
need  less  grain  to  finish  them,  utilize  coarser  food,  feed  out  more  uni- 
formly, and  withstand  severe  weather  better. 

713.  Utilization  of  feed  by  range  steers. — Under  southwestern  range 
conditions  the  calves,  dropped  in  the  spring  or  summer,  run  with  the 
cows  until  weaned  in  the  fall,  normally  making  good  growth  during  this 
period.  About  weaning  time  the  ranges  dry  up,  and  the  calves  must 
subsist  on  scanty  pickings  with  usually  a  small  allowance  of  concentrates, 
generally  cottonseed  cake  or  meal.  Hence,  before  the  calves  are  a  year 
old  they  will  have  passed  thru  a  semi-starvation  or  sub-maintenance 
period,  and  this  will  occur  each  year  of  the  steer's  life.  To  determine 
whether  these  periods  had  any  permanent  effect  on  the  animal's  ability 
to  utilize  feed,  and  to  study  the  efficiency  of  steers  of  different  ages, 
Christensen  and  Simpson  of  the  New  Mexico  Station^  conducted  trials 
»S.  D.  Bui.  125.  'Ind.  Cir.  12.  "N.  Mex.  Bui.  91. 


436  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

lasting  120  days  with  range  steers, — calves,  yearlings,  2-yr.-olds,  and  3- 
yr.-olds — all  fed  alfalfa  hay  alone,  securing  the  results  shown  in  the  table : 

Utilization  of  alfalfa  hay  by  range  steers  of  different  ages 

Av.  ration  per     Av.  daily       Dry  matter     Hay  per  100 
1,000  lbs.  live  wt.       gain  digested  lbs.  gain 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Per  ct.  Lbs. 

Calves 24 .4  1 .67  56 .6  777 

YearUngs 23.3  1.33  55.2  1,111 

2-yr.-olds 23.5  1.55  57.1  1,146 

3-yr.-olds 18.4  1.03  57.1  2,034 

The  calves  made  the  largest  gains  and  the  3-yr.-olds  decidedly  the 
lowest,  but  this  was  undoubtedly  due  to  the  fact  that  they  were  wilder 
and  more  nervous.  There  were  no  consistent  differences  in  the  ability 
of  the  steers  of  the  various  ages  to  digest  the  hay,  the  variations  in  the 
different  periods  and  between  the  different  animals  of  the  same  age  being 
greater  than  between  the  different  ages.  The  calves,  however,  consumed 
much  less  hay  per  100  lbs.  gain,  as  we  would  expect,  since  the  flesh  of 
calves  is  more  watery,  contains  less  fat,  and  hence  has  a  lower  energy 
value  than  the  increase  of  more  mature  animals.  (123) 

714.  Influence  of  degree  of  finish. — Other  conditions  being  equal, 
the  higher  the  degree  of  finish  to  which  the  animal  is  carried  the  larger 
the  quantity  of  feed  required  to  produce  a  given  gain.  Georgeson  of 
the  Kansas  Station^"  found  the  grain  required  for  100  lbs.  of  gain  with 
fattening  steers  for  different  periods  to  be  as  follows : 

Grain  for  Increase  of 

100  lbs.  gain  feed  required 

Up  to    56  days  the  steers  required 730  pounds  of  grain  

Up  to    84  days  the  steers  required 807  pounds  of  grain  10  per  cent 

Up  to  112  days  the  steers  required 840  pounds  of  grain  15  per  cent 

Up  to  140  days  the  steers  required 901  pounds  of  grain  23  per  cent 

Up  to  168  days  the  steers  required 927  pounds  of  grain  27  per  cent 

Up  to  182  days  the  steers  required 1,000  pounds  of  grain  37  per  cent 

We  learn  that  while  at  first  only  730  lbs.  of  grain  were  required  per 
100  lbs.  of  gain,  for  the  whole  6-months  period  1,000  lbs.,  or  37  per  ct. 
more,  was  required.  The  heavy  cost  of  thoroly  fattening  the  steer  and 
the  importance  of  selling  at  the  earliest  possible  date  are  here  made 
plain.  In  a  trial  at  the  Illinois  Station"  with  96  steers  fed  for  179 
days,  following  a  limited  allowance  of  grain  for  3  weeks,  IMumford  found 
that  less  digestible  nutrients  were  required  for  100  lbs.  gain  during  the 
last  half  than  in  the  first  half  of  the  fattening  period.  He  points  out 
that  with  these  steers  the  "fill"  was  eliminated,  which  often  makes  the 
gains  during  the  first  part  of  the  period  appear  large  and  economical. 
As  these  steers  were  sufficiently  finished  to  meet  the  high  demands  of 
the  Chicago  market,  of  good  type  and  all  grading  good  to  prime,  he  con- 
cludes that  it  is  unnecessary  to  carry  steers  to  that  degree  of  fatness 
which  necessitates  small  gains  for  food  consumed. 

"Kan.  Bui.  34.  "111.  Bui.  90. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  BEEF  PRODUCTION 


437 


715.  Short  vs.  long  feed. — Two  distinct  methods  are  followed  in  fatten- 
ing steers  in  dry  lots.  In  "short  feeding,"  mature,  fleshy  feeders  are 
usually  given  a  heavy  grain  feed  for  90  to  100  days  or  less.  In  "long 
feeding"  younger  or  lighter  and  thinner  cattle  are  fed  for  a  longer 
period.  To  determine  the  relative  profitableness  of  these  methods,  dur- 
ing each  of  4  winters  Skinner  and  Cochel  short-fed  one  lot  of  steers  for 
90  to  120  days  at  the  Indiana  Station^-  while  another  lot  was  long-fed 
for  160  to  180  days,  with  the  results  shown  in  the  table : 


Short  vs.  long  feeding  periods 


Lot   I 
Short-fed 


Lot  II 
Long-fed 


Av.  length  of  feeding  period,  days 
Total  number  of  steers 

Av.  weight  at  beginning,  lbs 

Av.  gain  per  head,  lbs 

Av.  daily  gain,  lbs 

Av.  ration: 

Shelled  corn,  lbs 

Cottonseed  meal,  lbs 

Clover  hay,  lbs 

Corn  silage,  lbs 

Feed  per  100  lbs.  gain: 

Shelled  corn,  lbs 

Cottonseed  meal,  lbs 

Clover  hay,  lbs 

Corn  silage,  lbs 

Feed  cost  of  100  lbs.  gain 

Initial  cost  of  steers  per  100  lbs .  . 

Necessary  margin 

Necessary  seUing  price 

Actual  selling  price 

Profit  per  steer,  including  pork .  . . 


110 
50 

1,165 
307 

2.81 

19.72 
2.96 
4.41 

15.33 

702 
106 
152 
558 

$9.03 
$4.69 
$1.03 

$5.72 

.S6.31 

$15  .27 


175 
40 

1,000 
431 
2.46 

16.66 
2.78 
4.48 

14.42 

678 
114 
183 

584 

$9.34 
$4.36 
$1.61 
$5.97 
$6.64 
.?16.41 


Lot  I,  the  short-fed  steers,  which  were  given  the  heavier  and  more 
concentrated  ration,  made  larger  gains  and  at  a  less  feed-cost  per  100 
lbs.  gain.  Due  to  the  fact  that  they  were  in  better  flesh,  the  initial  cost 
of  the  steers  in  Lot  I  was  33  cents  per  100  lbs.  more  than  those  in  Lot  11. 
On  account  of  this  and  of  their  heavier  initial  weight,  the  smaller  amount 
of  gain  needed  to  finish  them,  and  their  cheaper  gains,  they  could  have 
been  sold  without  loss  on  a  narrower  margin  than  the  long-fed  steers. 
This  brought  the  necessary  selling  price  of  Lot  I  25  cents  per  100  lbs. 
lower  than  that  of  Lot  II.  The  long-fed  steers,  however,  brought  enough 
more  when  sold  to  more  than  counter-balance  this  advantage,  and  hence 
returned  a  slightly  larger  profit,  when  the  pork  produced  by  hogs  follow- 
ing was  included. 

The  kind  of  cattle  to  be  fed  should  largely  determine  the  length  of 
feeding  period,  since  a  longer  time  is  required  to  finish  young  or  thin 
cattle  than  those  which  are  fleshier  or  more  mature.    Another  determin- 

«Ind.  Buls.  130,  136,  153. 


438 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


ing  factor  should  be  the  relative  supply  and  cost  of  grain  and  roughage, 
for  short-fed  cattle,  which  are  usually  in  higher  condition  when  placed 
on  feed,  should  be  given  a  larger  proportion  of  grain  to  roughage  than 
is  needed  with  long-fed  cattle. 

716.  Feeding  steers  chiefly  on  roughage  in  early  part  of  fattening 
period. — During  each  of  3  years  Skinner  and  King^^  fed  1  lot  of  steers 
clover  hay  and  com  silage  during  the  first  60  to  70  days  of  the  fattening 
period,  with  2.5  lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal  per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight  in  ad- 
dition, in  2  of  the  trials.  The  steers  were  then  finished  on  the  same 
feeds  with  all  the  shelled  corn  they  would  eat.  A  second  lot  was  fed  an 
unlimited  allowance  of  com  from  the  start,  the  results  being  shown  in 
the  following  table : 


Limiting  concentrat 

es  during  early  part  of  fattening  period 

Initial 

weight 

Daily 
gain 

Feed  per  100  lbs.  gain 

Feed  cost 
of   100 
lbs.  gain 

Necessary 
margin 

Concen- 
trates 

Hay  or 
straw 

Corn 
silage 

Lot  I,  no  corn  at  first 
SheUed  corn,  9.0  lbs. 
Cottonseed  meal,  2.4  lbs. 
Hay  or  straw,  3.6  lbs. 

Com  silage,  35.2  lbs 

Lot  II,  corn  thruout  trials 
SheUed  corn,  14.0  lbs. 
Cottonseed  meal,  2.8  lbs. 
Hay  or  straw,  2.5  lbs. 
Corn  silage,  27.5  lbs 

Lbs. 
1,013 

972 

Lbs. 
2.15 

2.41 

Lbs. 
529 

697 

Lbs. 
170 

103 

Lbs. 
1,637 

1,143 

Dols. 
8.71 

8.87 

Dols. 
0.72 

0.87 

Lot  I,  fed  no  com  during  the  first  2  months  of  the  fattening  period, 
made  smaller  gains  than  Lot  II,  fed  corn  thruout  the  trials,  and  required 
more  roughage  but  less  concentrates  per  100  lbs.  gain.  The  relative  feed 
cost  of  the  gain  under  these  systems  of  feeding  will  depend  on  the  cost 
of  concentrates  compared  with  roughage.  In  these  trials  the  cost  aver- 
aged slightly  lower  for  steers  in  Lot  I.  Owing  to  the  slightly  cheaper 
gains,  the  necessary  margin  was  somewhat  lower  with  Lot  I.  The  steers 
in  this  lot,  however,  sold  at  a  lower  price  each  year  on  account  of  in- 
ferior finish,  and  returned  less  profit  than  those  in  Lot  II. 

Feeding  roughage  alone  or  wdth  only  a  small  allowance  of  concen- 
trates during  the  early  part  of  the  feeding  period  is  often  advisable  when 
it  is  desired  to  carry  the  steers  longer  than  usual  before  marketing, 
with  the  hope  of  a  better  price.  They  will  then  not  become  excessively 
fat  and  hence  will  not  make  uneconomical  gains  before  they  are 
marketed. 

In  a  trial  at  the  Pennsylvania  Station"  Cochel  fed  a  lot  of  twelve 
880-lb.  steers  only  com  silage  and  2.5  lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal  daily  per 
1,000  lbs.  live  weight  for  the  first  56  days  of  a  126-day  trial  and  ear  corn 
in  addition  thereafter.    Another  lot  was  given  the  same  feeds  with  ear 

"Ind.  Buls.  153,  163,  167.  "Penn.  Bui.  118. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  BEEF  PRODUCTION    439 

com  from  the  start.  The  steers  fed  no  corn  during  the  first  part  of 
the  period  made  as  large  gains  as  the  others  and  returned  a  larger  profit, 
tho  selling  for  20  cents  less  per  100  lbs.  In  a  later  trial  at  the  same 
Station^^  Tomhave  and  Severson  found  that  it  was  preferable  to  begin 
feeding  a  small  amount  of  corn  after  the  first  month  of  the  fattening 
period  owing  to  the  better  finish  thus  secured. 


II.  Value  of  Breed  in  Beef  Making 

Everyone  with  experience  in  the  cattle  business  knows  that  "blood 
tells"  in  beef  production.  "Where  there  is  such  unanimity  of  opinion 
the  fact  must  exist,  but  the  reasons  given  are  not  always  the  same.  Let 
us,  therefore,  consider  the  trials  conducted  by  the  various  stations  which 
bear  on  this  important  point. 

717.  Fattening  steers  of  the  various  market  grades. — To  determine  the 
rapidity  and  economy  of  gains  made  by  feeders  of  the  6  different  market 
grades  and  the  dressing  percentages  and  the  quality  of  the  beef  from 
the  steers  when  fattened,  Mumford  fed  16  steers  of  each  grade  at  the 
Illinois  Station^^  for  179  days.  Lot  I,  fancy  selected  feeders,  contained 
nearly  100  per  ct.  of  the  blood  of  the  beef  breeds  and  possessed  the 
quality  and  comformation  that  characterize  the  typical  beef-bred  steer. 
As  it  was  desired  that  the  steers  in  each  lot  weigh  900  to  1,000  lbs.  when 
placed  on  feed,  the  animals  in  the  higher  grades  were  naturally  the 
youngest,  for  well-bred  and  well-developed  steers  mature  earlier  and 
reach  a  given  weight  sooner  than  do  scrubs.  Thus  the  steers  in  Lot  I 
were  the  youngest  steers  in  the  trial,  being  only  2  years  old  at  the  time 
of  marketing.  Lot  II,  choice  feeders,  were  high-grade  beef  steers  possess- 
ing large  frames  and  averaging  about  6  months  older  than  Lot  I.  Lot 
III,  good  feeders,  did  not  show  the  quality  so  manifest  in  Lots  I  and  II, 
tho  beef  blood  still  predominated  and  the  steers  were  of  better  type  than 
the  average  feeders  offered  on  the  central  markets.  Lot  IV,  medium 
feeders,  were  3-yr.-olds  of  mixed  breeding,  tho  carrying  some  beef  blood, 
and  showing  coarseness  and  angularity.  Lot  V,  common  feeders,  showed 
little  evidence  of  beef  blood.  They  were  rather  coarse  boned  and  large 
headed,  were  plain  thruout,  and  all  showed  a  lack  of  quality  and  confor- 
mation. They  were  the  result  of  indiscriminate  breeding  and  the  use  of 
inferior  grade  bulls.  Lot  VI,  inferior  feeders,  were  scrubs  showing  no 
beef  blood  and  were  inferior  in  quality  and  conformation. 

The  feeds  were  the  same  for  all  lots.  During  the  first  half  of  the  trial 
the  steers  were  fed  cracked  ear  corn,  and  later  corn-and-cob  meal.  An 
average  allowance  of  2.1  lbs.  of  cottonseed  or  linseed  meal  per  head  daily 
was  supplied  in  addition  thruout  the  trial.  The  roughage,  consisting  of 
alfalfa  or  clover  and  timothy  hay,  was  cut  and  mixed  with  the  con- 
centrate allowance.  During  a  part  of  the  trial  a  small  amount  of  com 
stover  was  given  to  all  lots.  The  steers  were  fed  in  paved  feed  lots  with 
"Information  to  the  authors.  "111.  Bui.  90. 


440 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


an  adjacent  open  shed.    The  results  secured  in  the  trial  are  summarized 
in  the  following  table : 


Fattening  steers  of  the  various  market  grades 


Lot  I 
Fancy 
feeders 


Lot  II 
Choice 
feeders 


Lot  III 
Good 
feeders 


Lot  IV 
Medium 
feeders 


Lot  V 
Common 
feeders 


Lot  VI 
Inferior 
feeders 


Wt.  at  beginning,  lbs 

Dry  matter  in  ration  per  1000 
lbs.  live  wt. 

Concentrates,  lbs 

Roughage,  lbs 

Daily  gain,  lbs 

Dry  matter  per  1000  lbs.  gain. 


Dressed  carcass,  per  ct 

Caul  and  rough  fat,  per  ct . . .  . 

Cost  of  steers  per  cwt 

Selling  price  of  steers  per  cwt.  * 


935 

15.2 
6.8 

2.57 

995 

61.6 
9.5 

$4.75 
$7.00 


1,115 

16.0 
7.0 

2.54 

1,209 

61.5 
9.7 

$4.55 
$6.90 


1,019 


16.0 
7.0 

2.34 

1,208 

60.7 
10.6 

$4  .20 
$6.50 


1,022 


15.8 
7.1 

2.13 

1,305 

59.7 
10.8 

$3.85 
$5.80 


15.6 
7.1 

2.21 

1,200 

59.9 
10.1 

$3.60 
$5.50 


965 


15.2 
7.0 

1.96 

1,293 

59.4 

11.8 

$3.35 

$5.40 


*0n  the  basis  of  stationary  market  prices. 


Evidently  because  considerably  younger,  the  steers  in  Lot  I  consumed 
less  dry  matter  daily  per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight  than  any  of  the  others, 
except  those  in  Lot  VI.  Considering  Lots  II  to  VI,  the  better-bred 
steers  ate  slightly  more  feed  per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight  than  those  of 
lower  grade.  The  fourth  line  shows  that  the  feeders  of  the  3  higher 
grades  made  noticeably  more  rapid  gains  than  those  of  the  lower  grades. 
Lot  I  made  by  far  the  most  economical  gains,  measured  either  by  the 
dry  matter  per  100  lbs.  gain  or  by  the  feed  cost  of  gains,  but  this  was 
probably  due,  for  the  most  part,  to  the  fact  that  these  steers  were  younger 
than  the  others. 

"With  the  other  lots  there  is  no  consistent  difference  in  dry  matter 
required  per  100  lbs.  gain  or  in  the  feed  cost  of  the  gains.  The  steers 
of  the  better  grades  yielded  a  higher  percentage  of  dressed  carcass  than 
those  of  the  poorer  grades.  This  was  due  to  their  beef  conformation  and 
not  to  any  greater  degree  of  finish,  for  the  steers  in  Lots  IV,  V,  and  VI, 
which  were  older,  were  nearer  their  maximum  degree  of  finish  at  the 
end  of  the  trial  than  the  younger  steers  in  Lots  I,  II,  and  III.  The 
better  steers  also  had  less  internal  fat  but  carried  a  heavier  layer  of 
the  more  valuable  surface  fat.  Tho  the  lower-grade  feeders  cost  less 
than  the  better-bred  animals,  they  were  worth  correspondingly  less  when 
fattened. 

718.  Amount  of  feed  consumed. — Occasionally  the  claim  is  yet  ad- 
vanced that  well-bred  cattle  eat  less  than  natives  or  scrubs.  This  opinion 
is  not  substantiated  by  feeding  trials  nor  is  it  generally  held  by  owners 
of  pure-bred  or  high-grade  stock,  who  believe  rather  that  the  well-bred 
and  well-formed  animal  has  a  large  capacity  to  consume  feed  and  con- 
vert it  economically  into  meat. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  BEEF  PRODUCTION    441 

719.  Rapidity  of  gains. — Tests  at  other  stations  corroborate  the  findings 
of  the  Illinois  Station,  that  steers  of  the  beef  breeds  and  conformation 
make  larger  gains  than  do  those  lacking  in  these  points.  During  2  years 
Willson  of  the  Tennessee  Station/^  determining  the  individual  gains  of 
feeders  of  various  types,  secured  the  follo\%dng  results : 

Average  gains  of  feeders  of  various  types 

No.  of 

Type  of  feeder                                          steers  Daily  gain  Total  gain 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

Very  good  feeder 24  1 .76  159 

Good  feeder 65  1.60  144 

Medium  feeder 70  1 .36  122 

Poor  feeder 37  1.39  125 

The  table  shows  that  the  very  good  and  good  feeders  made  consider- 
ably more  rapid  gains  than  those  which  were  classed  as  medium  and 
poor  feeders.  The  trials  at  the  various  stations^®  show  that  dairy-bred 
steers,  especially  those  of  the  larger  breeds,  do  not  necessarily  make 
smaller  gains  than  beef-bred  steers.  This  is  reasonable,  for  in  the  de- 
velopment of  both  the  beef  and  the  dairy  breeds  one  of  the  chief  objects 
has  been  the  securing  of  animals  with  large  capacity  for  food  and  vig- 
orous assimilative  powers.  In  these  qualities  the  native,  or  scrub,  steer 
is  apt  to  be  lacking. 

It  is  well  known  that  there  is  great  difference  in  the  capacity  of  in- 
dividuals of  the  same  breed  to  make  gains  when  given  the  same  feeds  and 
fed  under  the  same  conditions.  Bliss  and  Lee  found  that  in  a  lot  of  8 
Hereford-Shorthorn  steers  fed  at  the  Nebraska  Station^^  the  best  steer 
gained  166  lbs.  more  in  154  days  than  did  the  poorest.  This  emphasizes 
the  necessity  in  scientific  trials  of  selecting  uniform  animals,  feeding 
as  many  as  possible  in  each  lot  so  as  to  eliminate  differences  due  to  the 
individuality  of  the  animals,  and  of  repeating  the  experiment  before 
drawing  hard  and  fast  conclusions.  An  experienced  judge  of  cattle  can 
generally  pick  out  the  good  gainers  from  a  bunch  of  feeders,  by  selecting 
those  of  beef  conformation.  Such  animals  are  low-set,  deep,  broad,  and 
compact,  with  roomy  digestive  tracts  and  vigorous  constitutions.  Smith 
and  Lee-°  found  that  the  middle  girth,  or  the  width  and  depth  in  the 
region  of  the  paunch,  was  a  more  important  factor  in  determining  the 
rate  of  gain  of  steers  than  the  heart  girth.  The  size  of  bone  did  not 
appear  to  influence  the  rate  of  gain,  some  of  the  best  gainers  being  large 
in  bone  and  others  small.  Cattle  feeders  well  know  that  temperament 
is  of  great  importance  in  determining  gain  in  the  feed  lot;  the  calm, 
quiet  animal  which  eats  and  then  lies  down  is  almost  sure  to  outgain 
the  restless,  active  one. 

"Tenn.  Bui.  104. 

"Mich.  Buls.  44,  69;  Iowa  Bui.  20. 

^^Nebr.  Bui.  151. 

*Nebr.  Buls.  132,  151,  and  information  to  the  authors. 


442 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


720.  Early  maturity. — The  most  common  claim  for  superiority  with 
the  beef  breeds  is  that  such  animals  mature  earlier  than  others.  Ex- 
perienced feeders  know  that  only  the  blocky  calf  of  beef  conformation 
is  suited  for  early  fattening  as  baby  beef.  Tho  dairy  steers  grow  rapidly 
and  make  large  daily  gains,  they  do  not  become  well-finished  at  as  early 
an  age. 

721.  Dressed  carcass. — The  following  table  shows  the  daily  gain  from 
birth  and  the  percentage  of  dressed  carcass  yielded  by  steers  of  various 
breeds  fattened  at  several  stations-^ : 


Daily  gain  and  dressed  weight 

of  steers 

of  different  breeds 

Breed 

No.  of 
animals 

No.  of 
stations 

Av.  age 

Av.  Uve 
weight 

Daily  gain 
from  birth 

Limits  of 
dressed  weight 

Dressed 
weight 

Hereford 

11 

2 
16 
2 
26 
6 
7 
1 
1 
6 
3 
9 

4 
1 
4 
1 
5 
3 
3 
1 
1 
3 
2 
3 

Days 
983 

1,000 

976 

1,000 

1,011 

923 

1,021 

1,095 

1,021 

937 

1,058 

1,038 

Lba. 

1,515 
1,520 
1,493 
1,570 
1,510 
1,503 
1,376 
1,320 
1,625 
1,469 
1,440 
1,259 

Lbs. 
1.54 
1.52 
1.53 
1.57 
1.50 
1.62 
1.35 
1.20 
1.59 
1.57 
1.36 
1.26 

Per  ct. 
63.0-68.0 

63.8-66.5 

63  .2-69 .0 

64.8 

62.1-68.0 

62.0-66.7 

62.5-65.8 

Per  ct. 
65.0 

RedPoU 

65.2 

Aberdeen-Angus..  . 

Swiss 

64.8 
64.8 

Shorthorn 

Galloway 

64.4 
63.9 

63.6 

Avrshire 

63.3 

63.0 

Holstein 

60.6-^4.4 
58.7-63.9 
57.9-61.5 

62.6 

Jersey ... 

60.5 

Native 

60.2 

The  data  referring  to  daily  gain  from  birth  bear  out  the  statement 
previously  made  that  dairy  steers  do  not  necessarily  make  smaller  gains 
than  those  of  the  beef  breeds.  While  the  gains  of  the  3  Jerseys  and  the 
single  Ayrshire  were  smaller  than  of  any  of  the  beef  breeds,  the  Hol- 
steins  compared  favorably  with  the  beef-bred  steers.  Too  few  animals 
of  most  of  the  breeds  are  included  to  make  breed  comparisons  concern- 
ing the  yield  of  dressed  carcass.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  the  native 
and  dairy  steers  are  inferior  to  the  beef  steers,  a  finding  which  agrees 
with  the  results  of  the  Illinois  trial,  already  discussed. 

More  important  than  breed  in  determining  the  yield  of  dressed  carcass 
is  the  condition,  or  degree  of  fatness,  of  the  animal.  Mumford  points 
out  from  the  results  of  the  Illinois  trial  that  it  is  possible  to  secure 
reasonably  high  percentages  of  dressed  beef  even  from  steers  of  inferior 
breeding  if  they  are  well-finished.  He  notes  the  fact  that  there  is  more 
difference  in  the  appearance  on  foot  in  the  feed  lot  and  gains  during 
fattening  between  the  well-bred  steer  and  the  mongrel  than  there  is  in 
the  carcasses  when  the  animals  have  been  fed  to  a  high  finish. 

722.  Internal  fat. — Trials  at  the  stations  show  that  native  and  dairy 
steers  have  a  larger  quantity  of  fat  about  the  internal  organs  than  do 


"Iowa  Buls.  20,  28;  Kan.  Bui.  51;  Mich.  Buls.  44, 
Col.  Rpt.  1892. 


Mo.  Bui. 


Ont.  Agr. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  BEEF  PRODUCTION  443 

beef  animals.  Commenting  on  the  character  of  the  carcasses  of  steers 
of  various  breeds  slaughtered  at  the  Michigan  Station,^^  Davenport  wrote : 
"Note  the  excess  of  rough  tallow  in  Walton  (a  Holstein  steer)  as  com- 
pared with  the  others.  Walton  was  'all  cow'  as  the  saying  goes,  and 
the  fat  about  his  kidneys  was  astonishing." 

There  is  evidently  a  specific  difference  between  the  beef  and  dairy 
breeds  in  the  distribution  of  fat  within  the  body.  It  appears  that  the 
beef  representatives  place  more  of  the  fat  between  the  fibers  of  the 
muscles.  On  the  other  hand,  steers  of  the  dairy  breeds  deposit  propor- 
tionately more  fat  about  the  intestines  and  kidneys.  Fat  intimately 
mingled  with  the  muscular  fibers  of  the  lean  tissues  renders  such  meat 
tender,  juicy,  and  toothsome.  Placed  in  separate  masses  anywhere  about 
the  body,  and  especially  within  the  body  cavity,  it  has  but  low  value. 
Such  storage  is  doubtless  best  for  animals  whose  function  is  milk  pro- 
duction, but  it  is  certainly  against  their  highest  usefulness  for  beef. 
In  this  second  characteristic,  which  sets  beef  animals  somewhat  apart 
from  dairy  animals,  we  have  a  remarkable  example  of  specialization  for 
a  definite  end,  and  this  lesson  is  important  and  far-reaching. 

723.  Proportion  of  valuable  parts. — Tho  somewhat  conflicting,  the  data 
from  the  various  stations  indicate  that  the  well-finished  steer  of  beef 
conformation  yields  a  somewhat  higher  percentage  of  loins  and  ribs,  the 
most  valuable  cuts,  and  less  of  the  cheap  parts  than  do  mongrel  or  dairy 
steers.  This  difference  is  less,  however,  than  many  believe.  The  small 
difference  usually  found  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  beef  steer  has  a 
broader  back  and  fuller  hind  quarters  than  the  native  or  dairy  steer. 

724.  Quality. — Beyond  that  which  can  be  expressed  in  figures  or  stated 
percentagely  lies  that  indefinable  something  described  by  the  word 
"quality"  which  enters  into  all  objects  of  barter.  No  one  can  compare 
a  bunch  of  well-fed  beef-bred  steers  with  one  representing  the  dairy 
breeds  or  natives  without  being  impressed  by  a  difference  not  measured 
by  the  scales.  Speaking  of  the  breed  tests  at  the  Iowa  Station,  Wilson-^ 
writes:  "The  carcasses  of  the  dairy  breeds  lacked  in  thickness  of  cuts, 
and  the  marbling  of  the  fat  and  lean  was  not  equal  to  that  of  the  others 
(beef  breeds)."  Georgeson  wrote  after  conducting  a  trial  at  the  Kansas 
Station:-*  "The  Shorthorns  gave  the  best  returns,  not  simply  because 
the  gross  weight  of  their  carcasses  was  greater  than  that  of  the  scrubs, 
but  also  because  their  meat  was  esteemed  better  by  experts  in  the 
packing-house  who  were  asked  to  judge  of  the  quality  and  assign 
prices."  Of  a  native  steer  fed  in  comparison  with  others  of  the  beef 
breeds  Shaw-^  wrote :  ' '  There  was  a  lack  of  thickness  of  carcass  thruout, 
the  deficiency  in  the  rib  and  loin  being  very  noticeable,  and  the  absence 
of  what  may  be  termed  fleshiness  was  conspicuous. ' ' 

The  thick-fleshed  cuts  from  well-finished  beef  steers  command  a  much 
higher  price  on  the  large  markets  than  do  the  thin-fleshed  cuts,  thereby 
giving  to  the  carcass  that  furnishes  them  a  marked  advantage  in  the 

«Mich.  Bui.  24.     '^lowa.Bul.  20.      "Kan.  Bui.  51.      ^^^Ont.  Agr.  Col.  Rpt.  1892. 


444  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

market.  In  the  Iowa  trial  the  carcasses  of  the  beef  steers  were  valued 
by  experts  at  $1.66  per  100  lbs.  higher  than  those  of  the  dairy  steers. 
In  the  Kansas  trial  the  loins  of  the  best  Shorthorns  were  rated  at  18 
cents  per  pound  and  of  the  natives  as  low  as  14  cents. 

The  matter  at  issue  may  be  illustrated  by  a  condition  in  the  fruit 
world :  No  orchardist  will  hold  that  the  Baldwin  apple  tree  necessarily 
grows  faster  than  the  seedling  apple  tree,  or  that  it  will  make  wood  and 
fruit  on  less  material  from  soil  and  air.  Neither  will  he  hold  that 
Baldwin  trees  necessarily  yield  more  barrels  of  fruit  than  seedlings,  nor 
that  a  given  measure  of  Baldwin  apples  contains  more  juice  or  human 
food  than  the  same  measure  of  common  seedling  apples.  Fruit  growers 
do  rightfully  assert,  however,  that  the  market  wants  Baldwin  apples  and 
will  pay  more  for  them  than  for  common  seedling  fruit,  due  to  the  fact 
that  their  quality  is  generally  far  superior,  and  that  from  this  judgment 
of  the  market  there  is  no  appeal.  Beef  cattle  have  been  bred  for  meat 
production — it  would  be  passing  strange  if  they  did  not  excel  for  that 
purpose. 

725.  The  most  profitable  type  of  steer. — For  the  beef  producer  who 
raises  the  animals  he  fattens  it  is  evident  that  well-bred  specimens  of 
the  beef  breeds  are  the  most  profitable.  The  question  is  more  compli- 
cated for  one  who  purchases  feeders  on  the  market.  He  must  consider 
the  price  at  which  he  can  secure  the  various  grades  and  the  probable 
price  at  which  they  can  be  sold  when  fattened.  As  Mumford  con- 
cludes:-*' Opportunities  for  larger  profits,  and  losses  as  well,  lie  with 
the  better  grades  of  feeders,  for  as  a  rule  the  price  of  common,  rough, 
fat  steers  fluctuates  less  than  the  price  for  prime  steers,  and  the  price  of 
inferior  and  common  feeders  varies  less  than  those  of  the  choice  and 
fancy  grades.  The  greater  the  difference  in  the  price  of  the  various 
grades  of  feeders,  the  more  is  the  advantage  in  favor  of  the  commoner 
grades.  On  the  other  hand,  the  greater  the  difference  between  the  prices 
for  the  various  grades  of  fat  steers,  the  more  is  the  advantage  in  favor  of 
the  better  feeders.  When  prices  rule  low  for  beef  cattle  and  the  market 
is  dull  or  downward,  the  range  of  prices  between  prime  steers  and  com- 
mon rough  steers  is  narrow,  and  as  a  result,  condition  or  fatness  is  more 
important  than  beef  blood.  On  account  of  the  greater  speculation  in- 
volved in  feeding  prime  or  choice  feeders,  Mumford  advises  the  beginner 
to  first  handle  a  few  carloads  of  the  commoner  kinds,  which  must  be 
purchased  at  correspondingly  lower  prices,  since  the  margin  for  profit 
in  feeding  low-grade  cattle  is  usually  slight. 

726.  Gains  of  steers  of  various  breeds. — The  most  extensive  data  avail- 
able concerning  the  gains  made  by  steers  of  various  breeds  are  furnished 
by  the  records  of  the  Smithfield  England  Fat-Stock  Show."  The  follow- 
ing table,  compiled  by  the  authors  from  the  London  Live  Stock  Journal, 
summarizes  the  data  for  20  years,  1895  to  1914: 

^111.  Bui.  90. 

"London  Live  Stock  Jour.  1895-1914. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  BEEF  PRODUCTION 


445 


Age,  weight  and  daily  gain  from  hirth  of  steers  slaughtered 
Smithfield,  England,  Fat-Stock  Show,  1895-1914 


the 


Breed 

No. 
of 
ani- 
mals 

Age 

Weight 

Av. 
daily 
gain 

Breed 

No. 
of 
ani- 
mals 

Age 

Weight 

Av. 

daily 
gam 

Days 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Days 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Aberdeen- Angus 

Kerry 

1  year  old. . .  . 

93 

672 

1,416 

2.11 

1  year  old 

1 

644 

658 

1.02 

2  years  old . . . 

8G 

1,025 

1,848 

1.83 

2  years  old . . . 

4 

954 

1,134 

1.18 

3  years  old . . . 

2 

1,269 

2,130 

1.70 

Red  Poll 

Devon 

1  year  old. .  .  . 

52 

659 

1,254 

1.90 

1  year  old. . . . 

91 

664 

1,216 

1.82 

2  years  old . . . 

54 

999 

1,637 

1.64 

2  years  old . . . 

123 

993 

1,609 

1.63 

3  years  old . . . 

3 

1,247 

1,736 

1.38 

3  years  old . . . 

4 

1,218 

1,753 

1.45 

Shorthorn 

Dexter 

1  year  old..  .  . 

85 

674 

1,446 

2.14 

1  year  old. .  .  . 

47 

630 

800 

1.27 

2  years  old . . . 

91 

1,012 

1,901 

1.88 

2  years  old . . . 

51 

975 

1,039 

1.06 

3  years  old . . . 

4 

1,353 

2,363 

1.74 

Galloway 

Sussex 

1  year  old. . . . 

72 

662 

1,229 

1.86 

1  year  old. .  .  . 

98 

678 

1,463 

2.17 

2  years  old . . . 

73 

1,018 

1,655 

1.63 

2  years  old . . . 

106 

1,015 

1,831 

1.80 

3  years  old . . . 

2 

1,236 

1,794 

1.44 

3  years  old . . . 

5 

1,316 

2,019 

1.53 

Hereford 

Welsh 

1  year  old. .  .  . 

77 

670 

1,426 

2.13 

1  year  old. .  .  . 

76 

698 

1,463 

2.09 

2  years  old . . . 

84 

999 

1,844 

1.85 

2  years  old . . . 

90 

1,039 

1,831 

1.76 

3  years  old . . . 

2 

1,316 

2,066 

1.57 

3  years  old . . . 

7 

1,231 

1,919 

1.55 

Highland 

Cross-bred 

1  year  old. .  .  . 

2 

730 

1,448 

1.98 

1  year  old. . .  . 

96 

682 

1,469 

2.15 

2  years  old . . . 

71 

996 

1,498 

1.51 

2  years  old . . . 

100 

1,006 

1,897 

1.89 

3  years  old . . . 

75 

1,334 

1,806 

1.35 

3  years  old . . . 

4 

1,293 

2,076 

1.60 

4  years  old . . . 

12 

1,704 

1,923 

1.13 

In  the  "average  daily  gain"  here  given  is  included  in  all  instances 
the  birth  weight  of  the  steer.  The  table  well  shows  that  the  daily  gain 
of  the  highly-fed  steer  decreases  as  the  animal  becomes  more  mature. 
The  records  of  the  slaughter  tests  at  the  Show  from  1889  to  1895  show 
that  with  steers  equally  well  finished,  the  more  mature  the  animal,  the 
higher  is  the  percentage  of  dressed  carcass  yielded.  The  average  dressing 
percentage  of  the  3-yr.-olds  was  68.2  per  ct.  and  of  the  yearlings  65.6 
per  ct. 

III.  Miscellaneous  Problems  in  Beef  Production 

727.  Shelter. — A  survey  of  the  trials  conducted  at  the  Utah,  Texas, 
Kansas,  Missouri,  Iowa,  Minnesota,  Ohio,  Pennsylvania  and  Alabama 
Stations-^  in  which  steers  have  been  fattened  in  open  sheds  with  adjacent 
yards  in  comparison  with  others  housed  in  barns  shows  that  the  fatten- 
ing steer,  consuming  an  abundant  ration,  a  considerable  portion  of  which 
is  roughage,  has  no  need  for  warm  quarters.  Similar  conclusions  are 
reached  by  Ingle-''  from  English  trials.  Sufficient  heat  is  produced  in  the 
body  of  the  steer  thru  the  mastication,  digestion,  and  assimilation  of  the 

=» Partially  reviewed  by  Armsby,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  Anim.  Indus.,  Bui.  108; 
see  also  Penn.  Rpt.  1906  and  Buls.  88,  102;  Ala.  Bui.  163. 
^Trans.  Highl.  and  Agr.  See.  Scotland,  1909. 


446  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

food  to  maintain  the  body  temperature  under  ordinary  conditions  with- 
out diminishing  the  amount  of  net  nutrients  available  for  fattening.  (91) 
A  reasonable  degree  of  cold  is  a  benefit  rather  than  a  detriment,  provid- 
ing the  coats  of  the  animals  are  kept  dry.  The  loss  of  heat  in  the  evapo- 
ration of  the  water  from  a  wet  skin,  coupled  with  that  by  radiation,  may 
be  so  great  that  a  portion  of  the  food  nutrients  is  burned  up  merely  to 
keep  the  animal  warm. 

During  7  winters  Mairs  and  CocheP"  fed  one  lot  of  975-lb.  steers  in 
a  yard  with  an  open  shed  for  shelter  at  the  Pennsylvania  Station,  while 
another  lot  was  confined  in  a  well-ventilated  barn.  The  average  gains  of 
the  confined  steers  were  no  larger  than  of  those  sheltered  only  by  the 
open  shed,  and  practically  the  same  amount  of  feed  was  required  per 
100  lbs.  gain  by  both  lots.  During  the  last  5  years  when  the  yard  was 
kept  dry  by  means  of  cinders,  the  steers  fed  therein  made  larger  gains 
on  the  average  than  those  in  the  barn. 

Waters  fattened  one  lot  of  dehorned  steers  during  each  of  4  winters 
at  the  Missouri  Station^^  in  an  open  shed  located  in  a  small  yard,  while  a 
second  lot  was  housed  in  a  comfortable  barn,  but  turned  out  daily  for 
water  and  allowed  to  remain  in  the  yard  for  7  hours,  except  in  stormy 
weather.  The  steers  fed  in  the  open  shed  made  average  daily  gains  of 
1.9  lbs.,  which  was  0.2  lb.  more  than  those  fed  in  the  barn.  They  required 
10.3  lbs.  digestible  matter  per  pound  of  gain,  or  1  lb.  less  than  the  steers 
housed  in  the  warmer  and  more  expensive  quarters.  During  3  winters 
Waters  also  fed  similar  lots  of  steers  in  an  open  yard  without  any  shelter 
and  with  only  a  pile  of  corn  stalks  on  which  to  lie.  These  steers  made 
slightly  larger  gains  than  those  fed  in  the  open  shed  or  in  the  barn,  and 
required  no  more  digestible  nutrients  per  pound  of  gain. 

Feeding  in  open  yards  with  no  shelter  other  than  windbreaks  is 
common  in  western  sections  with  little  rainfall,  even  in  regions  with  rig- 
orous winters.  In  experiments  at  the  Manitoba  Experimental  Farm^^ 
steers  fattened  with  no  shelter  except  trees  and  brush  made  nearly  as 
large  gains  as  others  fed  in  the  barn,  providing  a  convenient  supply  of 
water  was  furnished.  For  humid  regions  with  severe  winters  an  open 
shed  should  be  provided  where  the  animals  may  find  shelter  from  storms. 
Where  the  winters  are  mild  the  saving  thru  providing  shelter  may  not  be 
great  enough  to  warrant  the  expense.  Gray  and  Ward^^  found  in  Ala- 
bama that  steers  fattened  in  the  open  in  winter  made  practically  as  large 
gains  as  those  allowed  access  to  an  open  shed.  Shelter  saved  only  6 
cents  per  100  lbs.  of  gain  in  the  cost  of  feed. 

From  his  trials  Waters  concludes:  "It  is  of  more  importance  that 
fattening  animals  lie  down  regularly  and  during  a  large  portion  of  the 
time  than  that  they  be  protected  from  the  cold.    Abundance  of  sunshine 

^"Penn.  Buls.  64,  68,  74,  83,  88,  102;   Rpt.  1906. 
"Mo.  Bui.  76. 

'-Ottawa  Expt.  Farms  Rpts.  1910,  1911,  1912. 
^'U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  Anim.  Indus.,  Bui.  159. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  BEEF  PRODUCTION    447 

and  fresh  air,  a  comfortable  place  in  which  to  lie,  and  freedom  from  all 
external  disturbances  are  ideal  conditions  for  large  and  economical 
gains. ' ' 

Stock  cattle  being  carried  over  winter  are  not  crowded  with  heavy 
rations  and  hence  no  great  excess  of  heat  is  generated  in  their  bodies. 
The  loss  of  heat  by  radiation  is  greater  in  young  animals,  for  the  body 
surface  is  larger  in  proportion  to  the  w^eight.  Yearlings,  especially,  may 
hence  well  be  given  greater  protection  than  fattening  steers,  but  their 
quarters  should  always  be  well-ventilated.  Waters  found  that  yearlings 
M'intered  on  hay  alone  or  with  a  small  allowance  of  corn  in  addition 
came  thru  in  better  condition  when  housed  in  an  amply  ventilated  barn 
and  turned  out  for  exercise  than  when  kept  in  a  yard  with  an  open  shed. 
Under  usual  conditions  mature  breeding  beef  cows  when  in  thrifty  con- 
dition in  the  fall  need  no  winter  shelter  other  than  an  open  shed. 

728.  Loose  vs.  tied  steers — At  the  Ontario  Station^*  Day  found  that 
box-fed  steers  made  larger  and  cheaper  gains,  had  better  appetites,  and 
did  not  get  off  feed  as  easily  as  tied  steers.  Trials  at  the  Ottawa  Sta- 
tion^^  by  Grisdale  were  also  decidedly  in  favor  of  loose  box  feeding.  Not 
only  is  there  less  expense  for  equipment  when  this  method  of  feeding  is 
followed  but  less  labor  is  needed. 

729.  Self-feeder. — By  the  use  of  a  large  receptacle  called  a  self  feeder, 
cattle  may  be  supplied  wdth  concentrates  twice  a  week.  At  the  Illinois 
Station^^  Mumford  and  Allison  fed  2  lots,  each  of  17  fleshy  3-yr.-old 
steers,  the  following  rations  for  89  days.  Lot  I  was  fed  whole  clover 
hay  and  a  concentrate  mixture  of  7  parts  ground  corn  and  1  part  linseed 
meal  separately  at  regular  feeding  periods  twice  daily,  while  Lot  II  was 
supplied  chaffed  (cut)  hay  mixed  with  the  concentrates,  the  whole  being 
fed  in  a  self  feeder  to  which  the  cattle  had  access  at  all  times. 

Value  of  self  feeder  for  fattening  steers 

Daily  Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Average  ration                                               gain       Concentrates  Clover  hay 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 
Lot.  I,  hand-fed 

Concentrates,  22.0  lbs.  Long  hay,  13.5  lbs 3  .0  737  451 

Lot  II,  self-fed 

Concentrates,  24.6  lbs.  Chaffed  hay,  12.8 lbs. .       3.3  743  385 

The  self- fed  steers  consumed  a  heavier  concentrate  allowance  and  were 
brought  to  full  feed  in  a  shorter  time  without  any  set  back  from  over- 
eating. Tho  consuming  more  feed  than  Lot  I,  this  was  more  than  offset 
by  their  larger  gains.  Even  after  adding  the  cost  of  chaffing  the  hay,  the 
self-fed  steers  made  the  cheaper  gains.  Both  systems  required  about  the 
same  amount  of  labor,  but  by  the  use  of  the  self-feeder  the  necessity  for 
a  skilled  feeder  was  reduced.  Mumford  reports  that  steers  visit  the  self 
feeder  with  remarkable  regularity,  and  once  accustomed  thereto  do  not 

'♦Ontario  Agr.  Col.,  Rpt.  1907.  ^111.  Bui.  142. 

^Ottawa  Expt.  Farms,  Rpt.  1904. 


448  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

over  eat.  He  holds  that  the  system  is  often  unjustly  condemned  because 
careless  cattle  feeders  do  not  use  it  properly.  Skinner  and  CocheP^ 
found  self  feeders  more  generally  used  in  summer  than  in  winter.  The 
grain  in  the  self  feeder  should  be  protected  from  rain  and  snow  and  care 
is  necessary  to  avoid  clogging,  as  an  abundance  of  feed  must  be  available 
at  all  times. 

730.  The  paved  feed  lot. — In  parts  of  the  corn  belt  the  feed  lot  in 
winter  often  becomes  a  sea  of  mud  and  mire.  Mumford  of  the  Illinois 
Station^®  fed  one  carload  of  steers  during  winter  in  a  brick-paved  lot 
and  another  in  an  ordinary  mud  lot,  both  lots  having  access  to  an  open 
shed,  the  bedding  in  which  was  kept  dry.  Due  to  this  fact  the  paved-lot 
steers  made  no  cheaper  gains  than  the  others.  However,  because  of  their 
dirty  appearance,  tho  not  inferior  finish,  the  mud-lot  steers  sold  for  10 
cents  less  per  100  lbs.  Pigs  following  the  paved-lot  steers  gained  1  lb. 
more  from  each  bushel  of  corn  fed  to  the  steers  than  did  those  following 
the  mud-lot  steers. 

731.  Heifers  vs.  steers. — At  the  Iowa  Station^"  Wilson  and  Curtiss  con- 
ducted 2  experiments  with  steers  and  spayed  and  open  heifers.  The 
cattle  topped  their  respective  classes  in  the  Chicago  market,  the  heifers 
of  the  first  trial  selling  for  $4.75  and  the  steers  for  $5.75  per  cwt.  on  the 
same  market.  In  the  second  trial  the  heifers  brought  $4.25  and  the  steers 
$4.50  per  cwt.  All  lots  yielded  practically  the  same  amount  of  dressed 
carcass,  but  the  heifers  yielded  about  1  per  ct.  more  in  the  high-priced 
cuts  of  meat.    But  little,  if  any,  benefit  was  derived  from  spaying  heifers, 

8'Ind.  Cir.  12.  ^Beef  Production,  p.  155.  ^'Icwa  Bui.  33. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

FEEDS  FOR  FATTENING  CATTLE 

I.  Carbonaceous  Concentrates 

732.  Indian  corn. — Of  all  the  concentrates  Indian  corn  is  and  must 
continue  to  be  the  great  fattening  feed  for  cattle  in  America.  While  we 
cannot  vie  with  England  in  the  luxuriance  of  her  pastures,  the  ad- 
vantages given  the  American  farmer  by  the  corn  crop  cannot  be  surpassed 
and  place  us  in  the  very  forefront  in  beef  production.  No  other  concen- 
trate is  so  toothsome  and  palatable  to  cattle  as  the  corn  grain.  Not  only 
is  corn  loaded  with  starch  but  it  carries  much  oil  and  has  but  little  fiber 
or  other  inert  matter,  the  whole  forming  the  best  concentrate  for  quickly 
filling  the  tissues  of  the  steer 's  body  with  fat,  and  thereby  rendering  the 
lean  meat  tender,  juicy  and  toothsome.  (201-6) 

Numerous  trials  at  our  experiment  stations  have  clearly  shown  that 
corn  is  too  low  in  protein,  even  for  fattening  animals,  and  should  there- 
fore be  fed  with  legume  hay,  or,  when  carbonaceous  roughages  only  are 
used,  some  nitrogenous  concentrate  should  be  added  to  balance  the  ration. 
The  superior  results  from  properly  balanced  rations  are  shown  in  the 
following  table,  in  the  first  division  of  which  are  summarized  the  results 
of  8  trials,  averaging  144  days  in  length,  in  each  of  which  corn  was  fed 
Avith  carbonaceous  roughage,  such  as  timothy  hay,  prairie  hay,  corn 
stover,  or  kafir  stover,  to  one  lot  of  2-  or  3-yr.-old  steers,  and  with  clover  or 
alfalfa  hay  to  others.  In  the  second  division  the  results  are  given  for  4 
trials,  averaging  132  days,  in  which  the  effect  of  adding  a  nitrogenous 
supplement,  either  linseed  meal,  cottonseed  meal,  or  gluten  feed,  to  a 
ration  of  corn  and  carbonaceous  roughage  was  studied  : 

Corn  requires  supplement  for  fattening  2-yr.-old  steers 

A „ t-  ,  Initial      Daily        Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Average  ration  weight       gain      Concentrates    Roughage 

Legume  hay  as  supplement  to  corn*  Lbs.       Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Unbalanced  ration,  90  steers 
Com,  15.2  lbs. 

Carbonaceous  roughage,  13.0  lbs 959      1 .7  930  832 

Balanced  ration,  71  steers 
Com,  15.4  lbs. 

Legume  hay,  13.2  lbs 952      2.3  689  575 

Nitrogenous  concentrate  as  supplement  to  corn\ 
Unbalanced  ration,  44  steers 
Com,  16.3  lbs. 

Carbonaceous  roughage,  8.3  lbs 995      1.6  1,082  522 

Balanced  ration,  54  steers 
Com,  16.7  lbs. 
Nitrogenous  supplement,  2.1  lbs. 

Carbonaceous  roughage,  8.6  lbs 1,002      2.2  862  402 

♦Average  of  1  trial  by  Haney  (Kan.  Bui.  132),  2  by  Burtis  (Okla.  Rpts.  1900,  1901),  1  by  Mumford 
(111.  Bui.  83),  2  by  Skinner  and  Cochel  (Ind.  Buls.  115,  129),  and  2  by  Smith  (Nebr.  Buls.  90,  93). 

t Average  ol  1  trial  by  Mumford  (111.  Bui.  83),  1  by  Skinner  and  Cochel  (Ind.  Bui.  115),  and  2  by  Smith 
(Nebr.  Buls.  90,  93). 

449 


450  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

While  the  steers  fed  corn  and  legume  hay  gained  2.3  lbs.  per  head 
daily,  the  daily  gain  of  those  fed  corn  and  carbonaceous  roughage  was 
only  1.7  lbs.,  and  these  steers,  receiving  the  unbalanced  ration,  required 
35  per  ct.  more  corn  and  44  per  ct.  more  roughage  per  100  lbs.  gain. 
Where  the  ration  of  corn  and  carbonaceous  hay  was  supplemented  by  2.1 
lbs.  of  a  nitrogenous  concentrate,  the  steers  made  37  per  ct.  larger  gains 
and  required  much  less  feed  per  100  lbs.  of  gain.  When  the  corn  allow- 
ance is  properly  balanced,  not  only  is  the  feeding  value  of  this  grain 
greatly  increased  with  both  the  cattle  and  the  pigs  which  follow  the 
steers,  but  it  keeps  the  animals  more  healthy,  shortens  the  feeding  period 
and  gives  a  higher  finish  than  can  be  secured  with  unbalanced  rations. 

When  other  carbonaceous  concentrates,  such  as  barley,  wheat,  kafir, 
milo,  hominy  feed,  or  dried  beet  pulp,  are  fed  it  is  just  as  important 
that  protein-rich  feed  be  included  in  the  ration  as  when  the  chief  con- 
centrate is  corn. 

733.  Adding  a  nitrogenous  concentrate  to  corn  and  clover  hay. — To 
determine  whether  it  was  profitable  to  add  a  nitrogenous  concentrate  to 
a  ration  of  corn  and  clover  hay  for  fattening  2-yr.-old  steers,  Skinner 
and  Cochel  conducted  2  trials  at  the  Indiana  Station,^  and  Mumford  1 
trial  at  the  Illinois  Station-  for  periods  averaging  172  days,  with  the 
results  summarized  in  the  following  table : 

Adding  a  nitrogenous  concentrate  to  corn  and  clover  hay  for  steers 


Average  ration 

Lot  I,  35  Steers 
Com,  18.4  lbs.* 

Clover  hay,  9.4  lbs 

Initial 

weight 

Lbs. 

1,032 

1,047 

Av.  daily 
gain 
Lbs. 

2.0 

2.4 

Feed  for  100  lb 
Concentrates 
Lbs. 

940 

854 

3.  gain 
Hay 
Lbs. 

484 

Lot  II,  35  steers 
Com,  17.7  lbs.* 

Nitrogenous  concentrate,  2.9  lbs. 
Clover  hay,  9.1  lbs 

376 

♦Ear  corn  fed  in  the  Illinois  trial  has  been  reduced  to  the  equivalent  of  shelled  corn. 

In  each  of  the  3  separate  trials  Lot  II,  receiving  a  nitrogenous  concen- 
trate (cottonseed  meal  or  linseed  and  gluten  meal)  in  addition  to  corn 
and  clover  hay,  made  larger  and  more  economical  gains  from  the  stand- 
point of  feed  required  per  100  lbs.  gain.  With  feeds  at  the  market  prices, 
the  gains  were  also  cheaper  than  in  Lot  I.  Due  to  better  finish  the  steers 
in  Lot  II  sold  for  a  higher  price  in  both  trials,  bringing  25  cents  more 
per  100  lbs.  on  the  average  than  those  in  Lot  I. 

Whether  it  will  pay  to  add  a  nitrogenous  concentrate  to  a  ration  of  corn 
and  legume  hay  will  depend  on  the  relative  prices  of  these  feeds.  Steers 
supplied  all  the  corn  and  legume  hay  they  will  clean  up,  during  the  early 
part  of  the  fattening  period  eat  a  much  larger  proportion  of  hay  than 
during  the  later  stages.    Until  well  advanced  in  fattening  they  will  eat 

»Ind.  Buls.  129,  136.  '111.  Bui.  103. 


FEEDS  FOR  FATTENING  CATTLE  451 

enough  hay  to  balance  their  ration  fairly  well.  Later,  as  the  propor- 
tion of  corn  increases,  the  ration  becomes  unbalanced  and  there  will  be 
more  benefit  from  the  addition  of  a  nitrogenous  concentrate.  With 
alfalfa  hay  for  roughage,  there  is  less  need  of  adding  protein-rich  con- 
centrates than  with  clover,  which  is  lower  in  protein  than  alfalfa. 

734.  Heavy  vs.  light  corn  feeding. — ^When  corn  was  low  in  price,  fatten- 
ing steers  on  full  feed  in  the  corn  belt  were  commonly  given  all  the  corn 
they  would  clean  up.  In  recent  years,  with  corn  higher  in  price,  it  is 
often  more  economical  to  restrict  the  allowance  and  thereby  induce  the 
steers  to  eat  a  larger  proportion  of  roughage.  At  the  Nebraska  Station^ 
Smith  fed  2  lots,  each  of  10  steers  grown  under  range  conditions  and 
averaging  978  lbs.,  the  first  for  140  and  the  second  for  168  days,  on  light 
and  heavy  rations  of  corn  together  with  alfalfa  hay  and  corn  stover,  with 
the  results  shown  in  the  table : 

Heavy  and  light  corn  feeding  for  steers 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 
Average  ration  Daily  gain      Gain  per  head  Corn  Roughage 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot  I 

Com,  22.3  lbs. 
Alfalfa  hay,  4.9  lbs. 
Com  stover,  4.9  lbs 2 .4  339  922  403 

Lot  11 

Com,  13.9  lbs. 

Alfalfa  hay,  10.9  lbs. 

Cora  stover,    7.2  lbs 2 .0  339  691  896 

Lot  II,  fed  the  light  allowance  of  corn,  gained  0.4  lb.  less  per  head 
daily  and  required  168  days  to  put  on  339  lbs.,  the  same  amount  that  Lot 
I  did  in  140  days.  The  steers  in  Lot  II  required  25  per  ct.  less  grain  per 
100  lbs.  gain  than  Lot  I,  but  over  twice  as  much  hay.  In  another  trial 
Smith  found  that  870-lb.  steers  fed  12.0  lbs.  of  corn  meal  and  17.2  lbs. 
of  alfalfa,  made  practically  as  rapid  gains  as  others  fed  18.8  lbs.  of  corn 
meal  and  8.7  lbs.  of  alfalfa.  The  heavy-fed  steers  required  36  per  ct. 
more  corn  per  100  lbs.  gain  but  only  half  as  much  hay  as  those  fed  the 
light  allowance  of  corn. 

Cochel  and  Doty  found  at  the  Pennsylvania  Station*  that  2-yr.-old 
steers  fed  a  full  allowance  of  corn,  supplemented  by  cottonseed  meal,  and 
with  corn  stover,  corn  silage,  and  mixed  hay  for  roughage,  gained  only 
0.15  lb.  more  per  head  daily  than  others  fed  two-thirds  as  much  corn. 
The  steers  on  the  lighter  feed  of  corn  made  cheaper  gains  and  returned 
the  greater  profit. 

The  amount  of  corn  to  be  fed  should  be  governed  by  the  relative  price 
of  corn  and  roughage  and  by  the  time  it  is  desired  to  have  the  cattle 
ready  for  market. 

735.  Preparation  of  corn  for  "beef  cattle. — The  practice  of  successful 
stockmen  in  the  corn  belt  and  trials  at  the  experiment  stations  show  that, 

"Nebr.  Buls.  100,  114.  "Penn.  Bui.  102. 


452  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

in  general,  getting  corn  to  cattle  in  the  simplest  manner  and  with  the 
least  preparation  and  handling  is  the  most  economical,  when  pigs  follow 
the  steers  to  consume  any  grains  which  escape  mastication.  Waters,^ 
gathering  replies  from  hundreds  of  cattle  feeders  in  Missouri,  Iowa,  and 
Illinois,  found  that  50  per  ct.  fed  husked  or  unhusked  ear  corn,  25  per 
ct.  shelled  corn,  and  the  remainder,  crushed,  soaked,  or  ground  corn. 
Only  3  per  ct.  fed  ground  corn  as  a  regular  practice.  Skinner  and 
CocheP  report  that  of  929  Indiana  feeders  73  per  ct.  used  broken  ear 
corn  at  some  time  during  the  feeding  period,  46  per  ct.  shock  corn  at  some 
time,  35  per  ct.  snapped  corn,  27  per  ct.  corn-and-cob  meal,  and  21  per 
ct.  used  shelled  corn. 

In  finishing  prime  beeves  many  skilled  feeders  seek  to  "keep  the  feed 
better  than  the  cattle,"  i.e.,  prepare  the  feed  more  as  the  cattle  gain  in 
flesh.  Thus,  they  may  start  the  steers  on  shock  corn,  then  as  they  require 
more  concentrates,  add  snapped  corn  or  ear  corn ;  still  later  the  ear  corn 
is  broken  or  shelled;  and  at  the  close  of  the  fattening  period,  to  tempt 
the  steers  to  consume  a  heavier  allowance  of  grain,  corn  meal  or  corn- 
and-cob  meal  is  employed. 

Silage  from  well-matured  corn  is  the  most  palatable  form  in  which  the 
entire  corn  plant  can  be  offered  to  the  steer.  In  addition  to  the  grain  in 
this  succulent  feed,  some  additional  corn  should  be  fed,  usually  in  the 
form  of  ear  corn  or  shelled  corn.  Next  to  silage,  corn  is  never  so  palat- 
able to  the  steer  as  when  given  unhusked  on  the  stalk,  for  there  is  an 
aroma  and  palatability  about  the  ear  in  Nature's  own  Avrappings  that 
every  steer  recognizes  and  appreciates.  Such  being  the  case,  wherever 
possible  let  shock  corn  with  its  wealth  of  ears  be  thrown  into  the  long 
feed  racks  standing  in  the  open  lot  or  under  the  shed  and  allow  the 
steers  to  do  their  own  husking  and  grinding.  Where  corn  cannot  be  fed 
unhusked,  ear  corn  should  be  given,  whole,  chopped,  or  split,  as  best  suits 
the  animal.  Corn  long  stored  in  the  crib  becomes  dry  and  hard,  losing 
fragrance  and  aroma  thru  exposure  to  air  and  vermin.  For  summer 
feeding  such  grain  should  be  specially  prepared  by  soaking  or  shelling, 
or  possibly  by  grinding.  Corn  should  be  soaked  from  12  to  18  hours, 
care  being  taken  to  change  the  water  frequently  and  to  keep  the  feed 
boxes  clean  and  sweet.  Old  cattle  can  utilize  ear  corn,  stover,  and  coarse 
feed  more  advantageously  than  can  younger  animals. 

To  induce  young  steers  to  consume  sufficient  corn  to  overcome  their 
tendence  to  grow  rather  than  to  fatten,  more  preparation  of  the  corn  is 
warranted  than  with  older  animals.  (423) 

736.  Feeding  corn  in  various  forms. — To  determine  the  economy  of 
preparing  corn  in  various  ways,  Mumford  fed  5  lots  of  choice  1000-lb. 
feeders  the  rations  shown  in  the  table  for  186  days  at  the  Illinois  Station.' 

"Mo.  Bui.  76.  "Ind.  Cir.  12.  '111.  Bui.  103. 


FEEDS  FOR  FATTENING  CATTLE 


453 


Feeding  corn  in  various  forms  to  fattening  steers 

Average  ration 

DaUy 
gain 

Feed  for  100 
lbs.  gain 

Pigs 
per  10 
steers 

Gain  of  pigs 

per  100  lbs. 

corn  fed  to 

steers 

Feed    cost 

Concen- 
trates 

Rough- 
age 

returned 
by  pigs 

Lot  I,  15  steers 
Ear  com,  20.1  lbs. 
Gluten  or  oil  meal,  2.9  lbs. 
Clover  hay,  8.0  lbs 

Lbs. 
2.3 
2.3 
2.0 
2.4 

2  1 

Lbs. 
9S6 

993 

984 
822 

991* 

Lbs. 
344 
350 
454 
370 

782 

No. 
5 
3 
7 
3 

6 

Lbs. 

1.7 
0.5 
3.6 
0.7 

1.8* 

Per  ct. 

9  7 

Lot  II,  15  steers 

Com-and-cob  meal,  20.0  lbs. 
Gluten  or  oil  meal,    2.9  lbs. 
Clover  hay,  8  1  lbs 

2  6 

Lot  III,  10  steers 

Shelled  corn,  16.6  lbs. 
Gluten  or  oil  meal,  3.0  lbs. 
Clover  hay,  9.0  lbs 

16  7 

Lot  IV,  15  steers 
Com  meal,  16.6  lbs. 
Gluten  or  oil  meal,  2.9  lbs. 
Clover  hay,  8.7  lbs 

3  0 

Lot  V,  10  steers 
Ear  com,  13.5  lbs. 
Oil  meal,  1.4  lbs. 

Shock  corn,  14.7  lbs. 

Clover  hay,  7.2  lbs 

12  7 

♦Including  ear  corn  in  the  shock  corn. 

"While  the  steers  in  Lot  IV,  fed  corn  meal,  made  the  largest  gains  and 
required  the  least  feed  for  100  lbs.  gain,  for  combined  gains  of  steers 
and  pigs  ear  corn  proved  the  most  economical.  Lot  III,  getting  shelled 
corn,  made  the  poorest  gains,  due  to  the  fact  that,  as  shown  by  the  gains 
of  the  pigs  following,  the  steers  in  this  lot  did  not  masticate  their  corn 
so  thoroly  as  the  others.  While  about  the  same  amount  of  concentrates 
was  required  for  100  lbs.  gain  as  with  Lots  I  and  II,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  ear  corn  and  the  corn-and-cob  meal  rations  contained  over 
17  per  ct.  cob.  Thus  shelled  corn  proved  inferior  to  ear  corn  or  corn-and- 
cob  meal  in  beef  production.  Lot  V,  fed  shock  corn  at  first  and  ear 
corn  during  the  finishing  period,  made  larger  gains  than  Lot  III,  fed 
shelled  corn.  In  economy  of  combined  gains  of  steers  and  pigs  the  shock- 
corn  ration  ranked  second. 

"Where  shelled  corn  was  fed,  the  7  hogs  following  each  10  steers  gained 
3.6  lbs.  from  each  100  lbs.  of  corn  fed  to  the  steers,  the  hogs  returning 
16.7  per  ct.  of  the  value  of  the  corn  given  to  the  steers.  "Where  ground 
corn  was  fed,  the  hogs  returned  but  0.7  lb.  increase  for  100  lbs.  of  corn 
fed  to  the  steers,  and  corn-and-cob  meal  made  still  poorer  returns. 

Good  of  the  Kentucky  Station^  finds  that  steers  fed  silage  often  fail  to 
eat  sufficient  corn  when  it  is  supplied  in  the  form  of  ear  corn,  possibly 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  silage  makes  their  gums  tender.     By  feeding 
shelled  corn  this  difficulty  is  obviated. 
*  Information  to  the  authors. 


454  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

737.  Soft  corn. — Kennedy  and  Rutherford  of  the  Iowa  Station,^  study- 
ing the  feeding  value  of  soft  corn  with  2  lots  of  8  steers  each,  fed  for  6 
months,  found  that  soft  corn,  containing  35  per  ct.  of  moisture  at  the 
beginning  of  the  trial  and  16  per  ct.  at  its  close,  made  rather  more 
economical  gains  than  mature  corn,  taking  dry  matter  as  the  basis  of 
comparison,  and  that  the  cattle  finished  equally  well  on  it.  (205) 

738.  Barley. — In  sections  of  the  West  where  corn  does  not  thrive, 
barley  is  of  much  importance  as  a  grain  for  fattening  cattle.  To  com- 
pare this  grain  with  corn,  Wilson  fed  866-lb.  steers  the  rations  shown 
below  in  2  trials  at  the  South  Dakota  Station^"  averaging  108  days  in 
length : 

Barley  vs.  corn  for  fattening  steers 

Daily  Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Average  ration  gain  Concentrates     Corn  silage 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot  I,  8  steers 

Ground  barley,  14.8  lbs. 

Linseed  meal,  1.5  lbs.     Corn  silage,  14.2  lbs. ...  2 .1  790  674 

Lot  II,  8  steers 

Ground  corn,  16.8  lbs. 

Linseed  meal,  1.7  lbs.      Corn  silage,  14.2  lbs. ...  2  .2  856  648 

The  steers  fed  barley  did  not  consume  quite  as  much  grain  as  those 
fed  the  more  palatable  corn  and  hence  did  not  make  quite  as  rapid  gains. 
However,  less  concentrates  were  required  for  100  lbs.  gain  than  with 
corn.  In  a  trial  at  the  Hays,  Kansas,  Station^^  Haney  secured  similar 
results  with  8-  to  10-months-old  steer  calves  fed  alfalfa  hay  and  either 
ground  barley  or  corn-and-cob  meal.  The  calves  fed  corn  gained  0.2  lb. 
more  per  head  daily,  but  required  5  per  ct.  more  grain  than  those  fed 
barley.  (226) 

739".  Wheat. — This  grain  is  not  commonly  fed  to  cattle  except  when 
off  grade  or  unusually  low  in  price.  Linfield  of  the  Montana  Station^ - 
found  wheat  and  barley  of  practically  the  same  value  when  fed  in 
limited  allowance  with  clover  hay  to  936-lb.  steers.  At  the  Nebraska 
Station"  Burnett  and  Smith  found  wheat  superior  to  corn  for  fattening 
yearling  steers,  when  fed  with  20  to  30  per  ct.  of  bran  and  linseed  meal 
along  with  alfalfa  hay,  prairie  hay,  and  wheat  straw  for  roughage.  Two- 
yr.-old  steers  fed  ground  wheat  and  alfalfa  hay  in  a  trial  by  Haney  at 
the  Hays,  Kansas,  Station"  gained  0.45  lb.  less  per  head  daily  than  others 
fed  ground  corn,  due  to  the  fact  that  the  wheat  was  less  palatable  and 
hence  the  steers  ate  less  grain  than  those  fed  corn.  The  wheat-fed  steers, 
however,  required  less  grain  per  100  lbs.  gain.  We  may  conclude  that, 
while  steers  fed  wheat  may  consume  less  grain  than  others  fed  an  un- 
limited allowance  of  corn,  no  more  wheat  than  corn  is  required  for  100 
lbs.  gain. 

"Iowa  Bui.  75.  »Kan.  Bui.  128.  "Nebr.  Bui.  75. 

"S.  D.  Bui.  160.  "Mont.  Bui.  58.  "Kan.  BuL  128. 


Feed  for  100  lbs 
Concentrates 

.  gain 
SUage 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

862 

746 

856 

648 

FEEDS  FOE  FATTENING  CATTLE  455 

At  the  North  Dakota  Station^^  Sheppard  and  Richards  found  that  fat- 
tening steers  fed  low-grade  ground  wheat  and  bran,  with  poor  quality 
hay  for  roughage,  required  about  twice  as  much  feed  per  100  lbs.  gain  as 
others  fed  corn  meal.  The  wheat-fed  steers  grew  rather  than  fattened, 
indicating  that  low-grade  wheat,  which  is  usually  higher  in  protein  than 
wheat  of  good  quality,  should  be  used  for  growing  animals  rather  than 
for  fattening  ones.  (215) 

740.  Oats. — Since  oats  are  usually  high  in  price  compared  with  other 
grains,  they  are  seldom  used  as  the  sole  concentrate  for  fattening,  the 
they  are  well  liked  by  cattle  and  produce  beef  of  good  quality.  In  2 
trials  of  101  and  115  days,  respectively,  Wilson  of  the  South  Dakota  Sta- 
tion^" fed  steers  averaging  875  lbs.  about  14  lbs.  of  corn  silage  per  head 
daily  and  concentrates  as  shown  in  the  table,  to  compare  the  value  of 
ground  oats  and  ground  corn : 


Oats  vs.  corn  for  fattening  steers 

Daily 
Average  concentrate  allowance  gain 

Lbs. 

Lot   I,  Oats  15.0  lbs.    Linseed  meal,  1.5  lbs 2 .0 

Lot  II,  Com,  16.8  lbs.    Linseed  meal,  1.7  lbs 2.2 

The  first  year  the  oat-fed  steers  made  as  large  gains  as  those  fed  corn, 
but  the  second  year  when  the  oats  were  rather  light  in  weight,  the  corn- 
fed  steers  made  better  gains.  The  table  shows  that  the  steers  fed  oats 
required  about  the  same  amount  of  concentrates  for  100  lbs.  of  gain  as 
those  fed  corn,  but  consumed  somewhat  more  silage.  Linfield  at  the 
Montana  Station^^  found  oats,  wheat,  and  barley  about  equally  effective 
when  fed  with  clover  hay  to  fattening  steers.  A  mixture  of  the  3  grains 
was  somewhat  superior  to  any  single  one.  Oats  are  excellent  for  grow- 
ing cattle,  and  are  also  useful  for  mixing  wdth  corn  in  starting  cattle  on 
feed,  especially  calves  being  fattened  for  baby  beef.  For  fattening  cattle 
oats  should  be  ground,  as  any  whole  grains  escaping  mastication  are  not 
so  readily  recovered  by  pigs  as  is  corn.  (223) 

741.  Kafir. — Thruout  the  southern  portion  of  the  great  plains  region 
the  grain  sorghums  are  of  great  importance  in  the  feeding  of  beef  cattle. 
The  following  table  presents  the  results  of  3  trials,  averaging  138  days, 
in  which  ground  kafir  and  alfalfa  hay  were  fed  to  one  lot  of  steers,  and 
ground  corn  and  alfalfa  hay  to  another  lot.  In  the  second  division  of  the 
table  are  summarized  the  results  of  4  trials,  averaging  148  days,  in  which 
these  grains  were  fed  as  the  sole  concentrate  with  kafir  or  sorghum  fodder 
or  kafir  stover.  Corn  or  kafir  with  these  carbonaceous  roughages  made  an 
unbalanced  ration,  from  which  as  good  gains  could  not  be  expected  as 
from  corn  or  kafir  with  alfalfa  hay. 

»N.  D.  Bui.  73.  i«S.  D.  Bui.  160.  "Mont.  Bui.  58. 


456  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Kajir  vs.  corn  in  balanced  and  unbalanced  rations 


Initial 

Daily 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Average  ration 

weight 

gain 

Grain          Roughage 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs.                 Lbs. 

With  alfalfa  hay* 

Lot  I,  total  of  18  steers 

Ground  kafir,  16.7  lbs. 

AKalfahay,  15.1  lbs.... 

.  952 

2.4 

697               636 

Lot  II,  total  of  18  steers 

Ground  corn,  15.5  lbs.| 

Alfalfa  hay,  15.2  lbs. . . . 

.  943 

2.5 

612            610 

With  carbonaceous  roughage^ 

Lot  I,  total  of  35  steers 

Ground  kafir,  18.1  lbs. 

Carbonaceous  roughage. 

14.6  lbs. , 

,.  958 

1.7 

1,081            936 

Lot  II,  total  of  31  steers 

Ground  corn,  1G.7  Ibs.J 

Carbonaceous  roughage. 

14.8  lbs.. 

.  953 

1.8 

934            872 

*Average  of  2  trials  by  Burtis  (Olda.  Rpts.  1899,  1900,  1901)  and  1  by  Haney  (Kan.  Bui.  132). 
tAverage  of  2  trials  by  Burtis  (Okla.  Rpts.  1900,  1901),  1  by  Georgeson  (Kan.  Bui.  67),  and  1  by  Haney 
(Kan.  Bui.  132). 

tCorn-and-cob  meal  fed  in  trial  by  Haney  reduced  to  equivalent  of  ground  corn. 

These  trials  well  show  the  value  of  kafir  for  fattening  steers.  When 
given  alfalfa  hay,  the  steers  fed  kafir  required  only  14  per  ct.  more  kafir 
grain  for  100  lbs.  gain  than  those  fed  corn.  With  poorly  balanced  ra- 
tions of  carbonaceous  roughage  and  either  kafir  or  corn,  about  16  per  ct. 
more  kafir  than  corn  was  consumed  per  100  lbs.  gain.  (237) 

742.  Milo  and  kafir  vs.  corn. — At  the  Texas  Station^*  Burns  fed  3  lots, 
each  of  six  2-yr.-old  grade  Angus  steers  averaging  about  875  lbs.  in  weight, 
12.6  lbs.  of  cottonseed  hulls  and  3.0  lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal  per  head 
daily  with  15.1  lbs.  of  corn  chop,  milo  chop,  or  kafir  chop,  for  120  days 
with  the  results  shown  in  the  table.  The  grains  were  all  ground  to  the 
same  fineness. 

Milo  and  kafir  compared  with  corn  for  fattening  steers 

Daily  Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Concentrate  allowance  gain  Concentrates      Hulls 

Lba.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot     I,    Com  and  cottonseed  meal 2.1  858  599 

Lot    II,    Milo  and  cottonseed  meal 2.1  853  596 

Lot  III,    Kafir  and  cottonseed  meal 2.5  731  510 

Fed  with  cottonseed  meal  and  cottonseed  hulls,  kafir  produced  the 
largest  and  most  economical  gains,  and  milo  proved  equal  to  corn.  There 
was  no  material  difference  in  the  quality  of  meat  from  the  3  lots.  (238) 

743.  Emmer  (spelt). — To  compare  the  value  of  ground  emmer  and 
ground  corn  for  fattening  steers,  Wilson  conducted  2  trials  at  the  South 
Dakota  Station^ ^  in  which  880-lb.  steers  were  fed  an  average  of  14  lbs. 
corn  silage  per  head  daily  with  the  concentrate  allowances  shown  in  the 
table  for  periods  averaging  1Q8  days : 

*8Tex.  Bui.  110.  '*S.  D.  Bui.  160. 


FEEDS  FOR  FATTENING  CATTLE  457 

Emmer  vs.  corn  for  fattening  steers 


Daily 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

allowance 

gain 

Concentrates       Silage 

Lbs. 

Lbs.                Lbs. 

Linseed  meal, 

L7  lbs. 

2.2 

840            648 

Linseed  meal, 

1.7  lbs. 

2.2 

856            648 

Lot    I,  Emmer,  16.7  lbs. 
Lot  II,  Corn,  16.8  lbs. 

In  this  fairly  well  balanced  ration  ground  emmer  was  fully  equal  to 
ground  corn.  "Wilson  concludes  that  under  South  Dakota  conditions 
emmer  is  the  best  small  grain  to  grow  for  feeding  with  corn  silage.  In  a 
previous  trial  at  the  same  Station"*'  in  which  the  unbalanced  rations  of 
prairie  hay  and  either  corn  or  emmer  were  fed,  Wilson  and  Skinner 
found  that  it  required  125  lbs.  of  emmer  to  replace  100  lbs.  of  corn.  Fed 
to  calves  fattened  for  baby  beef,^^  emmer  produced  a  hard  fat  the  same 
as  did  oats,  and  meat  of  as  good  quality  as  that  from  corn.  (233)  Emmer 
closely  resembles  oats  in  composition,  having  considerable  bulk,  and  there- 
fore should  be  especially  useful  in  starting  cattle  on  feed.  (740) 

744.  Millet. — That  the  seed  of  hog,  or  broom-corn,  millet,  which  is  a 
reliable  grain  crop  on  the  northern  plains,  is  a  satisfactory  feed  for  fat- 
tening cattle  was  shown  by  Wilson  and  Skinner  at  the  South  Dakota 
Station.-^  Calves  weighing  about  500  lbs.  fattened  for  baby  beef  on 
ground  millet  and  clover  hay  gained  1.5  lbs.  per  head  daily  for  431  days, 
while  others  fed  corn  and  clover  hay  gained  1.8  lbs.  The  steers  fed 
millet  required  6  per  ct.  more  grain  and  32  per  ct.  more  hay  for  100  lbs. 
gain  than  those  fed  corn.  Millet  produced  carcasses  of  as  good  quality  as 
corn,  but  with  somewhat  softer  fat.  (243) 

745.  Sough  rice  and  by-products. — In  feeding  trials  with  steers  at  the 
Texas  Station^^  Craig  and  Marshall  found  that  when  fed  with  cottonseed 
meal  and  cottonseed  hulls  2.3  lbs.  of  ground  rough  rice  was  equal  to  1  lb. 
of  cottonseed  meal  in  the  ration.  Ten  lbs.  of  rice  bran  proved  equal  to  6 
lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal  when  forming  two-fifths  of  the  concentrates  of 
the  ration.  Rice  polish  was  about  equal  to  cottonseed  meal.  Rice  hulls 
proved  to  be  without  value.  Cruse  secured  satisfactory  results  with  a 
ration  of  7.3  lbs.  rough  red  rice  (a  pest  in  the  rice  fields),  4.2  lbs.  cotton- 
seed meal,  and  12.5  lbs.  Johnson  grass  hay  in  a  trial  at  the  Fort  Worth, 
Texas,  Substation.-*    Rice  should  always  be  ground  for  cattle.  (234) 

746.  Sugar-bpot  pulp. — In  the  vicinity  of  the  western  beet  sugar  fac- 
tories thousands  of  cattle  are  fattened  annually  on  beet  pulp  with  alfalfa 
hay,  which  admirably  supplements  the  protein-poor  pulp,  and  usually 
with  a  limited  allowance  of  grain  in  addition.  To  study  the  most  profit- 
able method  of  feeding  pulp  Carlyle  and  Griffith  fed  4  lots,  each  of  twelve 
956-lb.  steers,  the  rations  shown  in  the  table  for  100  days  at  the  Colorado 
Station.^"^    Alfalfa  hay  of  poor  quality  was  fed  to  all  without  limit. 

^S.  D.  Bui.  100.  "S.  D.  Bui.  97.  "-^ex.  Bui.  135. 

==^3.  D.  Bui.  97.  =*Tex.  Buls.  76,  86.  -=Colo.  Bui.  102. 


458  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Value  of  wet  beet  pulp  in  steer  feeding 


Averag< 

;  ration 

DaUy 
gain 
Lbs. 

Feed  for  100  lbs. 
Corn              Hay 
Lbs.              Lbs. 

gain 
Grain 
Lbs. 

Lot  I 

Beet  pulp,  93.4  lbs. 
Alfalfa  hay,  20.0  lbs. 

Ground  com,  6.6  lbs.  . 

.    2.6 

251 

759 

3,545 

Lot  II 
Alfalfa  hay,  31.3  lbs. 

Ground  corn,  6.6  lbs. . 

.   1.8 

376 

1,778 

Lot  III 

Beet  pulp,  97.3  lbs. 
Alfalfa  hay,  21.9  lbs. 

.   1.8 

1,189 

5,283 

Lot  IV 

Alfalfa  hay,  41.5  lbs. 

.   1.5 

2,829 

The  steers  in  Lot  I,  fed  an  unlimited  allowance  of  wet  beet  pulp  and 
alfalfa  hay  with  6.6  lbs.  of  corn  per  head  daily,  made  the  excellent  daily 
gain  of  2.6  lbs.  each,  considerably  larger  than  that  of  Lot  II,  fed  only 
alfalfa  hay  and  corn,  or  Lot  III,  fed  beet  pulp  and  hay,  with  no  corn. 
Thruout  the  trial  the  pulp-fed  steers  were  more  thrifty  than  those  getting 
no  pulp.  The  conclusion  was  that  for  2-yr.-old  fattening  steers  1  ton  of 
wet  beet  pulp  was  equal  to  620  lbs.  of  alfalfa  hay  or  220  lbs.  of  ground 
corn.  In  feeding  this  succulent  food,  care  should  be  taken  that  refuse 
pulp  does  not  accumulate  in  the  troughs  and  decompose.  Animals  should 
be  gradually  accustomed  to  the  pulp,  later  being  usually  given  all  they 
will  clean  up.  (274) 

747.  Dried  beet  pulp. — Shaw  and  Norton  of  the  Michigan  Station^® 
found  as  the  result  of  3  winter  trials  that  dried  beet  pulp  tended  to 
growth  with  cattle  rather  than  to  fattening,  and  conclude  that  while  in 
the  earlier  part  of  the  feeding  period  dried  pulp  can  be  fed  advantage- 
ously in  large  quantities  because  it  produces  rapid  gains,  during  the 
finishing  period  it  should  be  largely  replaced  by  corn  meal.  They  found 
a  1000-lb.  steer  will  not  consume  over  10  lbs.  of  dried  beet  pulp  daily. 
(275) 

748.  Molasses. — In  the  sugar-cane  districts  of  the  South,  cane  molasses 
is  an  economical  carbonaceous  concentrate  for  cattle.  In  a  120-day  trial 
at  the  Texas  Station^^  Burns  fed  2  lots,  each  of  6  high-grade  2-yr.-old 
Aberdeen-Angus  steers,  averaging  about  870  lbs.,  a  basal  ration  of  12.6 
lbs.  cottonseed  hulls  and  3  lbs.  cottonseed  meal,  with  corn  or  corn  and 
blackstrap  molasses,  as  shown  in  the  table : 

Cane  molasses  as  a  partial  suhstitute  for  corn 

Daily  Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Average  ration  gain         Concentrates  Hulls 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot   I,    Corn,  15.1  lbs.   Basal  ration 2.1  858  599 

Lot  II,     Molasses,  6.5  lbs. 

Corn,  8.6  lbs.   Basal  ration 2.3  798  559 

*Mich.  Bui.  247.  "Tex.  Bui.  110. 


FEEDS  FOR  FATTENING  CATTLE  459 

When  6.6  lbs.  of  molasses  replaced  an  equal  weight  of  corn  the  gains 
were  slightly  increased  and  less  feed  was  required  for  100  lbs.  gain, 
showing  molasses  to  be  somewhat  the  higher  in  feeding  value  per  pound, 
when  replacing  not  more  than  half  the  corn  in  the  ration. 

In  a  140-day  trial  at  the  Pennsylvania  Station-^  Tomhave  and  Sever- 
son  fed  a  lot  of  six  1040-lb.  choice  feeders  all  the  corn  and  mixed  hay 
they  would  consume,  in  addition  to  20  lbs.  of  corn  silage  per  head  daily 
and  2.5  lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal  daily  per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight.  Another 
lot  was  given  the  same  feeds  with  5  lbs.  of  molasses  in  addition.  The 
steers  fed  5  lbs.  of  molasses  per  head  daily  made  no  larger  gains  than  the 
first  lot,  and  their  gains  were  more  expensive,  with  molasses  at  $20  per 
ton  and  shelled  corn  at  70  cents  per  bushel. 

At  the  Indiana  Station-^  Skinner  and  King  found  in  a  150-day  trial 
that  steers  fed  2.8  lbs.  molasses,  10.9  lbs.  shelled  corn,  and  3.3  lbs.  cot- 
tonseed meal  gained  0.34  lb.  more  per  head  daily  than  others  fed  13.6 
lbs.  shelled  corn  and  3.3  lbs.  cottonseed  meal,  both  lots  receiving  corn 
silage  and  clover  hay  without  limit  in  addition.  The  steers  fed  molasses 
consumed  over  4  lbs.  more  silage  per  head  daily  than  the  others.  With 
corn  ranging  from  $21.60  to  $24.75  per  ton  and  molasses  at  13.5  cents 
per  gallon  ($22.50  per  ton),  the  steers  fed  molasses  made  the  cheaper 
gains.  From  these  trials  we  may  conclude  that  in  the  North  as  heavy 
an  allowance  of  molasses  as  5  lbs.  per  head  daily  is  not  ordinarily  eco- 
nomical, tho  a  small  amount  may  be  profitable  in  stimulating  the  appe- 
tite. Molasses  is  especially  useful  in  getting  animals  to  clean  up  rough- 
age which  would  otherwise  be  unpalatable. 

Ware^°  reports  that  beet  molasses  has  been  fed  to  oxen  for  many 
years  at  the  Hohenau  sugar  factory,  Germany.  During  the  first  month 
3.3  lbs.  is  fed  per  head  daily,  and  after  this  4.4  lbs.,  the  molasses  being 
mixed  with  beet  pulp.  The  oxen  so  fed  have  better  appetites  than  those 
fed  no  molasses,  and  fatten  rapidly.  Not  more  than  4  to  8  lbs.  of  beet 
molasses  daily  per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight  should  be  fed  to  fattening  cat- 
tle. When  fed  at  this  maximum  rate  of  8  lbs.  per  head  daily,  with  alfalfa 
hay  valued  at  $3.50  per  ton  and  bran  and  shorts  at  $14  per  ton,  mo- 
lasses was  worth  only  $2.35  per  ton  for  fattening  steers.  Morton"^  of 
the  Colorado  Station  states  that  the  use  of  molasses  is  greatly  increasing 
in  the  beet-sugar  districts.  The  molasses  is  spread  over  hay  or  cut  straw, 
either  by  means  of  a  force  pump  on  an  ordinary  wagon  water  tank,  or  is 
thinned  with  water  and  poured  over  it  from  buckets.  Large  feeders 
heat  the  molasses  in  tanks  and  mix  it  with  cut  hay  or  straw  in  mixing 
machines.  (276) 

749.  Hominy  feed. — At  the  Kansas  Station^^  Cochel  fed  2  lots  each  of 
fifteen  540-lb.  calves  for  baby  beef  on  19.7  lbs.  sorghum  silage,  1.7  lbs.  cot- 
tonseed meal,  and  either  9.3  lbs.  ground  corn  or  8.9  lbs.  hominy  feed  per 

i'^  Information  to  the  authors.  '"Cattle  Feeding,  p.  245. 

^Information  to  the  authors.  ^^Information  to  the  authors. 

^-Kansas  Industrialist,  May  1,  1915;  information  to  the  authors. 


460  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

head  daily  for  120  days.  For  the  first  2  months  the  hominy-fed  calves 
made  the  most  rapid  gains,  but  later  they  were  passed  by  those  fed  on 
corn,  apparently  because  they  would  not  eat  as  heavy  an  allowance  of 
hominy  feed,  which  is  rather  high  in  fat.  The  hominy-fed  calves  gained 
1.87  lbs.  per  head  daily  and  those  fed  corn  1.96  lbs.,  the  feed  require- 
ments per  100  lbs.  gain  being  practically  the  same  for  the  2  lots.  (213) 


II.  Nitrogenous  Concentrates 

750.  Cottonseed  meal. — This  rich  concentrate  is  the  basis  of  the  fatten- 
ing of  beef  cattle  in  the  South  and  is  widely  used  in  the  northern  states 
as  a  supplement  to  rations  deficient  in  protein.  Trials  at  the  Indiana 
Station,  which  are  reviewed  later  (777),  show  that  2.5  lbs.  of  cottonseed 
meal  per  head  daily  per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight  is  sufficient  to  balance  a 
ration  of  shelled  corn,  corn  silage,  and  oat  straw  or  clover  hay.  In  the 
South,  owing  to  the  cheapness  of  cottonseed  meal,  it  is  commonly  fed  as 
the  sole  concentrate.  Since  the  meal  is  a  heavy,  highly  nitrogenous  feed, 
and  is  poisonous  to  fattening  cattle  when  fed  in  excess,  the  determination 
of  the  allowance  to  be  fed  for  the  best  results  is  of  great  importance. 
(249-50) 

During  each  of  3  years  Willson  fed  2-yr.-old  steers,  averaging  944  lbs. 
in  weight,  for  90-day  periods  at  the  Tennessee  Station^^  on  corn  silage  and 
different  amounts  of  cottonseed  meal,  as  is  shown  in  the  table.  The 
steers  fed  low  cottonseed  meal  allowances  received  3  lbs.  of  meal  for  the 
first  30  days,  4  lbs.  for  the  second  30  days,  and  5  lbs.  for  the  last  month. 
Those  on  medium  allowances  received  4  or  5  lbs.  for  the  first  month,  5  or 
6  for  the  second,  and  6  or  7  for  the  third,  while  those  on  the  heavy 
allowances  received  7,  8,  and  9  lbs.  respectively,  for  the  3  months  of  the 
feeding  period. 

Low,  medium,  and  heavy  allowances  of  cottonseed  meal 

Average  ration 

Low  allowance,  total  of  32  steers 

Cottonseed  meal,  4  lbs.  Corn  silage,  56  lbs . 
Medium  allowance,  total  of  2J+  steers 

Cottonseed  meal,  6  lbs.  Corn  silage,  52  lbs. . 
Heavy  allowance,  total  of  2J^  steers 

Cottonseed  meal,  8  lbs.  Corn  silage,  59  lbs. . 
♦Cottonseed  meal  at  S25  and  corn  silage  at  S3  per  ton. 

In  none  of  the  trials  did  the  heavy  allowance  of  cottonseed  meal  pro- 
duce larger  gains  than  the  medium  allowance.  On  the  average  the 
medium  allowance  made  slightly  larger  but  more  expensive  gains  than 
the  low  allowance.    Willson  concludes  that  the  use  of  as  much  as  7  to  9 

»Tenn.  Bui.  104. 


Daily 
gain 
Lbs. 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 
Meal          Silage 
Lbs.           Lbs. 

Cost  of  IOC 

lbs.  gain* 

Dollars 

1.62 

253 

3,542 

8.47 

1.70 

335 

3,124 

8.87 

1.66 

491 

3,622 

11.56 

FEEDS  FOR  FATTENING  CATTLE  461 

lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal  per  head  daily  is  uneconomical  except  for  short 
feeding  periods  of  only  30  to  50  days. 

Since  the  feeders  of  the  south  Atlantic  states  have  access  to  the  large 
eastern  markets,  which  demand  well-finished  cattle,  Gray  and  Curtis 
conducted  trials  at  the  North  Carolina  Station'^*  to  determine  the  maxi- 
mum amount  of  cottonseed  meal  which  could  be  fed  with  good  results  to 
2-yr.-old  steers  with  corn  silage  or  cottonseed  hulls  given  in  unlimited 
amount.  In  a  99-day  trial  8  lots,  each  of  9  to  10  steers,  were  fed  the 
allowances  of  cottonseed  meal  shown  in  the  table. 

Amovjit  of  cottonseed  meal  to  feed  with  corn  silage  or  cottonseed  hulls 

Daily  Feed  cost  of  Selling  price 

Average  daily  allowance  of  meal                                gain  100  lbs.  gain*  per  100  lbs. 

Lbs.  Dollars  Dollars 
Corn  silage  for  roughage 

Lot         I,  Cottonseed  meal,  6.0  lbs 1 .  19  11 .39  7 .90 

Lot       II,  Cottonseed  meal,  7.5  lbs 1 .49  10 .34  8  .00 

Lot     ///,  Cottonseed  meal,  9.0  lbs 1.76  9.79  8.20 

Lot      IV,  Cottonseed  meal,  10  5  lbs 1 .89  10 .03  8 .40 

Cottonseed  hulls  for  roughage 

Lot        F,  Cottonseed  meal,  6.0  lbs 1.43  9.86  7.90 

Lot      F7,  Cottonseed  meal,  7.5  lbs 1.55  10.30  8.00 

Lot     7/7,  Cottonseed  meal,  9.0  lbs 1.59  11.17  8.15 

Lo<  7/77,  Cottonseed  meal,  10.5  lbs 1.45  13.29  8.00 

♦Cottonseed  meal,  S25;  cottonseed  hulls,  $6;  and  corn  silage,  $3.50  per  ton. 

With  corn  silage  for  roughage  the  allowance  of  10.5  lbs.  of  cottonseed 
meal  produced  the  largest  gains  and  the  highest  finish,  as  shown  by  the 
selling  price,  and  brought  the  most  profit.  The  gains  were,  however, 
cheaper  when  9  lbs.  of  meal  was  fed.  With  hulls  the  gains  were  largest, 
the  finish  highest,  and  the  profit  greatest  on  the  allowance  of  9  lbs.  of 
meal.  In  another  trial  lasting  107  days  with  4  lots,  each  of  20  steers,  9 
lbs.  of  meal  fed  with  silage  made  smaller  gains  than  7.5  lbs.,  but  pro- 
duced slightly  better  finish.  When  fed  with  hulls  9  lbs.  of  meal  pro- 
duced decidedly  lower  gains  at  a  much  higher  cost  than  7.5  lbs.  From 
these  and  other  trials  Curtis  concludes  that  cattle  fed  7.5  lbs.  of  meal 
per  head  daily  with  either  silage  or  hulls  will  continue  to  gain  and  finish 
quite  satisfactorily  for  130  to  140  days,  which  is  the  maximum  period 
for  feeding  this  allowance  with  hulls.  With  corn  silage  the  feeding 
period  may  be  extended  30  to  50  days  or  even  somewhat  longer  without 
harm.  When  9  to  10.5  lbs.  of  meal  is  fed  with  hulls,  the  daily  gains 
decrease  after  120  to  130  days  until  finally  the  animal  begins  losing 
weight.  The  same  amount  of  meal  may  be  fed  with  silage  for  30  to  60 
days  longer  with  continuous  gains  and  consequent  high  finish.  The 
retarding  of  the  poisonous  effect  of  cottonseed  meal  by  silage  seems  to 
be  due  to  the  succulent  nature  of  the  silage,  for  the  same  effect  is  also 
produced  by  pasturage.  Owing  to  the  protein-rich  nature  of  cottonseed 
meal,  with  young  steers  it  tends  to  produce  growth  rather  than  to 
fatten;  hence  2-  or  3-yr.-olds  are  best  suited  for  heavy  cottonseed  meal 

=*  Information  to  the  authors. 


462  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

feeding.  When  fattening  yearlings  on  cottonseed  meal,  McLean  of  the 
Mississippi  Station^^  recommends  that  they  be  given  not  over  5  lbs.  per 
head  daily. 

Gray  and  Ward  ^^  found  a  daily  allowance  of  2.3  lbs.  cottonseed  meal 
and  1.2  lbs.  corn-and-cob  meal  somewhat  superior,  for  6-  to  8-months  old 
calves  fed  for  baby  beef,  to  an  allowance  of  3.1  lbs.  cottonseed  meal, 
cottonseed  hulls  and  mixed  alfalfa  and  grass  hay  being  fed  to  both  lots. 
In  feeding  cottonseed  meal  it  is  exceedingly  important  that  the  steers  be 
started  on  the  feed  slowly,  as  many  animals  are  injured  by  failure  to 
observe  this  precaution. 

Soule  of  the  Georgia  Station"  states  that  with  cattle  to  be  fed  180  days 
about  4  lbs.  per  head  daily  is  enough  for  the  first  60  to  90  days,  the 
allowance  eventually  being  increased  to  8  to  10  lbs.  The  meal  should  also 
be  mixed  thoroly  with  the  roughage,  so  that  the  greedy  steer  will  not  be 
able  to  gorge  on  the  meal. 

751.  Cold-pressed  cottonseed  cake. — To  compare  the  value  of  cold- 
pressed  cottonseed  cake,  or  "caddo  cake,"  with  choice  cottonseed  meal, 
Kennedy  and  Robbins  fed  2  lots,  each  of  seven  714-lb.  steers,  the  follow- 
ing rations  at  the  Iowa  Station^®  for  168  days : 

Caddo  cake  vs.  cottonseed  meal  for  fattening  steers 

Daily  Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Average  ration  gain    Cake  or  meal     Corn       Hay 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.        Lbs. 

Lot  I 

C^jwicio  orIcg  4  4  Ids 

Com-and-cob  ineal,' 14.4  lbs.  Clover  hay  5.3  lbs.  1.8  239  793      290 

Lot  II 

Cottonseed  meal,  3.1  lbs. 

Corn-and-cob  meal,  14.2  lbs.  Clover  hay,  5.4  lbs.  1 .7  180  815       310 

Lot  I,  fed  4.4  lbs.  caddo  cake  containing  28.9  per  ct.  crude  protein, 
made  slightly  larger  gains  than  Lot  II,  fed  3.1  lbs.  choice  cottonseed 
meal  containing  42.9  per  ct.  crude  protein.  In  feed  required  per  100 
lbs.  gain,  133  lbs.  of  caddo  cake  was  more  than  equal  to  100  lbs.  of  cot- 
tonseed meal,  a  somewhat  higher  value  than  would  correspond  to  the 
amounts  of  crude  protein  in  the  2  feeds.  Kinzer  states  that  in  a  trial  at 
the  Kansas  Station^'^  steers  fed  caddo  cake  likewise  made  slightly  larger 
gains  than  others  fed  cottonseed  meal,  and  Smith  reports  from  trials  at 
the  Nebraska  Station*"  that  cattle  relish  caddo  cake  even  better  than 
cottonseed  meal.     (248) 

752.  Cotton  seed. — The  practice  of  feeding  cotton  seed  to  beef  cattle 
in  the  South  is  rapidly  declining  according  to  Soule  of  the  Georgia  Sta- 
tion,*^ both  because  of  the  demand  for  the  seed  for  oil  production  and 
because  cottonseed  meal  gives  uniformly  better  results  than  the  whole 

''Miss.  Bui.  121.  '^Breeder's  Gaz.,  58,  1910,  p.  350. 

=»Ala.  Bui.  158.  ""Nebr.  Bui.  116. 

"Breeder's  Gaz.,  59,  1911,  p.  1163.  "Breeder's  Gaz.,  66,  1914,  p.  713. 
« Breeder's  Gaz.,  58,  1910,  p.  303. 


FEEDS  FOR  FATTENING  CATTLE         463 

seed.  In  a  90-day  trial  at  the  Texas  Station*-  Burns  fed  2  lots,  each  of 
6  high-grade  Angus  steers,  16.0  lbs.  of  kafir  chop  and  12.8  lbs.  of  cotton- 
seed hulls  per  head  daily  with  the  allowance  of  cottonseed  meal  or  meal 
and  cotton  seed  shown  in  the  table : 

Cotton  seed  vs.  cottonseed  meal  for  fattening  steers 

Daily  Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Cottonseed  meal  and  cotton  seed  per  head  daily                    gain  Concentrates            Hulls 

Lbs.  Lbs.                     Lbs. 

I,  Cottonseed  4.0  lbs.    Cottonseed  meal,  1.0  lb. ..       2  .0  1,026                626 

//,  Cottonseed  meal,  2.9  lbs 2 .5  750                508 

Substituting  4  lbs.  of  cotton  seed  for  1.9  lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal  pro- 
duced smaller  gains.  In  this  trial  cottonseed  meal  at  $26  per  ton  was 
cheaper  than  cotton  seed  at  $12.  In  a  later  trial  with  steers  fed  sorghum 
and  cowpea  silage,  Burns*^  found  that  when  the  allowance  of  cotton  seed 
was  increased  beyond  8  lbs.  per  head  daily  the  animals  scoured  badly; 
on  substituting  cottonseed  meal  for  the  cotton  seed  they  recovered  and 
made  much  larger  gains.  Cottonseed  meal  at  $27  per  ton  was  more 
profitable  than  cotton  seed  at  $17.  (245) 

753.  Linseed  meal. — Thruout  the  northern  states  linseed  meal  is  wide- 
ly used  as  a  nitrogenous  supplement  for  beef  cattle.  Smith  of  the  Ne- 
braska Station,**  as  a  result  of  3  trials  with  steers,  fed  corn  and  prairie 
hay,  in  comparison  with  others  fed  90  per  ct.  corn  and  10  per  ct.  linseed 
meal  with  prairie  hay,  found  that  it  required  23  per  ct.  less  concentrates 
for  100  lbs.  gain  when  the  ration  containing  linseed  oil  meal  was  used. 
For  steer  fattening  linseed  meal  was  slightly  superior  to  cottonseed  meal, 
and  much  more  valuable  than  wheat  bran  for  supplementing  a  ration  of 
corn  and  prairie  hay  or  corn  stover.  As  a  supplement  to  corn  and  prairie 
hay,  in  2  trials*^  with  yearling  steers  linseed  meal  was  worth  $29.74  to 
$32.00  per  ton,  compared  with  cold-pressed  cottonseed  cake  at  $25.  (254) 

754.  Soybeans. — The  protein-rich  seed  of  the  soybean  is  well  suited  to 
serve  as  a  nitrogenous  supplement  for  fattening  cattle.  To  compare 
this  concentrate  and  choice  cottonseed  meal.  Skinner  and  King  con- 
ducted 2  trials  at  the  Indiana  Station**'  with  900-lb.  steers,  fed  the  fol- 
lowing rations  for  180  and  175  days,  respectively : 


Ground  soybeans  vs.  cottonseed  meal  for  fattening  steers 

100  lbs.  g; 
Straw 
Lbs.  Lbs. 


Daily  Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Average  ration  gain      Concentrates    Straw  Silage 

Lbs.  Lbs 


Lot  I 

Shelled  com,  13.0  lbs.   Oat  straw,  1.1  lbs. 

Ground  soybeans  2.7  lbs.    Com  silage,  22.1  lbs.  2.2  722  52  1,011 

Lot  II 

Shelled  com,  13.9  lbs.     Oat  straw,  0.9  lb. 

Cottonseed  meal,  2.8  lbs.     Com  silage,  26.3 
lbs 2.5  676  36         1,062 

«Tex.  Bui.  110.  **Nebr.  Bui.  100.  "Ind.  Buls.  167,  178. 

"Tex.  Bui.  159.  «Nebr.  Bui.  132. 


464  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

While  Lot  II  made  somewhat  larger  gains  and  required  slightly  less 
feed  per  100  lbs.  gain,  the  results  from  Lot  I,  fed  ground  soybeans,  were 
on  the  whole  satisfactory.  The  steers  showed  a  greater  tendency  to  go 
off  feed  during  the  last  3  months  of  the  feeding  period  on  soybeans  than 
on  cottonseed  meal,  due  undoubtedly  to  the  large  amount  of  oil  that  soy- 
beans contain.  With  soybean  meal,  from  which  the  oil  has  been  ex- 
tracted, this  condition  would  probably  not  result.  In  a  third  trial*'^ 
lasting  150  days,  steers  fed  the  same  ration  as  Lot  I  made  slightly  larger 
gains  than  lots  fed  cottonseed  meal,  shelled  corn,  corn  silage,  and  either 
clover  or  alfalfa  hay.  (256) 

755.  Soybeans,  cowpeas,  and  corn. — In  the  southern  states  it  is  possible 
to  grow  a  winter  crop  of  small  grain  and  harvest  it  in  time  to  plant 
soybeans,  cowpeas,  or  corn,  thus  securing  2  crops  each  year  from  the 
same  land.  During  7  years  the  following  crops  have  been  grown  on 
different  acres  at  the  Tennessee  Station*^  by  Quereau  and  Willson  and 
fed  to  steers,  to  determine  the  amount  of  beef  produced  per  acre  under 
the  different  systems  of  cropping.  In  addition  to  the  product  from  the 
given  acre,  the  steers  were  each  fed  20  lbs.  of  corn  silage  per  head  daily. 
The  manure  resulting  from  the  crops  on  each  acre  was  returned  thereto. 

Acre  yields  of  heef  from  various  crops  in  the  South 

Beef  Beef 

Crops  and  acre  j-ield                per  acre  Crops  and  acre  yield                per  acre 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

Acre  I  Acre  IV* 

Soybean  grain,  1,189  lbs.  Soybean  grain,  1,202  lbs. 

Soybean  stover,  2,877  lbs.  Soybean  stover,  2,552  lbs. 

Barley  grain,  1,411  lbs 508  Wheat  grain,  1,216  lbs 402 

Acre  II  Acre  Ff 

Cowpea  grain,  550  lbs.  Soybean  hay,  3,727  lbs. 

Cowpea  stover,  2,104  lbs.  Barley  grain,  1,443  lbs 435 

Barley  grain,  1,656  lbs 451 

Acre  VI* 

Acre  III  Soybean  hay,  3,376  lbs. 

Corn  grain,  1,839  lbs.  Oat  grain,  1,610  lbs 456 

Com  stover,  3,045  lbs. 

Barley  grain,  1,332  lbs 434  Acre  VII t 

Alfalfa  hay,  8,228  lbs 515 

*Av.  for  4  years.     t-A-v.  for  6  years.     JAv.  for  5  years. 

Of  the  various  combination  crops.  Acre  I,  on  which  soybeans  were 
grown  for  grain  and  stover,  with  barley  as  a  winter  grain  crop,  pro- 
duced the  largest  amount  of  beef  per  acre.  Cowpeas  yielded  much  less 
grain  and  stover  and  produced  less  beef  per  acre.  Acre  III,  on  which 
were  grown  corn  for  grain  and  stover,  with  barley  as  the  winter  crop, 
made  considerably  less  beef  per  acre  than  Acre  I,  due  in  no  small 
measure  to  the  unbalanced  nature  of  the  ration  of  corn  grain,  corn 
stover,  corn  silage,  and  barley  grain.  Alfalfa,  tested  for  5  years,  slightly 
surpassed  even  Acre  I.  The  returns  from  these  acres  well  illustrate  the 
possibilities  of  the  South  for  beef  production  in  a  system  whereby  more 
than  a  single  crop  is  gro^vn  each  year.  (262) 

*' Information  to  the  authors.  '^Information  to  the  authors. 


FEEDS  FOR  FATTENING  CATTLE  465 

756.  Wheat  bran. — Since  wheat  bran  is  lower  in  protein  than  cotton- 
seed or  linseed  meal,  a  correspondingly  larger  amount  is  needed  to 
balance  a  ration  deficient  in  this  nutrient.  While  bran  is  used  more 
extensively  for  dairy  cows  than  for  feeding  beef  cattle  it  is  often 
employed  for  the  latter,  especially  in  starting  cattle  on  feed.  Skinner 
and  Cochel*^  found  in  replies  from  929  Indiana  cattle  feeders,  secured 
in  1906,  that  40  per  ct.  of  those  using  some  supplement  to  corn  pre- 
ferred bran,  doubtless  because  it  was  available  in  almost  every  locality. 
In  4  trials  at  the  Nebraska  Station^"  Smith  found  that  when  fed  as  a 
supplement  to  corn  and  prairie  hay,  corn  stover,  or  corn  silage,  bran 
produced  somewhat  smaller  gains  than  linseed  meal,  cottonseed  meal,  or 
cold-pressed  cottonseed  cake  and  the  gains  were  more  expensive. 

In  2  trials  at  the  Pennsylvania  Station^^  by  Tomhave,  Hickman,  and 
Severson  the  common  Pennsylvania  ration  of  wheat  bran,  corn,  mixed 
hay  and  corn  stover  proved  inferior  to  one  of  corn,  cottonseed  meal, 
mixed  hay,  and  corn  silage,  undoubtedly  due  in  large  part  to  the  sub- 
stitution of  silage  for  the  stover.  (218) 

757.  Gluten  feed. — Tho  most  commonly  fed  to  dairy  cows,  gluten  feed 
is  a  satisfactory  nitrogenous  concentrate  for  fattening  cattle.  In  trials 
at  the  Missouri  Station"  in  which  the  value  of  various  supplements  to 
corn  for  steers  of  various  ages  on  good  bluegrass  pasture  was  compared, 
Mumford  found  that  steers  fed  linseed  or  cottonseed  meal  and  corn 
generally  made  slightly  larger  gains  than  others  fed  gluten  feed  and 
corn.  (210) 

758.  Dried  distillers'  grains;  distillery  slop. — That  a  limited  allowance 
of  dried  distillers'  grains  is  satisfactory  for  fattening  cattle  is  shown  in 
a  trial  by  May  at  the  Kentucky  Station^=*  with  2  lots,  each  of  4  steers, 
running  on  closely  cropped  bluegrass  pasture,  and  fed  an  unlimited 
allowance  of  clover  hay.  Lot  I,  fed  14.3  lbs.  of  corn-and-cob  meal 
and  5.4  lbs.  of  dried  distillers'  grains  per  head  daily,  made  2.2  lbs.  aver- 
age daily  gain,  and  required  882  lbs.  of  concentrates  per  100  lbs.  gain. 
Lot  II,  fed  a  daily  allowance  of  23.0  lbs.  corn-and-cob  meal,  gained  only 
1.8  lbs.  daily  per  head  and  required  about  400  lbs.  more  concentrates 
per  100  lbs.  gain.  (282) 

In  the  vicinity  of  distilleries  many  cattle  are  fattened  on  the  wet 
distillery  slop  or  mash.  Hooper  of  the  Kentucky  Station^*  reports  that 
in  1911  about  25,000  steers  were  so  fed  in  Kentucky.  The  slop  is  pumped 
from  the  distillery  to  the  feed  lots,  where  it  is  fed  in  troughs.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  slop  an  average  of  about  3  lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal  is  fed  per 
head  daily,  with  10  to  15  lbs.  of  hay,  straw,  bluegrass  chaff,  or  cotton- 
seed hulls.  The  roughage  and  the  cottonseed  meal  are  usually  mixed 
with  the  slop,  tho  sometimes  the  steers  are  permitted  to  drink  the  clear 
slop. 

«Ind.  Ch\  12.  "Mo.  Bui.  90. 

~Nebr.  Buls.  100,  132.  ''Ky.  Bui.  108. 

^^Penn.  Bui.  133;  information  to  the  authors.         "Ky.  Sta.  Miscel.  Circular. 


466  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

759.  Dried  brewers'  grains. — According  to  Pott,°^  in  Germany  dried 
brewers'  grains  are  well  esteemed  as  a  concentrate  for  fattening  mature 
cattle,  meat  of  especially  good  quality  being  produced  on  dried  brewers' 
grains,  fed  as  the  sole  concentrate  with  potatoes,  beets,  and  dry  rough- 
age. (228) 

760.  Velvet  bean.— At  the  Florida  Station^"  Scott  fed  velvet  beans 
in  the  pod  in  comparison  with  other  feeds  to  sixteen  700-lb.  steers  di- 
vided into  4  lots  of  4  each,  for  84  days,  with  the  results  shown  in  the 
table : 


Velvet  beans  compared  with  other  southern  feeds  for  steers 

Av.  daily  Feed  cost  of 
0  lbs.  gai 
Dollars 


Average  ration  per  1,000  lbs.  of  steer  gain  lOOJbs.  gain 

Lbs. 


Lot  I 

Com,  S.O  lbs. 

Velvet  beans  in  pod,  12.0  lbs.  Cottonseed  hulls,  10.0  lbs 2.9  7 .55 

Lot  II 

Corn,  10.5  lbs. 

Cottonseed  meal,  3.8  lbs.   Crab-grass  hay,  13.5  lbs 2.6  9 .07 

Lot  III 

Corn,  6.0  lbs.  Cottonseed  hulls,  14.0  lbs. 

Cottonseed  meal,  5.0  lbs.    Sorghum  silage,  20.0  lbs 2.7  10 .65 

Lot  IV 

Cottonseed  meal,  6.5  lbs.   Cottonseed  hulls,  25.0  lbs 1.9  12 .00 

It  is  shown  that  the  steers  getting  12  lbs.  of  velvet  beans  in  the  pod 
per  1,000  lbs.  of  live  weight,  together  with  corn  and  cottonseed  hulls, 
made  the  high  average  gain  of  2.9  lbs.  daily  for  84  days.  While  all  gains 
were  satisfactory,  those  of  the  steers  fed  velvet  beans  were  the  largest 
and  cheapest.  (361) 


III.  Legume  Hay  and  Other  Dry  Roughages 

761.  Value  of  legume  hay. — The  great  importance  of  hay  from  the 
legumes  in  balancing  the  carbonaceous  grains,  such  as  corn,  barley,  and 
wheat,  has  already  been  pointed  out.  (732)  On  account  of  their  richness 
in  protein  and  also  because  of  their  palatability,  the  legume  hays  are 
the  most  valuable  of  dry  roughages.  Even  when  a  ration  of  corn  and 
such  carbonaceous  roughages  as  timothy  hay,  prairie  hay,  or  corn  fodder 
is  properly  supplemented  by  linseed  or  cottonseed  meal  or  some  other 
protein-rich  concentrate,  smaller  gains  Avill  nearly  always  be  produced 
than  when  the  ration  consists  of  corn  and  legume  hay.  This  is  shown 
in  the  following  table,  which  summarizes  the  results  secured  in  4  trials 
in  which  2-yr.-old  942-lb.  steers  were  fed  for  periods  averaging  158  days : 

■^Handb.  Ernahr.  u.  Futter.,  II,  1909,  p.  241. 
Tla.  Bui.  102. 


FEEDS  FOR  FATTENING  CATTLE  467 


Legume  hay  vs.  carbonaceous  roughage  plus  nitrogenous  supplement 

Daily    Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 
gain     Concentrates  Roug" 
Lba.  Lbs.  Lb 


Average  ration  gain     Concentrates  Rough 

Lbs 


Lot  I,  total  of  Jfi  steers* 

Legumehay,  9.3  lbs.   Com,  17.9  lbs 2.3  778  405 

Lot  II,  total  of  42  steers* 

Carbonaceous  roughage   8.0   lbs.     Com,  16.4  lbs. 

Supplement,  2.2  lbs 2.0  916  387 

*Av.  of  1  trial  bv  Bliss  and  Lee  (Nebr.  Bui.  151),  1  by  Mumford  (111.  Bui.  83),  1  by  Skinner  and  Cochel 
(Ind.  Bui.  115).  and  1  by  Smith  (Nebr.  Bui.  90). 

Lot  I,  fed  legume  hay  and  corn,  gained  on  the  average  0.3  lb.  more 
per  head  daily  and  required  15.1  per  ct.  less  concentrates  and  about  the 
same  amount  of  roughage  as  Lot  II,  fed  the  equally  well-balanced  but 
less  palatable  ration  in  which  the  roughage  was  prairie  hay,  timothy 
hay,  or  corn  stover  with  a  small  amount  of  oat  straw.  Only  Avhen  silage, 
appetizing  as  well  as  nutritious,  is  fed  is  it  possible  to  provide  a  ration 
which  will  be  equal  to  one  where  the  roughage  is  legume  hay.  (775) 

Waters^^  points  out  that  where  cattle  are  being  fattened  on  corn,  the 
use  of  legume  hay  instead  of  hay  from  timoth}',  millet,  or  sorghum,  or 
such  roughages  as  corn  stover  and  straw,  results  in  the  following 
advantages : 

1.  Increased  gains  by  the  cattle. 

2.  Increased  selling  price  of  the  cattle  due  to  extra  bloom. 

3.  Increased  gains  by  hogs  following  the  steers.* 

4.  Increased  fertility  of  the  land  where  the  feeding  operations  are  conducted. 

5.  The  better  condition  of  the  fields  on  which  the  leguminous  crops  are  grown. 

762.  Legume  hay  plus  carbonaceous  roughage. — Even  on  farms  where 
large  areas  of  legumes  are  raised  for  hay  much  carbonaceous  roughage, 
such  as  corn  and  sorghum  stover,  straw,  and  hay  from  the  grasses,  is 
normally  produced  in  addition.  In  economical  beef  production  these 
roughages  should  be  wisely  and  fully  utilized,  for  while  they  do  not  equal 
legume  hay  in  nutrients  or  palatability,  when  judiciously  combined  with 
it  satisfactory  and  cheap  gains  may  be  secured.  This  is  shown  in  a 
116-day  trial  by  Snyder  at  the  North  Platte,  Nebraska,  Substation^^  in 
which  5  lots,  each  of  20  good  grade  steer  calves  averaging  about  425  lbs., 
were  ^^^ntered  on  2  lbs.  of  a  mixture  of  2  parts  corn  and  1  part  oats, 
with  the  roughages  shown  in  the  table : 

Value  of  legume  hay  combined  with  carbonaceous  roughages 

Av.  daily        Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 
Average  daily  roughage  allowance  gain       Concentrates  Roughage 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot  I,  Alfalfa  hay,  12.3  lbs 1.2  162  1,000 

Lot  II,  Sorghum  hav,  14.3  lbs 0.4  504  3,666 

Loi  77/,  Alf.  hav,  8.5  lbs.     Sorghum  hay,  8.5  lbs.  1.2  165  1,416 

Lot  IV,  Prairie  hay,  10.9  lbs 0.7  305  1,676 

Lot  V,  Alfalfa  hay,  7.5  lbs.     Prairie  hay,  7.5  lbs .  1.1  174  1,315 

"Mo.  Bui.  76.  "^Nebr.  Bui.  105. 


468  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

When  fed  as  the  only  roughage  sorghum  hay  produced  unsatisfactory 
gains,  but  when  the  roughage  allowance  was  half  sorghum  and  half 
alfalfa,  the  gains  were  as  rapid  as  those  made  by  Lot  I,  fed  alfalfa  only. 
Likewdse  Lot  IV,  fed  prairie  hay,  made  much  poorer  gains  than  Lot  I, 
while  Lot  V,  fed  half  prairie  hay  and  half  alfalfa  made  satisfactory  gains 
for  calves  being  carried  over  winter.  In  all  cases  the  gains  on  the  rations 
containing  alfalfa  were  made  with  a  surprisingly  small  amount  of  feed. 

The  good  results  from  combining  legume  hay  with  carbonaceous  rough- 
age are  further  shown  in  a  trial  by  Waters  at  the  Missouri  Station.^* 
Two-yr.-old  steers  fed  timothy  hay  and  corn  made  much  smaller  gains 
than  those  fed  clover  hay  and  corn.  However,  on  clover  hay,  corn  stover, 
and  corn,  as  large  gains  were  produced  as  when  clover  hay  was  the  sole 
roughage. 

Smith*'"  reports  that  cattle  full  fed  on  corn  with  alfalfa  as  the  only 
roughage  are  more  subject  to  scours,  which  cause  them  to  go  off  feed, 
than  when  some  such  carbonaceous  roughage  as  prairie  hay,  sorghum 
hay,  or  corn  stover  is  fed  with  the  alfalfa. 

763.  Legume  hay  with  cottonseed  meal. — Since  legume  hay  is  rich  in 
protein  it  should  not  be  fed  as  the  chief  roughage  with  cottonseed  meal, 
which  is  itself  so  rich  in  this  nutrient.  Craig  and  Marshall  found  in 
trials  at  the  Texas  Station''^  that  steers  fed  5  lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal  and 
2.8  lbs.  rice  bran  per  head  daily  with  peanut  hay  developed  looseness  of 
the  bowels  and  showed  redness  of  the  eyes  and  some  swelling  about  the 
sheath;  when  changed  to  prairie  hay  the  unfavorable  symptoms  disap- 
peared and  the  gains  increased.  Similar  poor  results  were  secured  when 
alfalfa  hay  was  fed  with  cottonseed  meal.  When  shelled  corn  was  sub- 
stituted for  a  part  of  the  cottonseed  meal,  gains  became  normal.  Legume 
hay  serves  its  highest  purpose  when  combined  with  such  carbonaceous 
concentrates  as  corn,  kafir,  and  milo.  Where  cottonseed  meal  is  the  chief 
concentrate  leguminous  roughages  should  be  fed  in  limited  amount,  at 
most,  along  with  such  carbohydrate-rich  roughages  as  forage  from  corn 
or  the  sorghums,  or  cottonseed  hulls. 

764.  Clover  hay. — The  value  of  this  standard  roughage  of  the  eastern 
corn  belt  compared  with  timothy  hay,  when  both  are  fed  with  corn,  is 
shown  in  the  following  table.  This  summarizes  the  results  of  a  180-day 
trial  by  Skinner  and  Cochel  at  the  Indiana  Station^"  and  a  105-day  trial 
by  Waters  at  the  Missouri  Station,''^  both  with  2-yr.-old  steers : 

Clover  hay  and  shelled  corn  compared  with  timothy  hay  and  shelled  corn 

Average  ration 

Lot    I,  Clover  hay,  9.8  lbs.       Shelled  corn,  21.5  lbs.  .  . 
Lot  II,  Timothy  hay,  6.4  lbs.     Shelled  corn,  18.8  lbs  . .  . 

"•Mo.  Bui.  76.  "Tex.  Bui.  76. 

«»Nebr.  Bui.  116.  "Ind.  Bui.  129. 


Daily 

Feed  for  100  Iba.  gain 

gain 

Corn 

Hay 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

2.4 

919 

416 

1.8 

1,086 

380 

«Mo. 

Bui.  76. 

FEEDS  FOR  FATTENING  CATTLE  469 

In  both  trials  the  clover-fed  lot  ate  more  grain  and  roughage  than 
Lot  II,  fed  timothy,  and  made  larger  and  more  economical  gains,  requir- 
ing about  15.4  per  ct.  less  corn  for  a  given  increase.  Skinner  and  Cochel 
report  that  thruout  the  experiment  the  clover-fed  steers  were  in  better 
condition,  had  better  appetites,  and  were  more  regular  feeders.  The 
timothy-fed  steers  were  irregular  in  their  appetites,  and  even  when  eat- 
ing a  full  feed  seemed  unsatisfied.  At  the  close  of  the  6-months  feeding 
period  the  average  weight  of  the  clover-fed  steers  was  1,373  lbs.,  and 
that  of  the  timothy-fed  steers  1,281  lbs.  "Waters  found  that  corn  was 
M^orth  about  8  cents  per  bushel  more  when  fed  with  clover  or  cowpea 
hay  to  fattening  steers  than  when  fed  with  timothy  hay.  (312,  347) 

765.  Clover  vs.  alfalfa  hay. — In  2  trials  at  the  Indiana  Station®* 
Skinner  and  King  compared  the  value  of  clover  and  alfalfa  hay  when 
fed  either  with  shelled  corn  and  2.5  lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal  daily  per 
1,000  lbs.  live  weight  or  with  the  same  feeds  and  an  unlimited  amount 
of  corn  silage.  When  fed  without  silage,  clover  hay  made  slightly 
larger  gains  and  with  slightly  less  feed  per  100  lbs.  gain  than  alfalfa 
hay.  "With  corn  silage,  the  results  were  reversed.  We  may  therefore 
conclude  that  these  hays  have  about  equal  value  when  fed  in  such 
rations.  It  should  be  pointed  out,  however,  that  all  of  these  rations  con- 
tained sufficient  cottonseed  meal  to  balance  the  ration  fairly  well  without 
the  legume  hay.  Since  alfalfa  hay  is  considerably  richer  than  clover  hay 
in  protein,  it  is  reasonable  to  hold  that  it  is  more  efficient  than  clover  in 
balancing  a  ration  deficient  in  this  nutrient.  This  view  is  substantiated 
in  a  trial  by  Wilson  at  the  South  Dakota  Station®^  in  which  yearling 
steers  fed  only  alfalfa  hay  and  corn  silage  during  the  first  91  days  of 
the  fattening  period  gained  2.5  lbs.  per  head  daily,  while  others  fed 
clover  hay  and  silage  gained  only  2.3  lbs.  and  required  more  feed  per 
100  lbs.  of  gain. 

766.  Alfalfa  hay  as  a  nitrogenous  supplement. — The  value  of  alfalfa 
hay  as  a  supplement  to  rations  low  in  protein  is  shoMTi  in  a  series  of  5 
trials  by  Bliss  at  the  Nebraska  Station.*'*'  Yearlings  or  2-yr.-old  steers 
were  fed  rations  of  corn  and  carbonaceous  roughage  (prairie  hay,  corn 
stover,  or  corn  silage)  to  which  were  added  quantities  of  alfalfa  hay, 
linseed  meal,  cottonseed  meal,  and  cold-pressed  cottonseed  cake,  supply- 
ing approximately  equal  amounts  of  protein.  In  these  trials  the  lots  fed 
alfalfa  hay  as  the  sole  nitrogenous  supplement  made,  on  the  average, 
the  largest  gains  and  reached  the  best  finish,  a  fact  of  great  importance 
to  the  corn-belt  farmer  who  can  grow  this  legume.  (339) 

767.  Alfalfa  with  and  without  silage. — The  results  of  4  trials  in  which 
a  ration  of  alfalfa  hay  and  corn  has  been  compared  with  one  of  alfalfa 
hay,  corn  silage,  and  corn  are  summarized  in  the  following  table.  In 
these  trials  2->T.-old  steers  averaging  945  lbs.  were  fed  for  periods  rang- 
ing from  150  to  157  days. 

**Ind.  Bui.  178;   information  to  the  authors.  '"Nebr.  Buls.  100,  116,  132. 

•^S.  D.  Bui.  160. 


470  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Alfalfa  with  and  without  silage  for  fattening  steers 

DaOy  Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Average  ration  gain  Com  Hay  Silage 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot  I,  total  of  30  steers* 

Alfalfa  hay,  8.3  lbs.      Corn,  16.4  Ibs.f ....  2 .1  770  391 

Lot  11,  total  of  49  steers* 
Alfalfa  hay,  3.9  lbs. 
Corn  silage,  20.6  lbs.     Corn,  14.7  Ibs.f  ....   1 .9  761  200       1,070 

*Average  of  2  trials  bv  Bliss  and  Lee  (Nebr.  Bui.  151),  1  by  Lee  at  the  Nebr.  Station  (Information  to 
the  authors),  and  1  by  Rusk  at  the  111.  Station  (Breeder's  Gaz.,  61,  1912,  p.  1041). 
t  Broken  ear  corn  fed  in  Illinois  trial  reduced  to  shelled  corn  equivalent. 

The  addition  of  corn  silage  to  the  excellent  ration  of  alfalfa  hay  and 
corn  decreased  rather  than  increased  the  gains.  We  might  suppose  that 
this  was  due  to  Lot  II  not  eating  sufficient  alfalfa  to  balance  their  ration. 
However,  at  both  the  Nebraska  and  the  Illinois  Stations  adding  cotton- 
seed meal  or  cake  to  the  ration  fed  Lot  II,  brought  no  larger  gains. 
The  relative  economy  of  the  rations  fed  Lot  I  and  Lot  II  will  depend 
on  the  cost  of  alfalfa  and  silage.  In  the  Nebraska  trials  the  cheaper 
gains  were  produced  without  silage.  On  the  other  hand.  Rusk  concludes 
that  in  Illinois  the  larger  the  proportion  of  silage  to  alfalfa,  the  cheaper 
will  be  the  gain, 

768.  Fattening  cattle  on  alfalfa  and  other  roughage. — In  some  sections 
of  the  West  where  alfalfa  is  abundant  and  the  market  does  not  pay  a 
higher  price  for  a  well  finished  animal  than  for  one  in  only  fair  flesh, 
cattle  are  fed  on  alfalfa  alone  or  alfalfa  and  other  roughages  without 
concentrates,  when  they  are  not  marketed  directly  from  the  range.  To 
determine  whether  it  would  be  profitable  to  feed  a  limited  allowance 
of  corn  in  addition  to  alfalfa,  either  thruout  the  feeding  period  or  for  the 
last  part  only,  Simpson  fed  yearling  range  steers  as  sho-wTi  below  for  90 
days  at  the  New  Mexico  Station." 

Alfalfa  alone,  vs.  alfalfa  and  corn  stover,  vs.  alfalfa  and  corn 

Daily        Feed  cost  per 
gain  100  lbs.  gain 

Lba.  Dollars 

Alfalfa  alone 1 .84  3 .92 

Alfalfa  plus  corn  stover 1 .  17  4 .01 

AlfaKa  plus  8  lbs.  com  meal  per  day 2 .58  7 .33 

Alfalfa  plus  corn  during  last  30  days 2 .06  5 .55 

The  steers  fed  alfalfa  alone  made  larger  gains  than  those  fed  alfalfa 
and  corn  stover,  and  were  in  much  better  condition  at  the  end  of  the 
trial.  Those  fed  corn,  either  thruout  the  trial  or  during  only  the  last 
month  made  better  gains  than  those  fed  hay  alone,  but  under  New 
Mexico  conditions  the  gains  were  much  more  expensive,  with  corn  at 
$35  and  alfalfa  hay  at  $10  per  ton.  In  a  trial  by  Vernon  and  Scott 
at  the  same  Station®^  2-yr.-old  range  steers  averaging  550  lbs.  gained  1.7 

"N.  Mex.  Rpt.  21,  p.  32.  "N.  Mex.  Bui.  57. 


FEEDS  FOR  FATTENING  CATTLE  471 

lbs.  per  head  daily  on  alfalfa  hay  alone,  making  a  total  gain  of  205  lbs. 
per  steer,  and  requiring  only  1,100  lbs.  of  alfalfa  hay  per  100  lbs.  of 
gain.  This  shows  the  marked  economy  of  alfalfa  for  feeding  steers  for 
the  local  markets  in  the  western  alfalfa  districts. 

True  and  McConnell  of  the  Arizona  Station,^^  after  6  feeding  trials, 
conclude  that,  where  no  concentrates  are  fed,  alfalfa  hay  alone  is  about 
equal  in  feeding  value  to  alfalfa  hay  combined  with  such  carbonaceous 
roughages  as  corn,  kafir,  and  sweet  sorghum.  Where  water  is  abundant 
alfalfa  hay  is  cheaper  than  the  other  roughages,  but  where  it  is  in  scant 
supply  or  the  soil  is  excessively  alkaline,  kafir  and  the  sweet  sorghums 
form  economical  roughages  in  combination  with  alfalfa. 

769.  Sweet  clover  hay;  cowpea  hay. — ^When  fed  wdth  corn  silage  and 
without  concentrates  to  yearling  steers  during  the  first  91  days  of  fat- 
tening, Wilson  of  the  South  Dakota  Station'°  found  sw^eet  clover  hay 
practically  equal  to  alfalfa  hay.  The  steers  in  both  lots  made  average 
daily  gains  of  over  2.4  lbs.  Some  difficulty  was  experienced  in  getting 
the  steers  to  eat  the  sweet  clover  hay  until  it  was  run  thru  a  hay 
cutter.  (352) 

Waters  found  cowpea  hay  fully  equal  to  clover  hay  when  fed  with 
shelled  corn  in  a  trial  at  the  Missouri  Station'^  in  which  2-yr.-old  steers 
were  fed  for  105  days,  the  average  daily  gain  for  both  lots  being  2.7 
lbs.  (357) 

770.  Grazing  cowpeas  and  corn. — Bennett  of  the  Arkansas  Station" 
sowed  cowpeas  in  a  five-acre  corn  field.  In  October,  after  gathering 
the  corn,  steers  were  turned  into  a  portion  of  the  field  to  graze  on  the 
corn  forage  and  cowTDeas,  with  cotton  seed  accessible.  When  one-third 
of  the  field  was  grazed  off,  another  portion  was  set  aside,  and  so  on  until 
it  was  all  grazed  over.  Six  steers  averaging  770  lbs.  when  turned  into 
the  field  made  an  average  daily  gain  of  2  lbs.  each  for  64  days,  con- 
suming 250  lbs.  of  cotton  seed  in  that  time,  besides  corn  forage  and 
pea  vines  with  pods.  Bennett  states  that  allowing  for  all  expenses  the 
gains  made  by  the  steers  cost  but  $1.60  per  100  lbs.  Such  practice  tends 
to  soil  improvement  as  well  as  cheap  meat  production. 

771.  Corn  fodder  or  shock  corn;  stover. — It  has  already  been  pointed 
out  that  shock  corn  is  often  the  most  economical  way  to  supply  corn  to 
fattening  steers,  especially  during  the  first  part  of  the  fattening  period. 
(735)  As  is  shown  later,  fattening  cattle  fed  bright  corn  fodder  with 
legume  hay,  may  make  practically  as  large  gains  as  those  fed  silage. 
(781)  The  economy  of  feeding  silage  lies  in  the  smaller  amount  of  feed 
required  per  100  lbs.  gain.  (295,  302) 

The  value  of  corn  stover  Avhen  combined  with  legume  hay  is  shown 
in  2  trials  by  Smith  at  the  Nebraska  Station'^  in  which  lots  of  ten  2-yr.- 
old  range  steers,  averaging  957  lbs.,  were  fed  the  following  rations : 

"Ariz.  Bui.  50.  "Mo.  Bui.  76.  "Nebr.  Buls.  90,  93,  100. 

'»S.  D.  Bui.  160.  "Ark.  Rpt  1899. 


472  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Corn  stover  fed  in  combination  with  alfalfa  hay  to  fattening  steers 

Daily      Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 
)ughaj 
Lbs. 


Average  ration  gain  ??'"'»     Roughage 


Trial  lasting  84  days 

Lot   I,  Alfalfa  hay,  22.2  lbs.  Com,  9.5  lbs 2.1  460       1,075 

Lot  II,  Corn  stover,  11.2  lbs. 

Alfalfa  hay,  11.2  lbs.  Com,  9.6  lbs 2.0  490       1,144 

Trial  lasting  168  days 

Lot    I,  Alfalfa  hay,  9.2  lbs.  Com,  18.6  lbs 2.3  814  402 

Lot  II,  Alfalfa  hay,  4.9  lbs. 

Com  stover,  4.9  lbs.  Com,  18.4  lbs 2.4  789  456 

Replacing  half  the  alfalfa  hay  by  corn  stover  did  not  affect  the  rate 
of  gain  in  these  trials.  Thru  thus  combining  such  cheap  roughage  as 
corn  stover  with  legume  hay  the  cost  of  beef  production  may  often  be 
materially  lowered.  In  these  trials  there  is  brought  out  incidentally 
the  interesting  fact  that  the  short-fed  steers  required  less  than  500  lbs. 
of  corn  for  100  lbs.  of  gain,  while  the  long-fed  steers,  which  were  of 
course  much  better  fattened,  required  800  lbs.  of  corn  for  100  lbs.  of 
gain — 69  per  ct.  more  than  the  short-fed  steers.  (715) 

772.  Roughages  for  the  plains  district. — In  the  semi-arid  districts 
fodder  and  stover  from  the  sorghums,  both  sweet  sorghum  and  the  grain 
sorghums,  are  most  useful  feeds  in  beef  production,  when  fed  with 
legume  hay  or  with  a  sufficient  amount  of  nitrogenous  concentrates  to 
balance  the  ration.  At  the  Hays,  Kansas,  Station^*  Cochel  wintered 
4  lots  each  of  25  yearling  heifers,  averaging  667  lbs.,  on  the  following 
roughages  with  1  lb.  of  linseed  meal  per  head  daily: 

Wintering  yearling  heifers  in  western  Kansas 

Average  roughage  allowance 

7,  Kafir  stover,  12.9  lbs.     Silage,  10  lbs.     Straw,  2.6  lbs.  .  . 
II,  Sorghum  stover,  6.6  lbs.     Silage,  10  lbs.     Straw,  2.6  lbs.. 

Ill,  Sudan  hay,  7.5  lbs.     Silage,  10  lbs.     Straw,  2.6  lbs 

IV,  Alfalfa  hay,  8.2  lbs.     Silage,  10  lbs.     Straw,  2.6  lbs 

*Kafir  and  sorghum  stover,  $3,  Sudan  hay,  $5,  damaged  alfalfa  hay,  S6,  silage,  $3,  straw,  $0.50,  and 
linseed  meal,  S30.80  per  ton. 

These  heifers  were  carried  thru  the  winter,  making  satisfactory  gains 
to  put  them  into  condition  to  make  good  use  of  pasture  the  next  sum- 
mer, at  a  surprisingly  low  cost.  (The  figures  given  include  expenses 
for  both  feed  and  labor.)  The  alfalfa  hay  had  been  damaged  and  was 
therefore  not  marketable.  This  trial  well  shows  the  possibilities  in  beef 
production,  where  wise  use  is  made  of  by-product  roughages  which 
would  be  wasted  in  a  system  of  grain  farming.  (308) 

773.  Cottonseed  hulls. — For  many  years  the  standard  ration  for  fat- 
tening cattle  in  the  South  was  cottonseed  meal  and  cottonseed  hulls. 
This  combination  has  been  compared  with  a  ration  of  cottonseed  meal 

"Kansas  Industrialist,  May  1,  1915. 


DaUy 

Cost  per 

gam 

head  daily' 

Lbs. 

Cents 

0.69 

5.8 

0.67 

5.7 

0.67 

5.7 

0.66 

6.3 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Feed  cost 

Initial 

Daily 

Cottonseed    Hulls  or 

of  100 

weight 

gain 

meal             silage 

lbs.  gain 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs.               Lbs. 

Dollars 

FEEDS  FOR  FATTENING  CATTLE  473 

and  corn  silage  in  8  trials  averaging  110  days,  at  4  different  stations, 
with  the  results  summarized  in  the  table : 

Cottonseed  hulls  vs.  corn  silage  for  fattening  steers 

Average  ration 

Lot  I,  total  of  121  steers* 
Cottonseed  hulls,  25.2  lbs. 

Cottonseed  meal,  6. 9  lbs...  .       924  1.5  466  1,690  12.78 

Lot  II,  total  of  111  steers* 
Corn  silage,  42.0  lbs. 

Cottonseed  meal,  6.9  lbs...  .       927  1.7  439         2,574  10.72 

*Average  of  4  trials  bv  Curtis  (N.  C.  Buls.  199,  218,  222),  1  by  Lloyd  (Miss.  Station,  information  to  the 
authors),  1  by  Smith  (S.  C.  Bui.  169),  and  2  by  Willson  (Tenn.  Bui.  104). 

In  these  trials  the  steers  fed  silage  usually  made  slightly  larger  gains 
than  those  receiving  hulls,  but  the  chief  difference  was  that  with  a  single 
exception  the  silage-fed  lot  made  by  far  the  cheaper  gains.  As  has 
already  been  shown  (750),  the  longer  the  feeding  period,  the  greater 
is  the  superiority  of  silage  over  hulls.  In  these  trials  the  silage-fed  steers 
almost  uniformly  showed  better  finish  and  better  handling  quality  than 
those  fed  hulls.  Willson  points  out  that  cottonseed  hulls  are  so  success- 
fully fed  that  there  is  a  tendency  on  the  part  of  many  southern  farmers 
to  purchase  hulls  and  allow  more  valuable  roughage  to  waste  on  the 
farms. 

Willson  reports  that  when  6  lbs.  of  hulls  were  given  per  head  daily 
with  com  silage  to  steers  fed  cottonseed  meal,  slightly  larger  gains  were 
produced  than  with  corn  silage  as  the  sole  roughage.  On  the  other  hand, 
in  3  trials  at  the  North  Carolina  Station^^  Curtis  found  that  on  the 
average  steers  fed  corn  silage  as  the  sole  roughage  with  7.5  lbs.  of 
cottonseed  meal  per  head  daily  made  slightly  larger  gains  than  others 
fed  corn  stover  in  addition  to  corn  silage  and  the  same  allowance  of 
cottonseed  meal.  Whether  silage  should  be  fed  as  the  sole  roughage 
with  cottonseed  meal  will  therefore  depend  on  the  price  at  which  dry 
roughages  are  available.  Silage  from  sweet  sorghum  or  the  grain  sor- 
ghums is  but  little  inferior  to  corn  silage  as  a  roughage  for  steers  fed 
cottonseed  meal.  (782)  Compared  with  other  dry  roughages  cottonseed 
hulls  are  exceedingly  well  suited  to  feed  with  cottonseed  meal.  Gray 
and  Ward^'^  found  in  an  Alabama  trial  with  855-lb.  steers  that  when  fed 
with  cottonseed  meal  cottonseed  hulls  produced  better  gains  than  a 
combination  of  Johnson  grass  hay  and  cottonseed  hulls.  Duggar  and 
Ward"  report  that  2-yr.-old  steers  fed  cottonseed  meal  and  hulls  made 
larger  gains  than  others  fed  cottonseed  meal  with  either  shredded  corn 
stover  or  cut  sorghum  hay.  At  the  Texas  Station"  Craig  found  that 
yearling  steers  fed  cottonseed  meal  and  hulls  made  nearly  as  large  gains 
as  those  fed  corn-and-cob  meal  and  alfalfa  hay.   (251) 

"N.  C.  Bui.  222.  "Ala.  Bui.  103. 

"U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  Anim.  Indus.,  Bui.  159.  ''Tex.  Bui.  76. 


474  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

In  a  119-day  trial  with  1230-lb.  steers  at  the  Kentucky  Station"  Good 
found  that  slightly  larger  gains  were  produced  on  a  ration  of  21,3  lbs. 
broken  ear  corn,  3.5  lbs.  cottonseed  meal,  4.7  lbs.  cottonseed  hulls,  and 
4.3  lbs.  clover  hay  than  when  the  steers  were  fed  the  same  feeds  and  all 
the  corn  silage  they  would  consume.  The  silage  ration,  however,  pro- 
duced the  cheaper  gains,  and  returned  a  greater  profit.  The  great 
value  and  usefulness  of  corn  silage  in  combination  with  cottonseed 
meal  for  fattening  cattle,  as  demonstrated  by  the  experiment  stations 
of  the  South,  should  greatly  stimulate  cattle  rearing  and  fattening  in 
the  cotton  belt. 

III.  Succulent  Feeds 

774.  Importance  of  silage  in  beef  production. — The  use  of  silage  is 
fast  revolutionizing  the  feeding  of  beef  cattle,  just  as  it  has  the  feeding 
of  milch  cows  in  the  leading  dairy  sections  of  our  country.  Wherever 
either  corn  or  the  sorghums  thrive,  silage  from  these  crops,  cut  when 
well  matured,  has  proven  of  great  value  in  cheapening  the  cost  of 
beef  production.  (411)  As  is  shown  later  (788-90),  breeding  cows  and 
stock  cattle  may  be  maintained  in  winter  in  good  condition  on  silage 
from  well-matured  corn  or  the  sorghums,  with  a  limited  amount  of 
legume  hay  or  a  small  allowance  of  such  nitrogenous  concentrates  as 
cottonseed  or  linseed  meal.  For  growing  animals  this  palatable  suc- 
culence can  not  be  excelled,  when  fed  in  proper  combination  with  legume 
hay  or  concentrates  rich  in  protein.  (798-9) 

On  well-balanced  rations  in  which  silage  is  the  chief  roughage  the 
steer  will  fatten  rapidly  and  reach  a  high  finish  on  a  moderate  allow- 
ance of  expensive  concentrates.  By  feeding,  during  the  first  stages 
of  fattening,  only  silage  and  either  legume  hay  or  a  small  allowance  of 
some  nitrogenous  concentrate  to  balance  the  ration,  the  feed  cost  of 
the  gains  may  usually  be  still  further  reduced.  At  first  it  was  thought 
that  silage-fed  cattle  shrank  more  in  shipment  than  those  finished  on 
dry  roughage.  Trials  have  now  abundantly  demonstrated,  however, 
that  if  silage  is  withheld  for  the  last  day  or  two  before  shipment  and 
dry  roughage  fed  instead,  cattle  thus  fattened  will  not  shrink  any  more 
than  those  receiving  no  silage. 

775.  Corn  silage. — Silage  from  well-matured  corn,  carrying  an  abund- 
ance of  ears,  is  the  best  of  all  silage  for  beef  cattle.  (300-4)  Such  silage 
carries  a  high  proportion  of  grain  and  aids  materially  in  reducing  the 
amount  of  concentrates  which  need  be  supplied  in  addition.  Many  ex- 
perienced cattle  feeders  prefer  silage  from  corn  which  is  even  more 
mature  than  the  stage  at  which  it  is  usually  cut  for  dairy  cattle.  When 
the  corn  is  cut  when  nearly  mature,  especial  care  must  be  taken  in  tramp- 
ing the  silage,  or  it  may  mold.  To  show  the  good  results  from  feeding 
corn  silage  there  are  summarized  in  the  following  table  the  results  of  10 
trials  where  corn  silage  was  added  to  the  already  excellent  ration  of 

"Information  to  the  authors. 


FEEDS  FOR  FATTENING  CATTLE         475 

shelled  corn,  cottonseed  or  linseed  meal,  and  clover  or  alfalfa  hay.  In 
these  trials  2-yr.-old  steers  averaging  1,006  lbs.  in  weight  were  fed  for  an 
average  of  162  days. 

Value  of  corn  silage  when  added  to  an  already  excellent  ration 


Feed  for  100  lbs. 

gain 

Feed  cost 

Average  ration 

DaUy 

Concen- 
trates             Hay 

Silage 

of    100 
lbs.  gain 

Lbs.               Lbs. 

Lbs. 

DoUars 

Lot  I,  total  of  105  steers* 

Legume  hay,  10.7  lbs. 

SheUed  com,  18.0  lbs. 

Supplement,  2.8  lbs 

. .  2.47 

849            435 

11.56 

Lot  II,  total  of  105  steers* 

Com  silage,  23.6  lbs. 

Legume  hay,  3.8  lbs. 

Shelled  com,  15.0  lbs. 

Supplement,  2.9  lbs 

...  2.51 

716            152 

952 

10.18 

♦Average  of  8  trials  by  Skinner,  Cochel,  and  King  (Ind.  Buls.  129,  136,  153,  163,  167,  178,  and  informa- 
tion to  the  authors) ,  1  by  Allison  (Mo.  Bui.  112) ,  and  1  by  Evvard  at  the  Iowa  Station  (Breeder's  Gaz.,  61, 
1912,  p.  1040). 

The  Steers  in  Lot  II,  given  a  heavy  allowance  of  silage,  consumed 
23.6  lbs.  per  head  daily  and  ate  3  lbs.  less  corn  and  6.9  lbs.  less  legume 
hay  than  those  in  Lot  I.  The  silage  ration  did  not  produce  appreciably 
larger  gains  than  did  legume  hay  fed  as  the  sole  roughage.  The  prin- 
cipal advantage  from  feeding  silage  is  shown  in  the  feed  required  per 
100  lbs.  gain  and  in  the  feed  cost  of  the  gains.  The  952  lbs.  of  silage 
eaten  by  Lot  II  per  100  lbs.  gain  saved  133  lbs.  of  concentrates  and 
283  lbs.  of  legume  hay,  or  about  16  per  ct.  of  the  concentrates  and  65 
per  ct.  of  the  hay  eaten  by  Lot  I.  Substituting  silage  for  this  amount 
of  concentrates  and  hay  reduced  the  feed  cost  of  the  gains  $1.38  per  100 
lbs.,  a  sum  which  would  often  make  the  difference  between  feeding  at 
a  loss  and  making  a  goodly  profit.  The  silage-fed  steers  were  slightly 
better  finished  on  the  average  and  sold  for  3  cents  more  per  100  lbs. 
than  those  fed  no  silage. 

776.  Feeding  a  supplement  with  unlimited  silage  allowance. — ^We  have 
seen  that  a  ration  of  corn  and  legume  hay  is  fairly  well  balanced  and 
that  the  addition  of  a  nitrogenous  concentrate  does  not  greatly  increase 
the  rate  of  gain  with  2-yr.-old  steers.  (733)  When  steers  are  allowed 
an  unlimited  allowance  of  silage  in  addition  to  corn  and  legume  hay, 
owing  to  the  great  palatability  of  the  silage  they  will  generally  eat 
but  3  to  6  lbs.  of  hay  per  head  daily,  while  they  will  eat  25  to  30  lbs.  of 
corn  silage  during  the  first  weeks  of  fattening,  and  gradually  less  as 
fattening  progresses.  To  determine  whether  this  small  amount  of  clover 
hay  is  sufficient  to  balance  the  large  quantity  of  corn  and  corn  silage 
consumed,  Skinner  and  Cochel  conducted  2  trials  at  the  Indiana  Station^" 
and  Allison  1  at  the  Missouri  Station^^  with  2-yr.-old,  1035-lb.  steers  fed 
for  an  average  of  153  days. 

""  Ind.  Bui.  129.  "  Mo.  Bui.  112. 


476  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Adding  a  nitrogenous  supplement  to  corn,  corn  silage,  and  clover  hay 


Average  ration 
OtI 

SheUed  com,  16.7  lbs. 
Com  silage,  17.0  lbs. 
Clover  hay,  4.2  lbs 

DaUy 

Feec 
Concen- 
trates 
Lbs. 

1  for  100  lbs. 

Hay 
Lbs. 

gain 

Silage 
Lbs. 

Feed  cost 
of  100 

lbs.  gain 
DoUars 

...     2.0 

852 

215 

855 

9.05 

Lot  II 

Nitrogenous  supplement,  2.8  lbs. 
Shelled  com,  17.3  lbs. 
Com  silage,  17.3  lbs. 
Clover  hay,  4.2  lbs 2.8  722  151  610  7.95 

The  steers  in  Lot  II,  fed  2.8  lbs.  of  nitrogenous  supplement  (cotton- 
seed or  linseed  meal)  in  addition  to  shelled  corn,  corn  silage,  and 
clover  hay,  gained  0.8  lb.  more  per  head  daily  than  Lot  I,  receiving 
no  supplement.  The  feed  cost  of  100  lbs.  gain  for  Lot  II  was  $1.10 
lower  than  for  Lot  I,  and  furthermore  Lot  II  sold  for  30  cents  per  100 
lbs.  more  on  account  of  better  finish.  The  nutritive  ratio  of  the  rations 
fed  Lot  I  in  these  trials  was  1 :  9  or  wider,  while  with  Lot  II  it  was  1 : 7 
or  narrower.  These  trials  hence  indicate  that  for  the  most  rapid 
fattening  the  2-yr.-old  steer  should  receive  a  narrower  nutritive  ratio 
than  1 :  9. 

There  appears  to  be  less  advantage  in  adding  a  nitrogenous  concen- 
trate to  a  ration  of  corn,  corn  silage,  and  alfalfa  hay,  doubtless  due 
to  the  richness  of  this  hay  in  protein.  Bliss  and  Lee  have  studied 
this  problem  in  2  trials  at  the  Nebraska  Station*-  and  Rusk  in  1  trial 
at  the  Illinois  Station.*^  In  no  trial  did  the  addition  of  a  supple- 
ment (cottonseed  meal  or  cold-pressed  cake)  increase  the  gains.  The 
use  of  the  supplement  did,  however,  result  in  better  finish  and  a  con- 
sequent higher  selling  price.  "When  a  carbonaceous  roughage,  such  as 
prairie  or  timothy  hay,  corn  or  kafir  fodder,  or  straw,  is  fed  with  corn 
and  corn  silage  the  need  of  a  nitrogenous  supplement  will  be  greater 
than  when  clover  hay  is  used. 

777.  Amount  of  nitrogenous  supplement  with  silage. — To  determine 
how  much  cottonseed  meal  should  be  given  to  2-yr.-old  steers  full  fed 
on  shelled  corn,  corn  silage  and  clover  hay.  Skinner  and  King  fed  one 
lot  of  10  steers  2.5  lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal  daily  per  1,000  lbs.  live 
weight  and  another  lot  1.25  lbs.  daily  in  2  trials  at  the  Indiana  Sta- 
tion,** lasting  150  and  160  days.  Two  similar  trials  lasting  175  and 
180  days,  were  conducted*'^  to  determine  whether  it  was  more  profitable 
to  feed  2.5  or  4.0  lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal  daily  per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight 
to  steers  fed  shelled  corn,  corn  silage,  and  oat  straw,  with  the  results 
shown  in  the  table : 

"Nebr.  Bui.  151  and  information  to  the  authors.  "Ind.  Bui.  153. 

^'Breeder's  Gaz.,  61,  1912,  p.  1041.  «'Ind.  Buls.  167,  178. 


FEEDS  FOR  FATTENING  CATTLE  477 

Amount  of  cottonseed  meal  to  feed  with  corn  and  corn  silage 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain  Nutri- 

Daily  allowance  of  cottonseed  meal          Initial         Daily      Concen-       Dry        sila^p  **^® 

per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight                   weight         gain        trates     roughage          ^  ratio 
Lbs.            Lbs.          Lbs.           Lbs.        Lbs. 

With  clover  hay  and  silage 
Lot  I 

Cottonseed  meal,  2.5  lbs 1,011        2.6        760        261        671     1:6.7 

Lot  II 

Cottonseed  meal,  1.25  lbs....    1,004        2.3        792        280        714     1:7.9 

With  oat  straw  and  silage 
Lot  I 

Cottonseed  meal,  2.5  lbs 908        2.5        676  36     1,062     1:7.0 

Lot  II 

Cottonseed  meal,  4.0  lbs 904        2.4         707  33      1,072      1  : 5 .6 

With  corn  silage  and  clover  hay  for  roughage,  1.25  lbs.  of  cottonseed 
meal  daily  per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight  (the  ration  having  a  nutritive 
ratio  of  1:7.9)  was  not  sufficient  to  balance  the  ration,  as  is  shown 
by  the  larger  and  more  economical  gains  of  the  steers  fed  2.5  lbs.  (this 
ration  having  a  nutritive  ratio  of  1:6.7).  The  second  division  of  the 
table  shows  that  with  corn  silage  and  oat  straw  for  roughage,  2.5  lbs. 
of  cottonseed  meal  daily  per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight  (the  nutritive  ratio 
being  1 :7.0)  produced  larger  and  more  economical  gains  than  the  allow- 
ance of  4  lbs.  (the  nutritive  ratio  of  the  latter  ration  being  1 :  5.6).  The 
steers  fed  the  smaller  allowance  were  also  equally  v/ell  finished  at  the 
end  of  the  trials. 

778.  Silage  as  the  sole  roughage. — ^Whether  steers  fed  silage  alone  for 
roughage  will  make  as  large  gains  as  those  supplied  some  dry  roughage 
in  addition,  is  a  question  of  great  importance  to  the  cattle  feeder.  The 
following  table  summarizes  the  results  of  9  trials,  in  each  of  which 
corn  silage  was  fed  as  the  sole  roughage  with  corn  and  a  nitrogenous 
supplement  (cottonseed  or  linseed  meal)  to  one  lot  of  steers,  while 
another  received  the  same  feeds  with  legume  hay  in  addition.  In  these 
trials  2-yr.-old  steers  averaging  942  lbs.  were  fed  for  an  average  of  156 
days. 

Silage  as  the  sole  roughage  vs.  silage  and  legume  hay 

Daily  ^^^^  consumed  for  100  lbs.  gain  ^of '^lOO^* 

Average  ration  gain  Concentrates  Hay  Silage  lbs.  gain 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Dollars 

Lot  I,  total  of  87  Steers* 
Com  silage,  29.2  lbs. 
Corn,  13.5  lbs. 
Supplement,  2.7  lbs.     2.24  693  ...  1,283  9.13 

Lot  II,  total  of  87  steers* 
Legume  hay,  4.3  lbs. 
Corn  silage,  24.3  lbs. 

Corn,  13.8  lbs. 

Supplement,  2.7  lbs.     2.36  701  195  1,065  9.87 

*Av.  of  5  trials  by  Skinner,  Cochel,  and  King  (Ind.  Bula.  136,  153,  163,  167),  1  bv  Allison  (Mo.  Bui.  112), 
1  by  Eward  at  the  Iowa  Station  (Breeder's  Gaz.,  61,  1912,  p.  1040) ,  1  by  Rusk  at  the  111.  Station  (Breeder's 
Gaz.,  61,  1912,  p.  1041),  and  1  by  Tomhave  and  Hickman  (Penn.  Bui.  133). 


478  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Lot  II,  receiving  legume  hay  in  addition  to  corn  silage,  made  slightly- 
larger  gains  than  Lot  I,  which  was  fed  no  dry  roughage.  The  addition 
of  clover  hay  to  the  ration  increased  the  feed  cost  of  100  lbs.  gain  by 
$0.74  on  the  average  but  resulted  in  slightly  better  finish,  the  steers  in 
Lot  II  selling  for  7  cents  more  per  100  lbs.  than  those  in  Lot  I.  In 
some  of  the  trials  the  selling  price  of  Lot  II  was  enough  higher 
to  offset  the  more  expensive  gains,  and  return  a  greater  profit.  In 
others,  feeding  silage  as  the  only  roughage  was  the  most  economical. 
Where  the  silage  was  from  corn  which  had  nearly  matured  and  hence 
was  high  in  dry  matter,  the  addition  of  dry  roughage  did  not  always 
increase  the  gains. 

As  steers  fed  clover  hay  in  addition  to  corn  silage,  ate  but  little  hay, 
Skinner  and  King  thought  that  possibly  the  benefit  from  the  hay 
lay  more  in  satisfying  the  appetites  of  the  steers  for  dry  roughage 
than  in  the  nutrients  actually  supplied.  Accordingly,  they  conducted 
2  trials*^  in  which  either  clover  hay  or  oat  straw  was  fed  with  corn 
silage,  shelled  corn,  and  2.5  lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal  daily  per  1,000 
lbs.  live  weight.  In  both  trials,  tho  the  steers  ate  an  average  of  but 
1.5  lbs.  oat  straw,  this  seemed  to  satisfy  their  desire  for  dry  roughage, 
and  they  made  as  large  gains,  at  less  cost  for  feed,  and  sold  for  fully 
as  high  a  price  as  those  fed  clover  hay.  It  should  be  pointed  out  that 
these  results  would  not  have  been  secured  had  not  sufiicient  cotton- 
seed meal  been  fed  to  balance  the  oat  straw,  corn  silage,  and  corn 
ration. 

In  a  trial  at  the  Nebraska  Station"  Bliss  and  Lee  found  that  adding 
4.0  lbs.  of  prairie  hay  per  head  daily  to  a  ration  of  corn  silage,  corn, 
and  cold-pressed  cottonseed  cake,  while  not  increasing  the  gains  of 
2-yr.-old  steers,  did  decrease  the  feed  cost  of  the  gains  and  result 
in  better  finish  and  greater  profit.  In  a  similar  trial  at  the  South 
Dakota  Station^®  Wilson  secured  larger  and  cheaper  gains  with  yearling 
steers  when  prairie  hay  was  added  to  a  ration  of  corn  silage,  shelled 
corn,  and  linseed  meal. 

These  extensive  trials  teach  that  steers  will  usually  make  larger 
gains  and  reach  a  higher  finish  when  fed  a  small  amount  of  dry  rough- 
age in  addition  to  silage.  An  important  fact  is  that  this  dry  roughage 
may  consist  of  such  cheap  material  as  oat  straw,  rather  than  the  far 
more  expensive  legume  hay,  when  a  nitrogenous  concentrate  is  fed  to 
balance  the  ration. 

779.  Restricting  concentrates  during  first  stages  of  fattening. — It  has 
already  been  pointed  out  that  it  is  often  profitable  to  feed  only  rough- 
ages during  the  first  few  weeks  of  the  fattening  period,  with  2  or  3 
lbs.  of  some  nitrogenous  concentrate,  if  needed,  to  balance  the  ration. 
(716)  Especially  good  results  are  secured  with  this  system  where  the 
chief  roughage  is  silage  from  well-eared  corn.  At  the  Kentucky  Sta- 
tion in  a  159-day  trial  Good^^  fed  a  lot  of  ten  1062-lb.  steers  receiving 

'"Ind.  Buls.  163,  167.  ''S.  D.  Bui.  137. 

*'Nebr.  Bui.  151.  ^* Information  to  the  authors. 


FEEDS  FOR  FATTENING  CATTLE  479 

corn  silage  and  cottonseed  hulls  for  roughage,  broken  ear  corn  and 
cottonseed  meal,  while  a  second  lot,  otherwise  fed  the  same,  was  fed  no 
corn  for  the  first  2  months,  and  thereafter  shelled  corn. 

Cheapening  gains  by  limiting  concentrates  during  first  of 
fattening  period 

Feed  for  100  Iba.  gain  Feed  cost 

Daily  Concen-   C  seed  Corn  of  100 

Average  ration  gain     trates       hulls  silage  lbs.  gain 

Lbs.       Lbs.        Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot  I,  corn  thruout  trial 
Broken  ear  com,  13.6  lbs. 
Cottonseed  meal,  3.4  lbs. 
Com  silage,  22.6  lbs. 

Cottonseed  hulls,  3.7  lbs 2.0      866       188  1,150         13.12 

Lot  II,  no  corn  for  first  2  mo. 
Shelled  com,  7.0  lbs. 
Cottonseed  meal,  4.0  lbs. 
Com  silage,  36.3  lbs. 
Cottonseed  hulls,  4.3  lbs 2.4      472       182  1,541         10 .43 

In  this  trial  the  gains  of  Lot  II,  fed  no  corn  during  the  first  2 
months,  were  not  only  considerably  cheaper,  but  also  somewhat  larger 
than  those  of  Lot  I,  fed  corn  from  the  beginning  of  the  trial.  The 
cause  of  the  larger  gains  of  Lot  II,  which  received  less  corn,  is  prob- 
ably to  be  found  in  the  fact  that,  as  has  already  been  mentioned,  (736) 
shelled  corn  gives  somewhat  better  results  with  corn  silage  than  does 
ear  corn. 

780.  Silage  with  small  concentrate  allowance. — To  determine  the  gain 
made  by  yearling  steers  fed  corn  silage  as  the  sole  roughage  and  only 
a  small  allowance  of  concentrates,  Wilson^°  fed  3  lots  each  of  four 
648-lb.  steers  the  rations  showTi  in  the  table  for  146  days  at  the  South 
Dakota  Station : 

Fattening  steers  on  silage  with  a  small  concentrate  allowance 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain  Feed 

Daily         Concen-         Corn  cost  of  100 

gain            trates            silage  lbs.  gain. 

Average  ration                                    Lbs.              Lbs.              Lbs.  DoUars 

/,      Linseed  meal,  3.0  lbs.   Silage,  48.3  lbs 2.4  120         1,970  5.86 

//,    Cottonseedmeal,  3.0  lbs.   Silage,  41.3  lbs 2.0  150  2,120  6.64 

///,  Dried  distillers'  gr.,  3.0  lbs.  Silage,  44.0  lbs. . .  2  .2  130  2,030  5 .50 

♦Linseed  meal  and  cottonseed  meal,  S32.00;  dried  distillers'  grains,  $24.00;  and  corn  silage,  $4.00  per  ton 

The  silage  was  of  poor  quality,  for  it  was  cut  after  having  been 
thrice  frosted  and  when  most  of  the  ears  were  in  the  milk  stage. 
With  only  3  lbs.  of  concentrates  per  head  daily  and  this  poor  silage  as 
the  sole  roughage,  these  steers  made  surprisingly  good  gains.  With  feeds 
at  the  high  prices  indicated  the  gains  were  exceedingly  cheap.  This 
trial  shows  the  possibilities  of  producing  cheap  beef  thru  the  use  of 
silage  and  but  a  small  amount  of  high-grade  concentrates.  Tho  steers 
so  fattened  may  not  yield  "prime"  beef,  yearlings  such  as  these  will 
furnish  meat  of  a  quality  which  will  please  all  but  the  most  exacting. 
In  this  trial  the  steers  fed  linseed  meal  made  somewhat  the  largest 
gains  and  at  the  close  of  the  trial  had  the  appearance  of  corn-f^d 

»»S.  D.  Bui.  148. 


Daily 
gain 

Corn  forage  fed 

Weight      Area 

Tons       Acres 

Total  i 
Steers 
Lbs. 

gain  of 
Pigs 
Lbs. 

1.7 
1.4 

28.8       3.7 
14.6       5.3 

3,693 
3,133 

87 

587 

480  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

animals.     Owing  to  the  low  price  of  dried  distillers'  grains,  the  gains 
on  this  concentrate  were  the  cheapest. 

781.  Corn  silage  vs.  shock  corn. — Mumford  of  the  Illinois  Station®^ 
divided  a  bunch  of  50  good,  thrifty  8-months-old  grade  Hereford  and 
Shorthorn  steer  calves,  weighing  about  500  lbs.  each,  into  2  lots  of 
25  each.  During  88  days  each  lot  was  fed  2  lbs.  of  oats  per  head  daily, 
with  mixed  hay  and  either  corn  silage  or  shock  corn  from  the  same 
field,  part  having  been  placed  in  the  silo  and  the  remainder  cured  in 
the  shock.  The  calves  were  not  heavily  fed,  but  merely  kept  in  good 
groAving  condition,  with  the  results  shown  in  the  table : 

Corn  silage  vs.  shock  corn  for  wintering  steer  calves 

Average  roughage  allowance 

I,    Silage,  26.1  lbs.    Mixed  hay,  4.6  lbs 1.7 

//,  Shock  corn,  13.2  lbs.    Mixed  hay,  4.0  lbs 1 .4 

The  table  shows  that  the  silage-fed  calves  gained  560  lbs.  more  than 
those  getting  shock  corn.  Lot  I  consumed  28.8  tons  of  corn  silage, 
grown  on  3.7  acres.  In  the  same  time  Lot  II  consumed  14.6  tons  of 
shock  corn,  growTi  on  5.3  acres,  or  43  per  ct.  more  area  than  was  re- 
quired to  furnish  the  corn  silage.  The  silage-fed  calves  in  Lot  I 
gained  3,693  lbs.  and  the  pigs  following  them  only  87  lbs.  The  steers 
in  Lot  II,  getting  shock  corn,  gained  only  3,133  lbs.,  but  the  pigs  fol- 
lowing them  gained  587  lbs.  Combining  the  gains  of  calves  and  pigs, 
the  gross  returns  were  practically  equal  for  the  2  lots,  but,  measured 
by  the  area  of  land  required,  corn  silage  was  30  per  ct.  ahead  of  shock 
corn  in  feeding  value. 

In  a  130-day  trial  at  the  Missouri  Station^-  Allison  found  that  2-yr.- 
old  steers  fed  corn  silage  with  clover  hay,  shelled  corn,  and  linseed 
meal  made  no  larger  gains  than  those  getting  shock  corn.  However, 
the  silage-fed  steers  required  less  concentrates  for  100  lbs.  gain,  made 
cheaper  gains,  and  sold  for  10  cents  more  per  100  lbs.  Including  the 
returns  from  the  pigs  following  the  steers,  a  ton  of  dry  matter  in 
silage  had  over  50  per  ct.  greater  feeding  value  than  a  ton  of  dry 
matter  in  shock  corn.  (302) 

782.  Kafir  and  sorghum  silage. — In  silage  from  the  sorghums  the 
feeder  in  the  semi-arid  sections  has  an  admirable  substitute  for  corn 
silage.  (309)  During  each  of  3  years  Cochel  wintered  steer  calves  at 
the  Kansas  Station^^  on  silage  from  corn,  kafir,  or  sweet  sorghum, 
with  the  results  shown  in  the  table.  In  addition  to  the  silage,  during 
the  first  and  third  years  1  lb.  of  cottonseed  meal  was  fed  per  head  daily 
and  during  the  second  year  1  lb.  of  corn  and  1  lb.  of  linseed  meal. 
Forty-two  calves  were  fed  each  kind  of  silage  for  periods  averaging 
107  days. 

«I11.  Bui.  73.     "^Mo.  Bui.  112. 
*'Kan.  Bui.  198;  KaiBSas  Industrialist,  Apr.  18,  1914,  May  1,  1015. 


FEEDS  FOR  FATTENING  CATTLE  481 

Kafir  and  sorghum  silage  compared  with  corn  silage 

Daily  Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Silage  eaten  per  head  daily                                gain  Concentrates           Silage 

Lbs.  Lbs.                  Lbs. 

Lot  I,      Corn  silage,  26.8  lbs 1.15  113              2,330 

Lot  II,    Kafir  silage,  26.3  lbs 1.25  104             2,104 

Lot  III,  Sweet  sorghum  silage,  26.6  lbs 1 .08  127              2,467 

In  these  trials  the  different  kinds  of  silage  had  about  the  same  value, 
kafir  being  slightly  superior  to  corn,  and  sweet  sorghum  ranking  lowest. 
Cochel  advises  growing  for  silage  whichever  crop  will  yield  the  greatest 
tonnage. 

783.  Comparison  of  silages  for  the  South. — Lloyd  of  the  Mississippi 
Station^*  conducted  a  137-day  trial  with  4  lots,  each  of  4  to  5  steers 
averaging  1,145  lbs.,  to  compare  the  values  of  silage  from  corn,  sweet 
sorghum,  cowpeas  and  Johnson  grass,  and  corn  stover.  The  steers 
in  each  lot  were  fed  6.5  lbs.  cottonseed  meal  per  head  daily,  with  silage 
as  shown  in  the  table : 

Silage  from  sorghum,  cowpeas  and  Johnson  grass,  and  corn  stover 

Daily  Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Silage  per  head  daily                                   gain  Meal  Silage 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot  I,      Corn  silage,  46.1  lbs 1.8  365  2,588 

Lot  II,    Sweet  sorghum  silage,  46.1  lbs 1.6  411  2,911 

Lot  III,  Cowpea  and  Johnson-grass  silage,  46.1 

lbs 1.3  495  3,510 

Lot  IV,  Corn-stover  silage,  46.1  lbs 0.7  997  7,070 

Corn  silage  gave  the  best  results,  followed  closely  by  sweet  sorghum 
silage.  Corn  stover  silage  produced  the  lowest  gains,  due  to  the  fact 
that  it  contained  no  grain  and  also  because  much  was  refused  by  the 
steers. 

784.  Roots. — ^Wherever  corn  or  the  sorghums  thrive,  silage  from  these 
crops  provides  cheaper  succulence  than  do  roots.  In  northern  districts 
where  root  crops  flourish  but  where  corn  will  not  mature  sufficiently 
for  silage,  roots  are  a  valuable  feed  for  beef  cattle.  At  the  South 
Dakota  Station^^  in  a  90-day  trial  Wilson  fed  lots  of  4  yearling  steers, 
each  averaging  800  lbs.,  19.4  lbs.  of  shelled  corn  and  1.7  lbs.  linseed 
meal  per  head  daily  with  hay  and  silage  from  corn  in  the  dent  stage 
or  roots,  as  indicated  in  the  table,  to  compare  the  value  of  these  succu- 
lent feeds : 

Roots  vs.  corn  silage  for  fattening  steers 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Daily  Concen-  Prairie  Silage 

Allowance  per  head  daily                               gain  trates  hay  or  roots 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 
Lot  I,      Corn  silage,  7.0  lbs.     Prairie  hay, 

5.8  lbs 2.54  835  227  277 

Lot  II,    Sugar  beets,  6.3  lbs.    Prairie  hay, 

5.5  lbs 2.55  823  217  248 

Lot  III,  Mangels,  9.0  lbs.    Prairie  hay,  7.4 

lbs 2.61  813  284  343 

Lot  IV,  Stock  beets,  8.9  lbs.     Prairie  hay, 

e.llbs 2.39  873  257  374 

"Information  to  the  authors.  ''S.  D.  Bui.  137. 


Lot  I 


482  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

In  this  trial  when  fed  in  a  limited  allowance  of  6  to  9  lbs.  per  head 
daily,  roots  were  fully  equal,  pound  for  pound,  to  good  corn  silage. 
Mangels  were  more  palatable  than  the  other  roots  and  produced  the 
largest  gains.  In  2  trials  at  the  Ontario  Agricultural  College"^  in 
which  a  larger  allowance  of  silage  or  roots  was  fed  than  in  the  fore- 
going trial.  Day  found  that  silage  had  a  somewhat  higher  value,  pound 
for  pound,  than  roots,  due  to  the  larger  percentage  of  dry  matter  it 
contains.  (365-73) 

785.  Sweet  potatoes;  cassava;  Japanese  cane. — At  the  Florida  Station^^ 
Stockbridge  fed  3  lots  of  4  steers  each  averaging  446  lbs.  the  following 
rations  for  70  days  to  test  the  value  of  sweet  potatoes  and  cassava  in 
beef  production. 

Cassava  and  sweet  potatoes  for  fattening  steers 

Daily  Feed  for  100  Iba.  gain 

Average  ration  per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight  gain  Concentrates      Roughage 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lba. 

Sweet  potatoes,  35  lbs. 

Pea-vine  hay,  10  lbs.   Cottonseed  meal,  4  lbs .  .       1.8  226  2,541 

Lot  II 

Cassava,  35  lbs. 

Pea- vine  hay,  10  lbs.    Cottonseed  meal,  4  lbs.. .       2.1  195  2,188 

Lot  III 

Crab-grass  hay,  20  lbs.   Cottonseed  meal,  5  lbs. 

Com  meal,  5  lbs 1 .9  517  1,033 

It  is  shown  that  cassava  and  sweet  potatoes  are  satisfactory  in  beef 
production  when  combined  with  pea-vine  hay  and  cottonseed  meal. 
The  steers  fed  crab-grass  hay  required  more  than  twice  as  much  con- 
centrates for  100  lbs.  of  gain  as  those  in  the  other  lots.  Scott  of  the 
same  Station^^  reports  that  steers  fed  on  corn,  velvet  beans,  and  sweet 
potatoes  barely  maintained  their  weight,  due  to  the  fact  that  sweet 
potatoes  are  too  laxative  when  fed  without  some  roughage.  When 
Japanese  cane  was  added  to  the  ration  the  results  were  satisfactory. 

In  another  trial  by  Scott''®  930-lb.  steers  fed  an  average  ration  of 
21.3  lbs.  Japanese  cane,  7.3  lbs.  corn,  and  4.2  lbs.  cottonseed  meal  gained 
1.6  lbs.  per  head  daily  for  90  days,  requiring  698  lbs.  of  concentrates 
and  1,298  lbs.  of  Japanese  cane  for  100  lbs.  gain. 

786.  British  system  of  fattening  cattle. — The  great  value  of  succulence 
in  reducing  the  amount  of  high-priced  concentrates  needed  to  fatten 
cattle  is  well  shoAvn  in  the  extensive  compilation  by  Ingle""  of  all  the 
cattle-feeding  trials  carried  on  in  Great  Britain  between  the  years  1835 
and  1908 — 201  in  number.  From  this  report  the  following  examples 
are  chosen  as  broadly  illustrating  the  British  system  of  fattening  beef 
cattle. 

»«Ont.  Agr.  Col.  Rpts.  1901,  1902. 

Tla.  Rpt.  1901.      »^Fla.  Rpt.  1909.      ^Tla.  Rpt.  1912. 

^i^Trans.  Highl.  and  Agr.  Soc.  of  Scotland,  1909. 


FEEDS  FOR  FATTENING  CATTLE  483 

Rations  used  by  British  farmers  in  ieef  production 

Initial  Daily      Total  gain 

Average  ration  No.        weight  gain        per  head 

fed  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Shorthorns,  2  to  5  years  old,  fed  98  days 

Swedes,  171  lbs.   Linseed  cake,  2.4  lbs. 

Straw,  14  lbs.       Corn  meal,  2.0  lbs 4      1,305 .0  3.0        292 

Irish  yearlings,  fed  112  days 

Turnips,  50  lbs.   Cottonseed  cake,  3.6  lbs. 

Oat  straw,  8.4  lbs.  Dried  brewers' grains,  5.8  lbs.    10        942.2  1.3        149 

Irish  2-yr.-olds,  fed  133  days 

Roots,  112.0  lbs. 

Hay  and  straw,  8.0  lbs.   Linseed  cake,  8.7  lbs.       4      1,030.4  2.1        280 

Aberdeen-Angus,  fed  112  days 

Mangels,  108.8  lbs. 

Oatstraw,  8.0  lbs.    Cottonseed  cake,  3.0  lbs.  .       6        947.6  1.9         211 

Galloways,  2  to  S  years  old,  fed  100  days 

Swedes,  150.0  lbs. 

Oat  straw,  7.0  lbs.   No  concentrates 3        933.0  1.4        143 

Irish  S-yr.-olds,  fed  88  days 

Pasture  Cottonseed  cake,  2.8  lbs. 

Corn  meal,  2.8  lbs 10        876 .2  3.7         322 

Shorthorn  S-yr.-olds,  fed  123  days 

Swedes,  40.5  lbs.   Cottonseed  cake,  5.0  lbs. 

Hay,  16.2  lbs.         Linseed  cake,  3.0  lbs. 

Barley,  1.0  1b 8      1,178.4  2.4        294 

The  American  cattle  feeder  who  critically  reviews  the  data  given 
will  be  impressed  first  of  all  with  the  surprisingly  small  amount  of 
concentrates  employed  in  the  ration.  In  the  201  trials  presented  by 
Ingle  the  largest  amount  of  concentrates  fed  per  head  daily  to  any  lot 
was  13  lbs.  In  a  few  cases  no  concentrates  were  fed,  but  usually  the 
allowance  for  each  bullock  was  6  or  7  lbs.  per  day.  The  rich  nitroge- 
nous concentrates  such  as  linseed  meal,  cottonseed  meal,  dried  brew- 
ers' and  distillers'  grains,  and  peanut  cake  are  the  ones  commonly 
employed,  followed  by  barley  and  corn  meal  more  sparingly  used. 
Equally  striking  is  the  heavy  use  of  roots,  the  amount  fed  ranging 
from  35  lbs.  per  head  daily  to  above  150  lbs.  in  extreme  cases.  The 
light  feeding  of  concentrates  and  the  heavy  feeding  of  roots  is  accom- 
panied by  the  large  consumption  of  hay  and  straw,  which  the  British 
feeder  chaffs  or  cuts,  and  mixes  with  the  pulped  or  sliced  roots  and 
meal  before  feeding.  It  will  be  further  observed  that  the  British  farmer 
generally  feeds  quite  mature  bullocks,  and  that  the  feeding  period  is 
relatively  short,  ranging  from  80  to  120  days.  It  is  probable  that  the 
cattle  are  usually  in  good  flesh  when  the  feeding  begins. 

In  studying  these  figures  we  should  remember  that  it  was  the  British 
farmer  who  originated  and  developed  all  the  valuable  breeds  of  beef 
cattle  now  scattered  over  the  globe,  and  his  ability  and  success  in  pro- 
ducing beef  of  high  quality  is  unquestioned.  "With  the  high  prices  now 
prevailing  for  concentrates  in  this  country  and  the  ever  upward  tendency, 
our  feeders  may  wisely  adopt  a  similar  system  of  beef  production,  em- 
ploying silage  from  corn  and  the  sorghums  instead  of  the  roots  which  are 
the  basis  of  English  feeding. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

RAISING  BEEF  CATTLE 

I.  The  Breeding  Herd 

In  establishing  a  herd  from  which  to  breed  animals  for  beef  produc- 
tion the  first  step  should  be  to  select  well-bred  individuals  of  the  beef 
breeds,  having  the  conformation  which  betokens  off-spring  that  will  make 
economical  gains,  mature  early,  and  yield  carcasses  with  a  large  per- 
centage of  high-priced  cuts  of  meat.  (717-25)  Where  cows  are  kept  only 
for  raising  calves  for  beef,  the  cost  of  their  keep  for  an  entire  year 
must  be  charged  against  the  fatted  steer.  In  reducing  the  cost  of  beef 
production  it  is  therefore  essential  that  the  breeding  herd  be  maintained 
as  cheaply  as  possible,  yet  kept  in  vigorous  breeding  condition. 

787.  Breeding  cows. — Cows  kept  solely  for  beef  production  are  com- 
monly grazed  on  pasture  during  the  growing  season,  the  suckling  calves 
running  with  their  dams.  Usually  the  pastures  thus  utilized  will  be 
the  land  least  suited  to  tillage.  Where  land  is  high-priced  and  there  is 
but  little  waste  land  for  grazing,  the  herd  may  often  be  maintained 
most  cheaply  on  limited  pasturage  supplemented  by  summer  silage.  (412) 
Pure  water,  salt,  and  shade  should  always  be  supplied  the  herd  at 
pasture. 

In  winter  the  herd  may  be  maintained  entirely  on  roughage  where 
legume  hay  is  available,  or  on  carbonaceous  roughages  with  enough  of 
some  such  nitrogenous  concentrate  as  cottonseed  or  linseed  meal  to 
balance  the  ration.  They  should  not  be  allowed  to  run  down  in  flesh, 
else  they  will  be  unable  to  produce  vigorous  calves  and  nourish  them 
with  a  goodly  flow  of  milk.  (91,  120) 

The  winter  feed  and  care  may  range  from  the  most  intensive  system, 
where  the  herd  is  fed  in  barn  or  shed  with  the  freedom  of  exercise 
paddocks,  to  the  practice  yet  followed  in  some  of  the  grazing  districts 
of  the  West,  where  the  only  feed  is  that  furnished  by  the  winter  range 
on  which  the  grass  has  been  allowed  to  grow  up  and  mature.  However, 
bitter  experience  has  taught  the  western  stockman  that  he  must  provide 
against  winter's  rigors  by  having  available  a  supply  of  feed  to  supple- 
ment the  range.  On  many  farms  the  herd  may  glean  much  of  their 
living  from  aftermath  and  stalk  or  stubble  fields,  thereby  materially 
reducing  expenses. 

788.  Wintering  "beef  cows. — Mumford  of  the  Illinois  Station^  divided 
a  lot  of  860-lb.  grade  Angus  cows  which  had  suckled  their  calves  the 
previous  summer  and  were  thin  in  flesh  into  bunches  of  10  each  and 

>I11.  Bui.  111. 

484 


RAISING  BEEF  CATTLE  485 

fed  them  the  rations  shown  below  during  140  days  in  winter.  Twenty- 
eight  per  ct.  of  the  corn  silage  and  54  per  ct.  of  the  shock  corn  con- 
sisted of  ears. 

Wintering  breeding  cows  on  silage  and  shock  corn 

Daily    Av.  gain 
Average  ration  gain     per  head 

Lbs.        Lbs. 

Lot  I 

Com  silage,  16.7  lbs. 

Oat  straw,  9.6  lbs.     Clover  hay,  3.5  lbs 1.1       150 

Lot  II 

Shock  com,  8.7  lbs. 

Oat  straw,  10.8  lbs.  Clover  hay,  3.5  lbs 0 .8      106 

Lot  III 

Com  stover  (42  days),  21.7  lbs. 

Shredded  stover  (98  days),  10.3  lbs. 

Oat  straw,  8.2  lbs.     Clover  hay,  1 .6  lbs 0.4        58 

At  the  close  of  the  trial  the  cows  in  Lot  III,  fed  only  1.6  lbs.  of  clover 
hay,  were  in  poor  condition,  having  made  but  small  gain.  The  cows 
of  Lots  I  and  II,  which  had  made  good  gains,  appeared  about  the  same 
until  after  calving,  when  those  in  Lot  I,  which  had  been  fed  silage, 
were  in  decidedly  superior  form.  It  required  the  feed  grown  on  one- 
third  of  an  acre  to  support  a  cow  making  fair  gains  for  140  days  with 
Lots  I  and  II,  and  that  from  one-fifth  of  an  acre  to  little  more  than 
maintain  a  cow  of  Lot  III. 

789.  Wintering  beef  cows  on  silage  and  cottonseed  meal. — During  3 
winters  Cochel,  Tomhave,  and  Severson  maintained  one  lot  of  10  pure- 
bred Shorthorn  cows  and  another  of  Aberdeen- Angus  cows  at  the  Penn- 
sylvania Station-  on  silage  as  the  sole  roughage  with  1  lb.  of  cottonseed 
meal  per  head  daily.  Both  lots  were  kept  in  an  open  shed  or  a  barn 
open  on  one  side,  with  access  to  an  adjacent  lot.  The  results  of  the 
trials,  which  averaged  155  days,  are  shown  in  the  following  table : 

Wintering  heef  cows  on  silage  and  cottonseed  meal 

Initial  Gain  per    Feed  cost     Total  cost     Value  of   Net  cost 

Average  ration  weight  head         per  head        per  head        manure    per  head 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Dollars  Dollars        Dollars       Dollars 

Lot  I,  Shorthorns 
Com  silage,  58.8  lbs. 

Cottonseed  meal,  1.01b.  1,180  51         18.28        26.47        7.33       19.14 

Lot  II,  Angus 

Corn  silage,  57.8  lbs. 

Cottonseed  meal,  1.01b.  1,143  47        18.05        26.24        7.33       18.91 

The  cows  in  both  lots  were  maintained  in  satisfactory  condition  on 
all  the  silage  they  would  eat,  vsdth  only  1  lb.  of  cottonseed  meal  per  head 
daily,  even  tho  several  were  suckling  calves  during  the  winter.  With 
corn  silage  at  $3.50  and  cottonseed  meal  at  $30.00  per  ton,  the  feed-cost 
of  wintering  the  cows  was  $18.28  and  $18.05.  Including  the  straw  used 
for  bedding  (1,088  lbs.  per  cow  at  $8  per  ton),  $2.34  per  cow  for  labor, 
and  $1.50  per  cow  for  interest  on  shed  and  silo,  the  total  gross  cost  per 

^'Penn.  Bui.  118;  Rpt.  1913;  and  information  to  the  authors. 


486  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

cow  was  $26.47  and  $26.24,  respectively,  for  the  2  lots.  Deducting  the 
value  of  th^  manure  at  $1.50  per  ton,  the  net  cost  of  wintering  the  cows 
was  about  $19  per  head. 

During  the  remainder  of  the  year  the  cows,  with  the  calves  at  their 
sides,  grazed  a  pasture  so  rough  that  it  washed  badly  when  in  tilled  crops. 
Allowing  2  acres  of  pasture  per  cow,  the  average  yearly  cost  of  main- 
taining the  cows,  including  labor,  was  as  follows:  Cost  of  wintering, 
$19.02 ;  cost  of  pasturing,  $7.36 ;  interest  on  value  of  cow,  $5.40 ;  service 
of  sire,  $2.00 ;  total  $33.78.  With  80  per  ct.  of  the  cows  raising  calves 
each  year,  a  calf  at  weaning  time  would  cost  $42.22. 

790.  Plains  rations  for  wintering  cows. — In  a  100-day  trial  at  the 
Hays,  Kansas,  Branch  Station,^  Cochel  wintered  4  lots,  each  of  nine- 
teen 905-lb.  cows,  on  the  roughages  shown  in  the  table  with  1  lb.  of 
cottonseed  meal  per  head  daily  in  addition : 

Rations  for  wintering  cows  in  the  plains  district 

Daily  Feed  cost 

Average  roughage  allowance  gain  per  head* 

Lbs.  Dollars 

I,  Kafir  silage,  35.6  lbs.      Wheat  straw,  14.2  lbs 1 .34  6 .30 

II,  Kafir  silage,  20.0  lbs.      Wheat  straw,  17.2  lbs 0 .56  4 .44 

///,  Kafir  fodder,  27.2  lbs.     Wheat  straw,  10.3  lbs 0.50  9 .91 

IV,  Kafir  stover,  25.6  lbs.     Wheat  straw,  10.8  lbs 0 .35  5 .61 

*  Kafir  silage  $2.66,  kafir  fodder  $5.00,  kafir  stover  $3.00,  wheat  straw  $0.50,  and  cottonseed  meal 
$30.00  per  ton. 

Lot  I,  fed  35.6  lbs.  kafir  silage,  14.2  lbs.  wheat  straw,  and  1.0  lb. 
cottonseed  meal  per  head  daily,  made  the  largest  gains,  but  at  a  greater 
cost  than  Lot  II,  where  the  silage  allowance  was  only  20.0  lbs.  Kafir 
silage  not  only  carried  the  cows  thru  the  winter  in  better  condition  than 
kafir  fodder,  but  was  also  easier  to  feed.  The  advantage  of  ensiling  the 
sorghum  crop  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  Lot  II,  fed  kafir  silage,  con- 
sumed the  crop  from  only  half  as  large  an  area  of  kafir  as  Lot  III,  fed 
kafir  fodder,  and  yet  made  as  large  gains.  That  fair  results  may  be 
secured  when  onlj''  low-grade  roughages  are  used  with  1  lb.  of  cotton- 
seed meal  per  head  daily  is  shown  by  Lot  IV.  In  another  trial  Cochel* 
found  that  when  cows  were  wintered  on  a  ration  of  12.1  lbs.  kafir  stover, 
14.1  lbs.  wheat  straw,  5.4  lbs.  kafir  silage,  and  1  lb.  of  cottonseed  cake, 
the  cost  of  feed  per  cow  for  136  days  was  $5.70  and  of  labor,  $1.94, 
making  a  total  of  $7.64,  from  which  should  be  deducted  the  value  of  the 
manure  produced. 

791.  The  beef  bull. — On  the  range  the  bulls  run  with  the  cows,  but 
under  farm  conditions  it  is  best  to  confine  the  bull  during  the  summer, 
preferably  in  a  well-fenced  pasture  lot.  It  will  then  be  possible  to  keep 
a  record  of  the  date  when  the  cows  are  due  to  calve,  and  the  bull  so 
handled  can  serve  a  larger  number  of  cows  a  year.  The  same  general 
principles  apply  to  the  feed  and  care  of  the  beef  bull  as  with  the  dairy 
bull,  which  have  already  been  discussed.  (708)     As  Mumford  writes,® 

"Kan.  Bui.  198.         ^Information  to  the  authors.        ^Beef  Production,  p.  165. 


RAISING  BEEF  CATTLE  487 

' '  He  should  be  kept  in  good,  thrifty  condition,  and  if  it  is  found  that  he 
requires  an  abnormal  amount  of  feed  to  maintain  this  condition,  in 
other  words,  that  the  bull  is  a  'hard  keeper',  he  is  not  well  calculated 
to  sire  cattle  possessing  good  feeding  qualities,  and  should  be  replaced. ' ' 


II.  Raising  Calves  for  Beef;  Veal  Production 

792.  The  beef  calf. — Under  the  simplest  method  of  beef  production, 
as  on  the  range,  the  calves  are  dropped  in  the  spring  and  run  with  their 
dams  during  the  summer.  Under  farm  conditions  some  prefer  to  allow 
the  calves  to  suck  only  at  stated  intervals,  3  times  a  day  at  first,  and 
later  twice. 

Where  the  calf  remains  with  the  dam  her  udder  should,  for  a  time, 
be  stripped  night  and  morning  lest  neglect  bring  garget  and  destroy 
her  usefulness.  If  the  calf  is  getting  too  much  milk,  as  shown  by 
scouring,  cut  off  part,  remembering  that  the  last  drawn  portion  is  the 
richest  in  fat,  and  that  richness  as  well  as  quantity  causes  digestive 
troubles.  (117)  The  greatest  danger  under  this  system  comes  at  wean- 
ing time,  when,  if  the  calf  has  not  been  taught  to  eat  solid  food,  it  pines 
and  loses  weight.  To  avoid  this,  before  weaning  it  should  be  taught  to 
eat  shelled  corn,  whole  oats,  wheat  bran,  linseed  meal,  hay,  etc.  The 
first  departure  from  this  simple  and  primitive  method  is  putting  two 
calves  with  each  cow,  which  is  feasible  where  the  cow  yields  a  good 
flow  of  milk. 

Suckling  calves  should  gain  2  lbs.,  or  over,  per  head  daily  if  their 
dams  give  a  good  flow  of  milk.  At  the  Pennsylvania  Station®  Hunt 
fed  3  calves  whole  milk  containing  4.6  per  ct.  of  fat  for  161  days.  They 
gained  1.77  lbs.  each  daily,  requiring  8.8  lbs.  of  whole  milk,  and  1  lb. 
of  hay  and  1  lb.  of  grain  for  each  pound  of  growth.  Martiny'^  found 
that  from  3.5  to  6  lbs.  of  new  milk  was  sufficient  to  produce  a  pound  of 
gain,  live  weight,  with  calves  between  the  first  and  fifth  weeks,  while 
older  ones  required  from  16  to  20  lbs.  Linfield  of  the  Utah  Station® 
found  that  up  to  14  weeks  of  age  the  calf  takes  less  dry  matter  than  the 
pig  for  1  lb.  of  gain,  and  after  that  more,  possibly  because  of  the  greater 
amount  of  roughage  then  used  in  the  ration.  Beach  of  the  Connecticut 
(Storrs)  Station^  found  that  calves  required  1.03  lbs.,  lambs  1.08  lbs., 
and  pigs  1.36  lbs.  of  dry  matter  in  whole  milk  for  each  pound  of  gain 
made.  (117) 

While  in  some  districts  it  is  still  best  to  rear  the  beef  calf  on  whole 
milk  from  dam  or  pail,  over  large  sections  of  the  country  it  is  now  more 
profitable  to  sell  the  fat  of  the  milk  in  butter  or  cream  and  rear  the 
calf  on  skim  milk  with  proper  supplements.  This  method  involves  in- 
creased labor,  skill,  and  watchfulness  on  the  part  of  the  feeder,  but  its 
success  has  been  widely  demonstrated.     The  method  to  be  employed  is 

•Penn.  Rpt.  1891.  ^Utah  Bui.  57. 

'Die   Milch,  2,  1871,  pp.  9-15.  »Conn.  (Storrs)  Rpt.  1904,  p.  118. 


488  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

not  different  from  that  already  detailed  for  the  rearing  of  the  dairy- 
calf,  (678-94)  except  that  the  beef  calf  should  be  forced  to  more  rapid 
gains  thru  more  liberal  feeding. 

Calves  that  fail  to  thrive  when  sucking  the  cow  or  when  fed  on  rich 
milk  should  have  their  allowance  reduced  or  should  be  given  part  skim 
milk.  Lime  water  or  wood  ashes  may  possibly  prove  correctives  in  cases 
of  trouble  from  this  source.  (117)  The  lime  water  used  in  such  cases 
is  made  by  dropping  a  lump  of  unslaked  lime  into  a  jug  filled  with  water 
and  keeping  the  jug  corked.  A  tablespoonful  or  more  of  lime  water 
should  be  given  with  each  feed. 

After  weaning,  growth  should  be  continuous.  If  the  calves  are  not  at 
pasture,  they  should  be  fed  plenty  of  good  roughage,  with  sufficient 
concentrates  to  produce  the  desired  gains.  As  has  been  shown  in  the 
discussion  of  raising  dairy  heifers  (704),  for  young  beef  cattle  nothing 
excels  good  legume  hay,  rich  in  protein  and  bone-building  mineral 
matter.  Where  this  is  not  available  nitrogenous  concentrates  should 
balance  the  ration. 

The  majority  of  beef  producers  prefer  to  have  calves  dropped  in  the 
spring,  as  the  cows  may  then  be  wintered  more  cheaply,  with  less  shelter, 
and  less  care.  Mumford^*'  points  out  that  fall  calves  not  fattened  as 
baby  beef  must  be  carried  thru  2  winters,  while  spring  calves  may  be 
sold  at  the  age  of  18  to  20  months,  after  but  1  winter.  Some,  however, 
prefer  fall  calving,  reasoning  that  the  cow  is  in  better  condition  to  de- 
liver her  calf  after  the  summer  on  pasture  and  the  fall  calf  is  better 
able  to  handle  grass,  and  endure  the  heat  and  flies  the  following  season. 

793.  Veal  production. — For  the  highest  grade  of  veal  whole  milk  is  the 
sole  feed  allowed,  and  growth  must  be  pushed  as  rapidly  as  possible,  the 
whole  process  being  completed  before  there  is  any  tendency  in  the  flesh 
to  take  on  the  coarser  character  of  beef.  Such  veal  commands  a  high 
price  in  some  of  the  European  markets,  and  the  butchers  are  extremely 
expert  in  judging  whether  the  calf  has  received  any  other  feed  than 
whole  milk.  Only  when  whole  milk  has  been  used  exclusively,  is  the 
white  of  the  eye  of  the  veal  calf  free  from  any  yellow  tint,  and  the 
inside  of  the  eyelids,  lips,  and  nose  perfectly  white.  In  this  country 
veal  of  this  kind  can  be  profitably  produced  only  for  a  special  market. 
A  less  expensive  method  of  producing  veal  is  to  feed  a  limited  amount 
of  whole  milk  supplemented  by  grain,  or  skim  milk  may  be  gradually 
substituted,  as  with  dairy  calves.  (687-8)  With  the  latter  method,  con- 
siderable skill  is  necessary  to  feed  the  calves  so  they  will  gain  rapidly 
without  going  off  feed. 

794.  Dutch  veal. — In  Holland,  where  unusually  heavy,  well-fatted 
calves  are  a  specialty,  the  following  practices  are  common,  according  to 
Forssell  :^^  The  new-born  calf  is  placed  in  a  stall  6.5  ft.  long  by  1.6  ft. 
broad  and  about  5  ft.  high,  the  stall  being  so  narrow  that  it  cannot  turn 
around,  tho  it  can  lie  and  stand  comfortably.     The  floor  of  the  stall  is 

"Beef  Production,  p.  166.  "Fodret  och  Utfbidringen,  1893,  p.  155. 


RAISING  BEEF  CATTLE  489 

of  slats  or  perforated  boards,  and  is  littered  daily  so  that  the  animal 
has  a  perfectly  dry  berth.  The  calf  barn  is  kept  dark.  Two  or  3  times 
daily  the  calves  get  as  much  milk  as  they  will  drink,  and  during  the  first 
14  days  only  the  dam's  milk  is  fed.  Eggs  or  other  by-feeds  are  not 
given.  The  calf  consumes  on  the  average  about  34  lbs.  of  whole  milk  daily 
for  the  whole  fattening  period  of  10  to  12  weeks,  at  the  end  of  which 
time  the  veal  is  considered  to  be  at  its  best.  To  prevent  the  calves  from 
eating  feed  other  than  milk,  they  are  muzzled  if  straw  or  other  roughage 
is  used  for  bedding.  Finely-ground  shells  and  sand  are  given  to  prevent 
scouring.  The  dressed  weight  ranges  from  187  to  220  lbs.,  or,  according 
to  Rost,^'  from  220  to  330  lbs.  One  lb.  of  gain  is  made  in  the  beginning 
from  8  lbs.  of  milk  and  toward  the  close  from  12  lbs.,  the  average  being 
10  Ibs.^^'    The  fat  calf  dresses  from  55  to  60  per  ct.  of  its  live  weight. 

795.  Scotch  veal. — At  Strathaven,  Scotland,  a  region  noted  for  the 
excellence  of  its  veal,^*  the  youngest  calves  receive  the  first  drawn  milk 
and  the  older  ones  the  last  and  richer  portion.  Thus  one  calf  is  often 
fed  portions  of  milk  from  2  or  3  cows.  After  the  third  week  they  receive 
as  much  milk  twice  a  day  as  they  vnll  take.  Follo^ving  feeding  they  are 
bedded,  the  stable  being  kept  rather  warm  and  dark.  Lumps  of  chalk 
are  placed  where  the  calves  have  access  to  them.  The  fattening  period 
continues  from  5  to  7  weeks,  when  a  dressed  weight  of  100  to  120  lbs.  is 
secured. 

In  the  vicinity  of  London  veal  calves  fed  for  about  10  weeks  in  isolated 
pens,  as  in  Holland,  ordinarily  dress  140  lbs. 

III.  Growtng  Beep  Cattle 

796.  Summer  care. — Except  where  calves  are  being  fattened  for  baby 
beef  (820),  growing  beef  cattle  are  not  ordinarily  given  any  feed  in 
addition  to  good  pasture.  When  necessary  to  keep  the  animals  growing, 
additional  feed  should  be  supplied,  such  as  summer  silage,  soiling  crops, 
or  specially  grown  pasture  crops.  Considerable  fall  pasturage  is  fur- 
nished by  aftermath  on  meadows  or  by  the  stubble  fields,  especially  where 
a  small  amount  of  rape  seed  is  sown  with  the  spring  grain. 

797.  Wintering  growing  cattle. — The  ration  needed  to  carry  grow- 
ing cattle  thru  the  winter  in  good  condition  will  depend  on  their  age, 
and  on  whether  it  is  desired  to  have  them  make  substantial  gains  or 
merely  come  thru  the  winter  in  thrifty  condition  to  make  maximum  gains 
on  pasture  the  following  summer.  While  yearlings  and  2-yr.-olds  may 
be  wintered  on  roughage  only,  for  calves  1  to  3  lbs.  of  concentrates  per 
head  daily  will  be  needed  in  addition,  for  it  is  important  to  keep  the  calf 
growing  steadily,  enlarging  its  framework  but  not  laying  on  fat.  Where 
cattle  are  to  be  grazed  the  third  summer  without  fattening,  the  effort 
should  be  to  grow  as  large  a  framework  as  possible  the  second  winter, 

'^Molk.  Zeit.,  1894,  p.  547.  *^Molk.  Zeit.,  1894,  p.  547. 

"Kraft,  Landwirtschaft,  3,  p.  163. 


490  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

leaving  the  animal  thin  but  thrifty.  Mumford  writes :^^  "The  more 
cattle  gain  on  concentrated  feeds  in  winter  the  less  they  will  gain  on 
grass  in  summer.  That  is  to  say,  if  corn  is  fed  liberally  during  the 
winter  months  the  cattle  will  not  make  as  large  gains  when  turned  to 
grass  as  they  would  were  they  wintered  on  roughage,  and  not  the  best 
roughage  at  that. ' ' 

Where  cattle  are  to  be  fattened  on  pasture  the  summer  following  the 
second  winter,  a  reasonable  storage  of  fat  toward  the  close  of  winter 
and  in  early  spring  will  helpfully  shorten  the  summer  feeding  period. 
In  such  cases  excellent  feeds  for  the  last  of  winter  and  early  spring  are 
legume  hay  and  silage  rich  in  ear  corn.  These,  with  a  moderate  grain 
allowance,  will  warm  the  animals  up,  start  fattening,  and  send  them  to 
grass  in  prime  condition  to  make  the  most  of  the  heavy  feeding  of  grain 
which  follows.  Calves  are  not  able  to  utilize  such  coarse  roughages  as 
older  cattle  will  consume. 

At  the  North  Platte,  Nebraska,  Station^^  Snyder  conducted  2  trials 
in  which  lots  of  18  and  20  steer  calves,  respectively,  were  wintered  on 
the  roughages  shown  in  the  table  with  2  lbs.  per  head  daily  in  addition 
of  a  mixture  of  2  parts  corn  and  1  part  oats.  The  following  and  the 
second  summers  all  lots  ran  on  a  canyon  pasture.  The  second  winter  the 
steers  were  fed  roughage  alone. 

Average  daily  gains  of  steers  fed  various  roughages  during  winter 

First  year  Second  year 

Hay  or  fodder  fed  during  winter  Winter       Summer  Winter      Summer 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Alfalfa 1.08  1.07  0.72  0.57 

Alfalfa  and  prairie 0 .99  0 .93  0 .70  0 .55 

AHalfa  and  sorghum 1 .05  0 .94  0 .87  0 .49 

Prairie        0 .46  1 .22  0 .20  1 .21 

Sorghum 0.41  1.19  0.42  0.92 

In  all  instances  the  steers  fed  prairie  hay  or  sorghum  fodder  made 
much  smaller  winter  gains  than  those  fed  alfalfa  hay.  When  half  al- 
falfa hay  and  half  prairie  hay  or  sorghum  fodder  was  fed,  the  gains  were 
about  as  large  as  when  only  alfalfa  was  fed.  The  steers  that  made  the 
best  winter  gains  made  smaller  gains  the  following  summer,  but  the 
total  gains  for  the  entire  year  were  larger  for  the  lots  fed  some  alfalfa. 
Trials  by  Cochel  at  the  Kansas  Station  show  that  calves  may  be 
wintered  satisfactorily  on  silage  from  corn,  kafir,  or  sweet  sorghum,  with 
1  lb.  of  cottonseed  or  linseed  meal  per  head  daily  in  addition.  (782) 
The  manner  in  which  cheap  roughages  may  be  largely  utilized  even  in 
wintering  calves,  when  combined  with  silage,  is  shown  in  a  144-day  trial 
by  CocheP^  in  which  30  calves  fed  a  ration  of  3.3  lbs.  wheat  straw,  2.3 
lbs.  corn  stover,  2.9  lbs.  foxtail  and  damaged  alfalfa  hay,  6.8  lbs.  kafir 
silage,  and  0.8  lb.  of  a  concentrate  mixture,  gained  41.8  lbs.  each  at  a 
daily  feed  cost  of  3.3  cents  per  head.    The  total  gross  cost  of  wintering 

"Beef  Production,  p.  46.  "Information  to  the  authors. 

"Nebr.  Buls.  105,  117. 


RAISING  BEEF  CATTLE  491 

the  calves  was  only  $5.72  per  head,  from  which  should  be  deducted  the 
value  of  the  manure. 

798.  Wintering  yearlings  without  grain. — At  the  Missouri  Station^^ 
during  each  of  4  winters  Waters  fed  lots  of  4  or  5  high-grade  yearling 
Hereford  and  Shorthorn  steers  each  for  periods  of  49  to  92  days.  These 
steers,  rather  thin  in  flesh  and  averaging  about  725  lbs.  in  weight,  were 
fed  the  following  roughages  of  medium  quality,  without  grain,  with  the 
results  shown  below : 

Roughages  for  wintering  yearling  steers  without  grain 

Roughage     Av.  daily 
Average  roughage  allowance  refused      gain  or  loss 

Per  ct.  Lbs. 

Lot     I,  Timothy  hay,  17.6  lbs.* 16 .3  +0 .31 

Lot    II,  Whole  corn  stover,  31.3  lbs.* 40 .8  -0 .18 

Lot  III,  Shredded  corn  stover,  23.6  Ibs.f 35  .8  -0 .14 

Lot  IV,  Ensiled  corn  stover,  47.4  Ibs.f 4.6  +0 .58 

Lot     V,  Corn  stover,  13.6  lbs.,  clover  hay,  13.6  Ibs.f 27  .0  +0 .44 

*  Four  trials.        t  Two  trials. 

It  is  shown  that  yearling  steers  in  thin  condition  made  only  a  small 
gain  when  wintered  on  timothy  hay  alone.  Those  fed  whole  or  shredded 
field-cured  corn  stover  lost  in  weight,  while  on  ensiled  stover,  or  stover 
and  clover  hay  there  were  substantial  gains. 

Skinner  and  CocheP^  in  a  survey  of  Indiana  cattle  feeding  found 
that  only  about  one-fourth  of  the  feeders  from  whom  replies  were  re- 
ceived fed  grain  in  any  form  to  stockers  being  carried  thru  the  winter, 
and  of  these  the  majority  fed  grain  late  in  the  spring  just  previous  to 
turning  on  grass. 

799.  Wintering  yearlings  with  a  limited  grain  allowance. — During  4 
winters  Waters'"  compared  various  roughages  when  fed  without  limit 
to  yearling  steers  with  a  limited  allowance  of  shelled  corn.  Lots  of 
4  steers  each,  similar  to  those  fed  in  the  preceding  trials  and  averaging 
about  750  lbs.  in  weight,  were  fed  the  rations  given  in  the  following 
table  for  periods  of  66  to  120  days : 

Roughages  for  wintering  steers  getting  a  limited  grain  allowance 

Corn  fed        Daily         Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 
Average  roughage  allowance  per  day     gain  or  loss       Corn       Roughage 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Whole  com  stover,  29.3  lbs.* 3.8  -0 .32  

Com  stover,  11.0  lbs.,  clover  hay,  10.9  lbs. I  5.3  1.37  400  1,754 

Clover  hay,  19.0  Ibs.f 6.0  1 .97  305  966 

Timothy  hay,  16.6  lbs. 1 5.3  1.01  552  1,815 

Cowpea  hay,  19.0  Ibs.f 5.5  1.42  362  1,343 

Alfalfa  hay,  17.3  lbs.* 6 .0  1 .63  368  1,061 

Millet  hay,  13.1  lbs.* 6.0  0.37  1,613  3,516 

Sorghum  hay,  25.8  Ibs.f 6.0  0 .91  809  2,921 

*  One  trial.  t  Two  trials.  X  Three  triah. 

The  steers  fed  whole  corn  stover  with  an  allowance  of  3.8  lbs.  of 

shelled  corn  per  day  lost  0.32  lb.  each  daily.     Those  fed  equal  parts  of 

"Mo.  Bui.  75.  "Ind.  Clr.  12.  ^Mo.  Bui.  75. 


492  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

stover  and  clover  hay  gained  1.37  lbs.  each  daily,  requiring  only  400  lbs. 
of  corn  and  1,754  lbs.  of  roughage  for  100  lbs.  of  gain.  "Waters  points 
out  that  stover  serves  best  when  combined  with  a  limited  quantity  of 
clover  or  other  leguminous  hay,  a  point  of  great  importance.  The  steers 
fed  clover  hay  made  nearly  twice  as  large  and  far  more  economical 
gains  than  those  fed  timothy  hay,  another  fact  of  great  value  to  the 
feeder.  Alfalfa  hay  proved  about  equal  to  clover  hay,  and  cowpea  hay 
of  slightly  lower  value.  Millet  and  sorghum  hay  made  a  poor  showing 
when  fed  with  shelled  corn. 

Waters  concludes :  *  *  One  ton  of  timothy  hay  is  worth  as  much  as  3  tons 
of  whole  corn  stover  when  each  is  the  sole  feed.  (622)  Shredding  corn 
stover  did  not  enhance  its  feeding  value,  and  nearly  as  great  waste 
occurred  as  with  whole  corn  stover."  While  the  steers  fed  whole,  or 
shredded  field-cured  corn  stover  did  not  maintain  their  weight,  those 
fed  silage  made  from  corn  cut  at  the  same  time  and  from  which  all  the 
ears  had  been  removed  made  small  daily  gains.  More  dry  matter  was 
given  in  the  stover,  but  a  large  part  was  left  uneaten,  while  nearly  all 
the  silage  was  consumed. 

At  the  Tennessee  Station-^  Willson  fed  3  lots  each  of  5  steers  and  a 
fourth  of  13  steers  the  rations  shown  in  the  following  table  for  133  days 
during  the  winter: 

Silage,  straw,  or  cottonseed  hulls  for  wintering  stackers 

Average  gain  per  head     -peed  cost  of 
Average  winter  ration  Winter  Summer     Total      wintering 

Lbs.        "'  ""  ""  " 

/,  Silage,  30.2  lbs -48 

II,  Straw,  13.6  lbs.  Cottonseed  meal,  1  lb 21 

///,  Straw,  14.4  lbs.     Cottonseed  meal,  2  lbs. ...  62 

IV,  C'seed  hulls,  13.7  lbs.    C'seed  meal,  3  lbs. .  -11 

The  steers  fed  corn  silage  alone  failed  to  maintain  their  weight,  while 
those  fed  straw  (half  oat  and  half  wheat)  with  1  to  2  lbs.  of  cottonseed 
meal  per  head  daily  made  small  gains  in  weight.  In  this  trial  straw 
was  superior  to  cottonseed  hulls. 

In  another  trial  steers  wintered  on  silage  alone  gained  only  16.4  lbs. 
each,  while  others  fed  1  lb.  cottonseed  meal  per  head  daily  in  addition 
gained  109.6  lbs.  Steers  fed  corn  stover  and  1  lb.  of  cottonseed  meal 
gained  62.6  lbs.  each.  Willson  concludes  that  corn  stover  or  straw,  with 
1  to  2  lbs.  of  cottonseed  meal  per  head  daily,  makes  a  satisfactory  ration 
for  wintering  stocker  steers  that  are  to  be  grazed  during  the  following 
summer  and  finished  for  the  block  the  next  winter.  The  larger  the 
winter  gain,  the  smaller  was  the  summer  gain  generally,  tho  where  the 
steers  made  no  gains  during  the  winter  or  lost  in  weight  they  made 
smaller  total  gains  during  the  year  than  those  which  had  gained  80  to 
100  lbs.  during  the  winter. 

"Information  to  the  authors. 


Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Dollars 

292 

244 

6.03 

251 

273 

7.06 

237 

299 

9.07 

302 

291 

9.14 

CHAPTER    XXIX 

COUNSEL  IN  THE  FEED  LOT 

In  an  earlier  chapter  we  have  learned  that  the  main  object  of  fatten- 
ing is  not  the  accumulation  of  fatty  tissue  in  the  body,  but  an  improve- 
ment in  the  quality  of  the  lean  meat  thru  the  deposition  of  fat  in  the 
lean-meat  tissues.  (121)  "When  fattening  has  progressed  to  this  point 
the  meat  shows  the  characteristic  ' '  marbling ' '  and  is  of  better  flavor  and 
much  more  tender  and  juicy  than  that  from  the  unfattened  animal. 

Fat  is  concentrated  fuel  energy  stored  as  surplus  in  the  animal 's  body 
against  the  time  of  need.  Impelled  by  a  hearty  appetite,  under  liberal 
feeding  the  steer  at  first  lays  on  fat  rapidly,  storing  it  everywhere  within 
the  body — among  the  fibers  of  the  muscles,  within  the  bones,  the  body 
cavity,  etc.  After  a  few  weeks  on  liberal  feed  the  appetite  loses  its  edge, 
and  the  steer  shows  indifference  and  a  daintiness  in  taking  his  food  not 
at  first  noticed ;  every  pound  of  increase  now  means  the  consumption  of 
more  food  than  formerly.  The  fattening  process  may  be  likened  to 
inflating  a  collapsed  football — the  operation,  easy  and  rapid  at  first, 
grows  more  and  more  difficult  until  the  limit  is  reached.  (714) 

The  principal  indications  of  a  well-fattened  animal  which  the  experi- 
enced judge  of  beef  cattle  looks  for  are  a  fullness  at  the  root  of  the 
tongue  and  the  base  of  the  tail,  a  well-filled  flank,  and  a  full  "twist" 
and  "cod,"  in  addition  to  a  smooth,  firm  covering  of  fat  over  the  body. 

The  increase  of  the  growing  animal  is  largely  water,  with  some  protein, 
some  fat,  and  a  little  mineral  matter;  the  increase  of  the  fattening 
animal  on  the  other  hand,  is  largely  fat,  with  a  little  water,  and  a  trace 
of  protein  and  ash.  It  takes  far  more  food  for  a  given  increase  with  the 
fattening  than  with  the  growing  animal.  The  laying  on  of  fat  calls  for 
heavy  feeding  with  rich  feed  and  is  always  an  expensive  process. 

800.  The  ration  for  fattening. — In  the  general  discussion  of  the  re- 
quirements for  fattening,  given  in  Chapter  V,  we  have  seen  that  the 
nutrient  requirements  of  the  fattening  animal  differ  materially  from  the 
requirements  for  growth.  With  the  mature  animal  there  is  compara- 
tively little  storage  of  protein  or  of  mineral  matter,  as  the  muscular 
tissues  and  the  skeleton  are  already  grown.  The  ration  may  therefore 
have  a  relatively  wide  nutritive  ratio,  but  even  with  a  mature  animal, 
when  the  nutritive  ratio  is  wider  than  1 : 8  or  1 :  10  the  digestibility  of 
the  ration  wall  be  depressed  and  a  waste  of  feed  result.  (84) 

In  this  country  most  of  the  beef  cattle  are  now  fattened  before  they 
are  full-grown,  and  the  tendency  is  increasing  to  shorten  still  further 
the  period  before  the  steer  reaches  the  block.    For  the  fattening  of  such 

493 


494  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

animals  sufficient  protein  must  be  furnished  to  provide  for  the  growth 
in  protein  tissues  which  takes  place  during  the  fattening  period.  In 
the  preceding  chapter  it  has  been  pointed  out  that  larger  and  more 
economical  gains  were  made  by  2-yr,-old  steers  on  a  ration  having  a 
nutritive  ratio  of  1  :7.0  than  when  the  ratio  was  1:9.0.  (776)  It  has 
further  been  shown  that  when  the  nutritive  ratio  was  1:5.6  no  larger 
gains  were  secured  than  when  it  was  1 :7.0.  (777) 

Studies  made  by  the  authors,  of  southern  feeding  trials  in  which  the 
only  concentrate  used  was  cottonseed  meal,  show  that  exceedingly  satis- 
factory gains  are  produced  on  rations  having  a  nutritive  ratio  as  narrow 
as  1 :3.8  or  even  narrower.  From  these  data,  and  studies  of  other  trials 
by  the  authors,  it  appears  that  the  nutritive  ratio  of  the  ration  for 
the  2-yr.-old  fattening  steer  may  range  from  1 :3.8  to  nearly  1 :8.0  with- 
out influencing  the  results.  When  the  nutritive  ratio  is  1:8.0,  slightly 
smaller  gains  will  usually  result  than  on  a  narrower  ration,  but  under 
some  conditions  a  ration  having  this  ratio  may  be  the  more  economical. 

It  is  evident  from  this  discussion  that  the  allowance  of  crude  protein 
prescribed  in  the  Wolff-Lehmann  standard  is  unnecessarily  high,  the 
nutritive  ratio  there  advised  ranging  from  1 :5.4  to  1 :6.5.  On  the  other 
hand,  at  least  for  the  2-yr.-old  steer,  which  is  yet  growing,  the  Kellner 
and  Armsby  standards  prescribe  insufficient  protein  for  maximum 
gains.  (170,  174)  These  facts  have  been  taken  into  consideration  in 
the  recommendations  set  forth  in  the  Modified  "Wolff-Lehmann  standards, 
which  have  already  been  discussed.  (187-9;  Appendix  Table  V) 

The  proportion  of  concentrates  needed  in  the  ration  will  depend  on 
the  condition  of  the  cattle  when  placed  on  feed,  on  the  rapidity  with 
which  it  is  desired  to  fatten  them,  and  on  the  degree  of  finish  which 
the  demands  of  the  market  make  most  profitable.  As  has  been  shown, 
feeders  in  thin  fiiesh  require  a  long  feeding  period,  during  the  first  part 
of  which  the  ration  may  consist  largely  of  palatable  roughage.  On  the 
other  hand,  fleshy  feeders  may  be  finished  in  a  comparatively  short  time 
on  a  more  concentrated  ration.  (716,  779,  780)  Hastening  the  fattening 
naturally  means  supplying  a  heavier  allowance  of  concentrates  than 
when  the  period  is  lengthened.  Where  the  market  does  not  pay  a 
premium  for  the  prime  beef  furnished  by  the  highly  finished  animal,  a 
heavy  concentrate  allowance  is  not  profitable.  (768) 

801.  Practical  rations  for  fattening  cattle. — The  reader  who  wishes  to 
know  the  quantity  and  proportion  of  the  various  concentrates  and  rough- 
ages in  well  balanced  rations  for  fattening  cattle  will  find  his  wants 
adequately  met  in  the  two  preceding  chapters,  wherein  are  summarized 
the  principal  feeding  trials  at  the  different  experiment  stations,  covering 
almost  every  form  of  concentrates  and  roughages.  Out  of  the  many 
presented  he  should  be  able  to  find  several  that  approximate  his  indi- 
vidual conditions. 

802.  Getting  cattle  on  feed. — Mumford^  recommends  that  cattle  going 
on  full  feed  be  given  all  the  clover  or  alfalfa  hay  they  will  eat  without 

'Beef  Production,  pp.  49-52. 


COUNSEL  IN  THE  FEED  LOT  495 

waste.  In  addition,  start  with  2  lbs.  of  corn  per  steer  per  day,  increasing 
1  lb.  daily  until  10  lbs.  is  fed.  From  this  time  the  allowance  may  be  gradu- 
ally increased  1  lb.  every  third  day  until  they  are  on  full  feed.  Cattle 
getting  from  12  to  15  lbs.  of  corn  daily  should  have  about  12  lbs.  of 
clover  or  alfalfa  hay  per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight;  later  only  about  one- 
fourth  of  the  ration  should  be  roughage.  Where  the  feeding  period  is 
to  cover  6  months,  from  30  days  to  6  weeks  should  elapse  before  the  cattle 
are  on  full  feed.  In  such  cases  proportionally  more  good  roughage, 
such  as  clover  or  alfalfa,  is  fed.  While  the  animals  so  managed  do  not 
make  such  rapid  gains  at  first,  near  the  close  of  the  feeding  period  the 
gains  are  as  large  as  ever  and  more  economical  and  satisfactory.  As 
shown  before  (729),  Mumford  reports  success  in  using  the  self-feeder 
in  getting  steers  on  full  feed,  the  grain  being  mixed  with  chaffed  hay. 

803.  Hogs  following  steers. — The  following  is  condensed  from  Waters  :^ 
The  number  of  hogs  required  to  utilize  the  waste  per  steer  will  vary 
greatly  with  the  character  of  the  feed,  the  way  in  which  it  is  prepared, 
and  with  the  size  and  age  of  the  cattle  being  fed.  The  range  is  from  2  to 
3  hogs  per  steer  on  snapped  corn,  1.5  per  steer  on  husked  ear  corn,  about 
1  per  steer  on  shelled  corn,  and  1  hog  to  2  or  3  steers  on  crushed  or 
ground  corn. 

Whatever  favors  rapid  and  profitable  gains  with  cattle,  other  than  the 
preparation  of  the  feed,  also  favors  the  gains  of  the  hogs  following.  For 
example,  hogs  make  better  gains  following  corn-fed  steers  getting  clover, 
cowpea,  or  alfalfa  hay  than  they  do  when  the  roughage  is  timothy,  mil- 
let, or  sorghum  forage.  Likewise  feeding  the  steers  linseed  meal  benefits 
the  hogs  that  follow.  It  is  almost  as  profitable  to  feed  tankage  or  linseed 
meal  to  hogs  following  cattle  as  to  those  fattening  directly  on  grain ;  this  is 
especially  true  with  hogs  following  cattle  fed  straight  corn  wdth  timothy 
or  stover  for  roughage  in  winter,  or  with  cattle  fattening  on  corn  and 
bluegrass  or  timothy  pasture  in  summer. 

Waters  strongly  recommends  separate  clover  or  alfalfa  pastures  acces- 
sible to  hogs  following  fattening  steers  in  summer ;  on  these  the  hogs  can 
graze  at  will  after  having  cleaned  up  the  waste  from  the  cattle,  instead 
of  feeding  on  the  steer  pasture.  He  further  recommends  providing  a 
field  of  cowpeas  or  soybeans  on  which  the  hogs  may  forage  early  in  fall 
and  so  have  this  nitrogenous  grain  together  with  the  corn  they  pick  up 
from  the  steers.  Any  extra  grain  fed  should  be  given  to  the  hogs  before 
the  cattle  are  fed  so  that  the  hogs  will  not  crowd  around  the  feed  troughs 
or  under  the  wagon  and  team.  In  the  best  practice  the  hogs  are  fed  in  a 
near-by  pen  to  keep  them  from  the  cattle  while  the  latter  are  feeding. 
Whenever  hogs  begin  to  show  maturity  or  fatness  they  should  be  sup- 
planted by  fresh  ones,  for  fat  hogs  are  unprofitable  for  following  steers. 
The  best  hog  for  following  cattle  is  of  good  bone,  thin  in  flesh,  weighing 
from  100  to  150  lbs.  If  shotes  are  used  they  should  at  least  weigh  50  to 
60  lbs.  Sows  in  pig  or  young  pigs  should  never  be  put  in  the  feed  lot. 

Because  of  the  narrow  margin  in  fattening  cattle.  Waters  recom- 

*Mo.  Bui.  76. 


496  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

mends  that  where  it  is  impossible  to  provide  hogs  to  follow  the  steers 
the  fattening  of  the  steers  be  delayed  until  hogs  can  follow  or  be  given 
up  entirely.  This  advice  does  not  apply  to  feeding  weanling  calves  for 
baby  beef,  because  then  the  grain  should  be  ground  and  fed  with  alfalfa, 
clover,  cowpea  hay,  etc.,  in  which  case  the  animals  utilize  their  feed  so 
much  more  closely  that  hogs  are  not  absolutely  necessary.  (712,  736) 

804.  Frequency  of  feeding. — According  to  Mumford,^  the  majority  of 
cattle  feeders  prefer  feeding  their  cattle  grain  and  roughage  twice  a 
day  in  winter  and  grain  once  a  day  in  summer.  Feeding  once  a  day  in 
summer  is  practiced  largely  as  a  matter  of  convenience  and  not  because 
it  is  believed  to  be  better  for  the  cattle.  For  the  most  part  the  same 
reasons  that  make  it  desirable  to  feed  grain  twice  a  day  in  winter  apply 
in  summer  with  equal  force. 

805.  Water. — Fattening  cattle  should  not  only  have  an  abundant 
supply  of  uncontaminated  water  at  all  times,  but  it  should  be  easily 
accessible.  The  water  for  hogs  running  in  the  same  lot  should  be  separate 
and  so  set  off  that  the  steers  cannot  have  access  to  it,  nor  should  hogs 
drink  from  the  water  troughs  of  the  cattle.  While  it  is  best  to  have 
water  before  cattle  at  all  times,  they  readily  adapt  themselves  to  tak- 
ing a  fill  once  daily  and  thrive.  The  water  provision  should  not  be  less 
than  10  gallons  per  day  per  head  for  mature  cattle. 

Georgeson  of  the  Kansas  btation*  kept  a  record  of  the  water  drunk 
by  fattening  steers  in  winter  with  the  following  results: 

Water  drunk  hy  fattening  steers  in  winter 

Amount  of  water  drunk 

Daily  per  Per  lb.  Per  lb. 

Feed  given  steer  of  gain  of  feed 

Lba.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot     I,  Com  meal,  bran,  shorts,  oil  meal,  with  hay. .       79  33  2.5 

Lot    II,  Corn  meal,  molasses,  and  corn  fodder 73  56  2.4 

Lot  III,  OU  cake,  hay 91  57  3 .4 

Lof /F,  Ear  com,  corn  fodder 56  27  1.8 

We  note  that  on  the  carbohydrate-rich  ration  of  corn  and  corn  fodder 
the  steers  drank  but  1.8  lbs.  of  water  for  each  pound  of  feed  eaten, 
while  on  the  highly  nitrogenous  ration  of  oil  cake  and  hay  they  drank 
3.4  lbs.,  or  nearly  twice  as  much.  (103) 

806.  Salt. — Animals  fed  large  quantities  of  rich  nutritious  food,  such 
as  fattening  steers  receive,  show  a  strong  desire  for  salt,  and  this  crav- 
ing should  be  reasonably  satisfied.  Kiihn^  recommends  1  ounce  of  salt 
per  day  for  a  steer  weighing  1,000  lbs.  at  the  beginning  of  the  fattening 
period,  1.3  ounces  at  the  middle,  and  1.7  ounces  near  the  close.  Whether 
granular  or  rock  salt  be  supplied  is  merely  a  matter  of  convenience. 
Some  give  salt  once  or  twice  a  week,  others  keep  salt  before  their  cattle 
at  all  times.  As  in  other  matters  of  feeding,  habit  rules,  and  a  plan  once 
adopted  should  be  followed  without  deviation. 

'Beef  Production,  pp.  93-4.  ^Ernahr.  d.  Rindviehes,  9th  ed.,  p.  325. 

*Kan.  Bui.  39. 


COUNSEL  IN  THE  FEED  LOT 


497 


Mumford  and  Hall  of  the  Illinois  Station®  state  that  some  feeders  re- 
port favorably  on  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  of  salt  and  wood  ashes, 
which  the  steers  eat  slowly  and  with  seeming  benefit.  (101) 

807.  Variations  in  weight. — Fattening  steers  show  surprising  varia- 
tions in  weight  from  day  to  day,  and  even  from  week  to  week.  Much 
data  could  be  given  on  this  point,  but  the  following  from  one  of  George- 
son's  experiments  at  the  Kansas  Station''  will  suffice: 

Weekly  variations  in  the  weight  of  steers  during  fattening 


Date  of  weekly  weighing 


November  30 
December  7 . . 
December  14 . 
December  21 . 
December  28 . 

May  2 

May  9 

May  16 

May  23 

May  30 


Weight  of 
steer  No.  1 


Lba. 
1,232 
1,269 
1,280 
1,278 
1,325 


Gain  or 
loss 


Lbs. 


37 
11 

—2 
47 


Weight  of 
steer  No.  2 


Lbs. 

1,190 
1,205 
1,213 
1,226 
1,250 


Gain  o 
loss 


15 


Weight  of 
steer  No.  3 


Lbs. 
1,207 
1,240 
1,236 
1,244 
1,270 


Lbs. 

'  38 

-4 

8 

26 


1,545 
1,565 
1,597 
1,598 
1,610 


1,583 
1,603 
1,620 
1,643 
1,606 


1,567 
1,593 
1,619 
1,626 
1,593 


These  variations,  which  are  not  extraordinary,  show  how  difficult  it 
is  to  know  the  true  weight  of  a  steer  at  any  given  time.  Experiment 
stations  now  quite  generally  weigh  the  steer  for  3  successive  days, 
taking  the  average  as  the  true  weight  of  the  steer  on  the  second  day. 
It  has  been  suggested  that  the  variations  follow  somewhat  the  amount 
of  water  drunk  from  day  to  day,  but  this  explanation  does  not  always 
seem  sufficient.  It  seems  more  generally  due  to  the  irregular  movement 
of  the  contents  of  the  digestive  tract,  which  movement  is  influenced  by 
changes  in  the  character  and  quantity  of  the  food  consumed,  the  exercise 
or  confinement  enforced,  and  the  weather. 

808.  Cost  of  fattening. — Mumford^  gives  the  following  in  concise  form : 
**For  the  purpose  of  securing  a  definite  basis  from  which  to  work,  we 
may  assume  what  has  been  repeatedly  accomplished  in  practice,  that 
one  man  and  team,  or  their  equivalent,  can  care  for  and  feed  200  cattle 
together  with  the  hogs  following.  This  includes  not  only  feeding  the 
grain,  but  also  hauling  hay  or  other  roughage  to  the  feed  lot  from  near- 
by stacks  or  mows,  providing  bedding,  attending  to  water,  and  looking 
after  the  wants  of  steers  affected  with  injuries,  lump-jaw,  lice  and  itch. 
With  this  assumption  as  a  basis  the  following  statement  is  possible : 

Man,  6  mo.  at  $40 .00  (wages  $25,  board  $15) $240 .00 

Team  and  wagon,  6  mo.  at  $40  (maintenance  $15,  feed  $25) 240 .00 

Total  cost  labor,  6  mo $480 .00 

Cost  per  steer 2  .40" 

•111.  Cir.  92.  'Kan.  Bui.  34.  'Beef  Production,  pp.  33-4. 


498  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

The  returns  of  hogs  following  steers  fed  whole  corn  will  under  fa- 
vorable conditions  usually  offset  the  labor  cost  of  caring  for  fattening 
steers  and  the  hogs  following  them.  Another  reasonable  assumption 
is  that  when  farm-grown  crops  are  charged  to  the  steers  at  market 
prices,  the  labor  of  feeding  them  to  the  cattle  is  no  greater  than  the 
labor  of  hauling  them  to  market. 

According  to  Mumford  the  manure  produced  by  steers  during  the 
6  months'  feeding  ranges  from  3  to  4  tons,  worth,  on  many  farms,  from 
$9.00  to  $18.00  per  steer.  These  factors  should  be  considered  in  count- 
ing the  cost  and  returns  of  fattening  steers. 

Cotton  and  Ward  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,® 
collecting  data  on  24  Iowa  farms  where  2,099  cattle  were  fed  in  1909-10 
and  1910-11,  found  that  the  total  cost  to  the  feeder  of  the  fattened 
steer  was  distributed  percentagely  as  follows :  Purchase  price,  57.8 ;  feed, 
34.3;  interest  at  6  per  ct.,  1.6;  labor,  1.7;  shipping  and  selling  (not 
including  shrinkage),  4.5  per  et.  The  proportionate  cost  of  the  different 
items  will  vary  from  year  to  year,  especially  the  first  cost  of  the  cattle 
and  the  cost  of  the  feed. 

809.  Preparing  for  shipment. — Concerning  the  preparation  of  cattle 
for  shipment,  Clay,^"  than  whom  there  is  no  better  authority,  writes: 
"A  day  or  two  previous  to  shipping,  feed  the  cattle  in  a  pen,  and  feed 
hay  only.  The  secret  of  shipping  all  classes  of  cattle  is  to  place  them 
on  the  cars  full  of  food  but  with  as  little  moisture  as  possible.  A  steer 
full  of  water  is  apt  to  have  loose  bowels  and  show  up  badly  in  the 
yards ;  properly  handled  cattle  should  arrive  in  the  sale  pens  dry  behind 
and  ready  for  a  good  fill  of  water;  not  very  thirsty  but  in  good  con- 
dition to  drink  freely.  Many  shippers  think  that  by  salting  their  cattle 
or  feeding  them  oats  they  can  fool  the  buyers,  but  it  always  goes 
against  them  to  use  unnatural  amounts.  As  to  feed  on  the  road,  nothing 
equals  good  sweet  hay,  which  excels  corn  or  other  grains  because  it  is 
easily  digested  and  does  not  fever  the  animal.  Of  water  in  mid-summer, 
care  must  be  taken  to  supply  the  animal  wants,  whereas  in  winter  a 
steer  can  go  for  many  hours  without  a  drink.  Cattle  should  arrive  at 
the  sale  yards  at  from  5  to  8  A.  M.,  appearing  on  the  scene  as  near  the 
latter  hour  as  possible,  since  they  always  look  better  just  after  they 
have  been  fed  and  watered." 

810.  Shrinkage. — Extensive  investigations  in  different  sections  of  the 
United  States  by  Ward  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture" show  that  the  shrinkage  of  range  cattle  in  transit  over  70  hours 
during  a  normal  year  is  from  5  to  6  per  ct.  of  their  live  weight.  If  they 
are  in  transit  36  hours  or  less  the  shrinkage  will  usually  be  3  to  4  per  ct. 
of  the  live  weight.  The  shrinkage  of  fed  cattle  does  not  differ  materially 
from  that  of  range  cattle  for  equal  periods  of  time.  Silage-fed  cattle 
show  a  larger  gross  shrinkage  but  usually  fill  so  well  at  market  that  the 

»U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Farmers'  Bui.  588.  "U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  Bui.  25. 

"Live  Stock  Rpt.  Chicago,  Sept.  28,  1894. 


COUNSEL  IN  THE  FEED  LOT  499 

net  shrinkage  is  even  lower  than  with  cattle  fed  no  silage.  Pulp-fed 
cattle  shrink  more  than  any  other  class.  The  difference  in  shrinkage 
between  cows  and  steers  was  not  as  great  as  is  ordinarily  supposed,  tho 
cows  shrank  somewhat  less  than  steers  of  the  same  weight. 

When  the  cattle  were  fed  succulent  grass,  silage,  or  beet  pulp  before 
being  loaded,  the  shrinkage  was  great.  Slow,  rough  runs  to  market 
naturally  increased  the  shrink.  For  a  long  journey  the  common  method 
of  unloading  for  feed,  water,  and  rest  was  better  than  the  use  of  "feed 
and  water"  cars.  Where  cattle  reached  the  market  just  before  being 
sold,  the  fill  was  small,  but  when  they  arrived  the  afternoon  of  the  day 
before,  or  about  daylight  of  the  sale  day,  they  generally  took  a  good 
fill.  However,  an  exceedingly  large  fill  at  market  is  not  desirable,  be- 
cause buyers  then  discriminate  against  such  cattle. 

811.  Fattening  cattle  requires  business  judgment. — In  fattening  cattle, 
even  more  than  in  other  lines  of  animal  husbandry  good  business  judg- 
ment must  be  exercised,  or  the  venture  is  apt  to  result  in  loss.  Cotton 
and  Ward^-  well  summarize  some  of  the  important  points  to  be  ob- 
served by  one  entering  the  cattle  feeding  business: 

"Before  purchasing  his  feeders  the  farmer  should  estimate  the  quan- 
tity of  feeds  on  hand  and  their  market  price,  the  number  and  class 
and  size  of  cattle  desired,  and  the  time  required  to  consume  the  feed. 
Then  he  can  estimate  from  market  reports  the  approximate  cost  of 
his  feeders,  and  with  these  various  items  at  hand  can  figure  what  they 
must  sell  for  if  he  is  to  break  even.  He  is  then  in  position  to  select 
steers  which  will  suit  the  given  conditions.  If  the  outlook  is  not 
good,  it  is  usually  advisable  not  to  purchase  at  that  time.  It  is  an 
old  adage  among  stockmen  that  'cattle  bought  right  are  more  than 
half  sold.'  A  man  may  be  a  skillful  feeder  and  lose  money  year  after 
year  because  of  poor  judgment  in  buying.  The  beginner  should  hire 
some  experienced  cattleman  to  purchase  animals  that  will  best  suit 
his  needs,  or  deal  with  a  reliable  commission  firm  that  is  acquainted 
with  his  conditions.  By  following  the  various  market  reports  the 
feeder  can  tell  approximately  when  his  cattle  can  be  marketed  to 
greatest  advantage.  The  steers  should  be  fed  so  as  to  be  finished  at 
that  time.  When  the  steers  are  ready  for  market,  it  is  usually  not 
advisable  to  hold  for  better  prices  unless  they  continue  to  gain  in 
weight  and  condition.  The  extra  feed  consumed  by  finished  cattle 
will  soon  more  than  offset  any  ordinary  increase  in  price  that  may 
be  obtained.  When  they  are  almost  finished  the  owner  should  watch 
the  market  reports  and  communicate  with  his  commission  man  to 
determine  the  date  of  shipment." 

The  droppings  of  the  steer  are  an  excellent  index  of  the  progress 

of  fattening.     While  they  should  never  be  hard,  they  should  still  be 

thick  enough  to  "pile  up"  and  have  that  unctuous  appearance  which 

indicates  a  healthy  action  of  the  liver.     There  is  an  odor  from  the 

"U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Farmers'  Bui.  588. 


500  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

droppings  of  thrifty,  well-fed  steers  known  and  quickly  recognized 
by  every  good  feeder.  Thin  droppings  and  those  with  a  sour  smell 
indicate  something  wrong  in  the  feed  yard.  The  conduct  of  the  steer 
is  a  further  guide  in  marking  the  progress  of  fattening.  The  man- 
ner in  which  he  approaches  the  feed  box;  his  quiet  pose  while  rumi- 
nating and  audible  breathing  when  lying  down,  showing  the  lungs 
cramped  by  the  well-filled  paunch;  the  quiet  eye  which  stands  full 
from  the  fattening  socket;  the  oily  coat, — all  are  points  that  awaken 
the  interest,  admiration,  and  satisfaction  of  the  successful  feeder. 

812.  Order  and  quiet. — On  these  important  points  Mumford^^'  writes : 
"As  soon  as  the  fattening  process  begins,  the  cattle  should  be  fed  at 
certain  hours  and  in  the  same  way.  This  cannot  be  varied  15  minutes 
without  some  detriment  to  the  cattle.  The  extent  of  injury  will  depend 
upon  the  frequency  and  extent  of  irregularity.  .  .  The  even-tempered 
attendant  who  is  quiet  in  manner  and  movement  invariably  proves 
more  satisfactory  than  the  erratic,  bustling,  noisy  one.  The  cattle 
soon  learn  to  have  confidence  in  the  former  and  welcome  his  coming 
among  them,  while  they  are  always  suspicious  of  the  latter,  never 
feeling  quite  at  ease  when  he  is  in  sight.  Under  the  management  of 
the  former,  the  cattle  become  tame  and  quiet,  even  tho  more  or  Ic.s 
wild  at  the  outset;  while  under  the  latter,  wild  cattle  become  wilder 
and  tame  cattle  become  timid.  The  writer  has  observed  a  Avide  difference 
in  practice  among  feeders  as  to  their  manner  of  approaching  fattening 
steers.  Some  are  brusque  in  manner,  rushing  up  to  the  steers  and 
scaring  them  up  quickly,  while  other  (and  I  am  bound  to  say  more 
successful)  feeders  approach  the  cattle  with  the  greatest  care  and 
consideration,  getting  the  cattle  up,  if  at  all,  as  quietly  as  possible. 
Pastures  for  cattle  in  quiet,  secluded  places  are  more  valuable  for  fatten- 
ing cattle  than  are  those  adjacent  to  the  public  roads  or  adjoining  pas- 
tures where  horses  or  breeding  cattle  run."  (112) 

813.  The  eye  of  the  master. — The  ability  to  fatten  cattle  rapidly  and 
profitably  is  a  gift,  to  be  increased  and  strengthened  by  experience  and 
study.  The  ability  to  carry  a  steer  through  a  six  months'  fattening 
period  without  once  getting  him  ' '  off  feed ' '  is  possessed  by  many  a  stock- 
man ;  but  how  this  faculty  is  attained  is  something  he  cannot  well  impart 
to  others.  In  general,  when  the  steer  has  reached  full  feed,  all  the 
grain  he  will  readily  consume  should  be  supplied,  but  any  left  in  the 
feed  box,  to  be  breathed  over,  is  worse  than  wasted.  Many  experienced 
feeders  follow  the  rule,  "Keep  the  feed  always  a  little  better  than  the 
cattle."  As  has  been  shown  (735),  this  means  that  the  preparation 
of  the  feed  is  increased  as  the  fattening  progresses.  Likewise  as  the 
animal  advances  in  flesh  there  is  greater  benefit  from  adding  a  nitrog- 
enous concentrate,  such  as  cottonseed  or  linseed  meal,  to  a  ration  which 
is  already  fairly  well  balanced.  (732) 

Scouring,  the  bane  of  the  stock  feeder,  should  be  carefully  avoided, 
"Beef  Production,  pp.  92-3. 


COUNSEL  IN  THE  FEED  LOT  501 

since  a  single  day's  laxness  will  cut  off  a  week's  gain.  This  trouble  is 
generally  induced  by  over-feeding,  by  unwholesome  food,  or  by  a  faulty 
combination  in  the  ration.  Over-feeding  comes  from  a  desire  of  the 
attendant  to  push  his  cattle  to  better  gains,  or  from  carelessness  and 
irregularity  in  measuring  out  the  feed  supply.  The  ideal  stockman  has 
a  quick  discernment  which  takes  in  every  animal  in  the  feed  lot  at  a 
glance,  and  a  quiet  judgment  which  guides  the  hand  in  dealing  out  feed- 
ample  for  the  wants  of  all,  but  not  a  pound  excess.  Cattle  of  the  same 
age,  or  at  least  those  of  equal  size  and  strength,  should  be  fed  in  the 
same  enclosure.  Weak  animals,  and  those  unable  for  any  reason  to 
crowd  to  the  feed  trough  and  get  their  share,  should  be  placed  where 
they  can  be  supplied  in  quiet. 


II.  Methods  of  Beef  Production 

814.  Fattening  cattle  on  pasture. — ^Whether  the  feeder  should  finish 
his  cattle  during  the  winter  and  spring  in  the  dry  lot  or  carry  them 
thru  the  winter  to  be  fattened  on  pasture  in  the  summer  will  depend 
first  of  all  on  the  relative  cost  of  pasturage  compared  with  hay,  silage, 
and  other  roughage.  In  the  grazing  regions  cattle  are  commonly  sold 
at  the  close  of  the  pasture  season,  when  if  the  grass  has  been  good  many 
are  fat  enough  to  be  sold  as  killers,  while  the  rest  will  go  into  feed  lots 
to  be  fattened  further.  On  farms  where  land  is  high-priced  and  there 
is  little  waste  land  the  tendency  is  to  fatten  feeders  in  the  dry  lot,  since 
under  these  conditions  corn  silage  may  be  cheaper  than  pasturage. 
This  is  sho^Ti  in  a  trial  by  Bliss  and  Lee  at  the  Nebraska  Station^* 
in  which  one  lot  of  steers  were  fed  on  pasture  from  June  1  to  Sep- 
tember 10  and  another  lot  given  corn  silage  in  a  dry  lot,  both  getting 
a  concentrate  mixture  of  4  parts  corn  and  1  part  cold-pressed  cotton- 
seed cake.  The  steers  fed  silage  made  as  large  gains  as  those  on  pas- 
ture and  only  one-fourth  as  much  land  was  needed  to  produce  the  silage 
as  was  required  for  pasture.  Mumford  and  Hall  of  the  Illinois  Sta- 
tion,^^  from  extensive  inquiries  in  that  state,  report  that  cattlemen  esti- 
mate the  daily  increase  per  head  of  steers  during  the  grazing  season 
at  1.66  lbs.  for  yearlings  and  1.87  lbs.  for  2-yr.-olds. 

Waters  of  the  Missouri  Station,^®  gathering  statistics  from  more  than 
1,000  successful  cattlemen  in  Missouri,  Illinois,  and  Iowa,  found  the 
average  gains  from  cattle  pastured  for  the  6-months  period.  May  1  to 
November  1,  to  be  as  follows : 

Average  gain  of  steers  for  the  6-months  season  on  grass 

By  yearlings  By  2->T.-olds 

State  Per  month      Per  season        Per  month     Per  season 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Missouri 47  282  53  318 

Iowa 48  288  52  312 

Illinois 45  270  52  312 

"Nebr.  Rpt.  1913.  ^=111.  Clr.  79.  "Mo.  Cir.  24. 


502  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Assuming  a  pasture  charge  for  yearlings  of  75  cents  per  month,  their 
gains  cost  approximately  $1.60  per  100  lbs.,  while  the  2-yr.-olds  at  a 
pasture  charge  of  $1  per  month  would  put  on  gains  costing  but  little 
over  $1.90  per  100  lbs.  When  we  reflect  that  gains  made  by  steers  in 
winter  cost  from  $6  to  $10  per  100  lbs.  the  importance  of  wisely  and 
fully  utilizing  the  pastures  in  summer  is  apparent. 

Skinner  and  Cochel  of  the  Indiana  Station^'  found  thru  extensive 
inquiry  that  in  Indiana  during  summer  feeding  each  grain-fed  steer 
grazed  over  1.1  acres  of  land  on  the  average.  Where  no  grain  was  given, 
each  steer  grazed  over  about  2  acres. 

Lloyd  of  the  Mississippi  Station^*  reports  that  2-yr.-old  heifers,  fed 
a  light  ration  during  the  winter,  when  turned  to  pasture  gained  1.3 
lbs.  each  daily  for  178  days  on  pasture  alone.  Steers  of  the  same  age, 
thin  in  flesh  when  turned  to  pasture,  made  daily  gains  of  1.4  lbs.  for 
178  days,  while  those  full  fed  the  previous  winter  gained  but  0.8  lb.  each 
day  during  158  days. 

815.  Summer  vs.  winter  feeding. — Waters  of  the  Missouri  Station^® 
reports  the  gains  in  3  summer  and  5  winter  feeding  trials  as  follows : 

Summer  Winter 

Number  of  animals 88  105 

Average  length  of  feeding  period,  days 209  107 

Concentrates  per  100  lbs.  of  gain,  lbs 814  999 

Roughage  per  100  lbs.  of  gain,  lbs grass  382 

Average  daily  gain  per  steer,  lbs 2 .37  2 .  13 

Because  of  the  longer  feeding  period  the  summer-fed  cattle  were  much 
fatter  than  those  fed  in  winter.  Despite  this  the  summer  gains  were 
made  on  18.5  per  ct.  less  grain. 

Mumford  and  Hall  of  the  Illinois  Station,-**  from  extensive  corre- 
spondence with  feeders  of  their  state,  conclude  that  a  bushel  of  corn  will 
produce : 

Gain  in  winter     Gain  in  summer 
feed  lot  on  pasture 

With  calves 8.9  pounds     10 .0  pounds 

With  yearlings 6.5  pounds       7  . 6  pounds 

With  2-yr.-olds 5.4  pounds       6 . 8  pounds 

Waters^^  sets  forth  the  following  advantages  of  fattening  on  pasture 
compared  with  finishing  cattle  in  the  dry  lot : 

Grass  is  cheaper  than  hay. 

Summer  gains  require  less  grain  than  winter  gains. 

Steers  fatten  more  quickly  and  can  be  made  thick  and  prime  on  corn  and  grass  with 
greater  certainty,  more  uniformity,  and  the  smaller  use  of  expensive  supplements  like 
cottonseed  meal  and  linseed  meal. 

Hogs  following  the  steers  make  larger  gains,  and  return  more  profit,  with  a  lower 
death  rate. 

In  summer  the  grain  only  is  drawn;  there  is  no  roughage  to  handle. 

The  steers  are  usually  fed  but  once  daily. 

The  manure  is  scattered  by  the  cattle  themselves. 

816.  Feeding  concentrates  on  pasture. — ^When  cattle  are  finished  on 
pasture  no  concentrates  at  all  may  be  fed,  a  small  allowance  may  be 

"Ind.  Cir.  12.     ^Mlss.  Rpt.  1903.    "Mo.  Bui.  76.     =»I11.  Cir.  88.     "Mo.  Cir.  24. 


COUNSEL  IN  THE  FEED  LOT 


503 


given  during  the  entire  pasture  period,  concentrates  may  be  fed  during 
only  the  last  few  weeks,  or  an  unlimited  allowance  of  grain  may  be  given 
thruout  the  entire  period.  Except  under  range  conditions  and  in  certain 
districts,  as  in  the  bluegrass  region  of  Virginia,  where  the  pastures  are 
unusually  nutritious,  it  will  usually  pay  to  feed  some  grain  in  addition  to 
pasture.  As  Waters--  points  out,  the  cheapness  of  gains  on  grass  alone 
is  offset  by  the  low  selling  value  of  the  cattle,  because  they  are  not 
usually  fat  enough  to  market  and  must  be  sold  as  feeders  with  sufficient 
margin  for  the  buyer  to  profitably  fit  them  for  market. 

817.  Feeding  supplements  with  corn  on  bluegrass  pasture. — During  5 
years  Mumford  conducted  extensive  trials  at  the  Missouri  Station^^  with 
high-grade  beef  steers  of  various  ages  to  study  the  economy  of  feeding 
a  nitrogenous  supplement  to  animals  full  fed  on  corn  and  running  on 
a  good  bluegrass  pasture.  In  these  trials  a  total  of  126  yearlings,  55 
two-yr.-olds,  and  51  three-yr.-olds  were  fattened.  Each  year  the  steers 
were  turned  to  pasture  May  1,  and  fed  for  7  months,  by  which  time  the 
2-yr.-olds  and  3-yr.-olds  were  finished  while  the  yearlings  in  every 
instance  required  feeding  for  40  to  60  days  longer.  The  results  secured 
in  these  trials  are  summarized  in  the  following  table : 


Feeding  supplements  with  corn  to  steers  on  bluegrass  pasture 


Corn 
alone 


Corn  and 

linseed 

meal 


Corn  and 

cottonseed 

meal 


Corn  and 
gluten 
feed 


Yearlings,  av.  of  5  years 
Av.  daily  concentrate  allowance,  lbs . 

Av.  daily  gain,  lbs 

Concentrates  per  pound  gain,  lbs .  .  . 
Feed  cost  per  100  lbs.  gain* 


Two-yr.-olds,  av.  of  2  years 
Av.  daily  concentrate  allowance,  lbs . 

Av.  daily  gain,  lbs 

Concentrates  per  pound  gain,  lbs .  .  .  , 
Feed  cost  per  100  lbs.  gain* , 

Three-yr.-olds,  av.  of  2  years 
Av.  daily  concentrate  allowance,  lbs. 

Av.  daily  gain,  lbs 

Concentrates  per  pound  gain,  lbs .  .  .  , 
Feed  cost  per  100  lbs.  gain* 


15.8 
2.0 
7.78 

$6.55 

20.1 
2.5 

7.98 
$6.71 

23.1 

2.3 

10.13 

$8.38 


17.2 
2.2 
7.76 

$7.21 

20.4 

2.7 

7.64 

$7.09 

24.9 
2.8 
8.77 

$7.96 


16.5 
2.2 
7.67 

$7.09 

21.0 
2.6 
7.97 

$7.14 

23.7 
2.5 
9.85 

$8.39 


16.5 

2.2 

7.64 

$6.98 


*Shelled  com,  40  cents  per  bu. ;  linseed  meal,  S2S;  cottonseed  meal,  S24;  and  gluten  feed,  S22  per  ton; 
pasture — yearlings,  60  cents,  and  older  cattle,  75  cents  per  month. 

Since  immature  grass,  such  as  is  usually  eaten  by  grazing  animals,  is 
much  richer  in  protein  than  grass  at  the  stage  when  cut  for  hay,  corn 
and  bluegrass  pasture  alone  make  a  fairly  well-balanced  ration  for  the 
fattening  steer.  (800)  Adding  a  nitrogenous  concentrate,  however,  in- 
creased both  the  consumption  of  feed  and  the  rate  of  gain  with  all  the 
ages.  With  the  exception  of  the  3-yr.-old  steers  fed  corn  and  linseed 
meal,  the  lots  receiving  the  supplements  required  about  as  much  feed 
per  pound  gain  as  those  fed  corn  alone,  and  with  feed  at  the  prices  given 

«Mo.  Bui.  76.  "Mo.  Bui.  90. 


504  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

made  more  expensive  gains.  With  the  yearlings  and  2-yr.-olds  the 
greater  feed-cost  of  the  gains  when  a  supplement  was  fed  was,  however, 
ojffset  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  by  the  fact  that  the  steers  fed  the 
supplements  showed  better  finish  at  the  close  of  the  trial  and  would 
therefore  sell  for  a  higher  price.  The  difference  in  gains  between  the 
steers  fed  corn  alone  and  those  receiving  a  supplement  was  greatest 
toward  the  close  of  the  trial  and  with  steers  which  were  in  the  best  flesh. 
Mumford  concludes,  "The  results  of  our  experiments  for  many  years 
and  with  various  rations  and  kinds  of  cattle  clearly  indicate  the  value 
of  supplements  in  maintaining  the  appetite  and  in  securing  satisfactory 
gains  during  the  last  stages  of  the  feeding  period.  The  value  of  supple- 
ments during  the  first  part  of  the  feeding  period  has  in  many  experi- 
ments been  of  doubtful  economic  value."  Obviously  the  higher  the 
price  of  corn  compared  with  the  cost  of  the  supplements,  the  greater 
the  advantage  from  their  use.  While  cottonseed  meal  gave  slightly 
better  returns  with  the  yearlings  than  did  linseed  meal,  the  results  were 
reversed  with  the  older  cattle. 

818.  Hints  on  fattening  cattle  on  pasture. — Care  should  always  be  taken 
in  changing  cattle  from  dry  lot  to  pasture,  especially  where  they  are  in 
good  flesh,  else  they  may  not  continue  to  gain  or  may  even  shrink 
severely.  As  young  pasture  grass  is  laxative,  if  silage  or  roots  have 
been  fed  during  the  winter  the  allowance  should  be  reduced  or  entirely 
withdrawn  as  soon  as  the  cattle  are  turned  to  pasture.  Dry  roughage 
which  is  palatable  should  be  fed  during  the  change,  for  otherwise  the 
cattle  may  refuse  the  dry  feed,  preferring  the  grass.  When  the  cattle 
are  turned  to  pasture  early  in  the  season  and  there  is  no  dry  grass 
standing  over  from  the  preceding  fall,  it  is  wise  to  leave  them  on  pasture 
for  only  a  short  time  the  first  day  and  increase  the  period  gradually, 
else  severe  scouring  may  result.  If  grain  has  been  fed  during  the  winter 
it  should  be  continued  until  the  cattle  are  accustomed  to  grass.  Where 
cattle  are  nearly  finished  by  the  time  the  pasture  season  opens  they  had 
best  be  finished  in  the  dry  lot,  for  if  turned  to  pasture  they  will  usually 
make  much  poorer  gains.  Shaw-*  recommends  that  cattle  be  kept  from 
pasture  unless  they  are  to  be  fed  at  least  2  months  before  being 
marketed. 

When  the  corn  crop  matures  before  the  cattle  are  finished  for  market 
they  may  be  turned  into  the  standing  corn,  hogs  following  to  get  the 
corn  not  eaten  by  the  steers.  Where  this  practice  is  followed  the  cattle 
should  be  accustomed  to  new  corn  by  being  fed  gradually  increasing 
amounts  of  new  snapped,  or  ear  corn,  or  corn  fodder  before  being 
turned  into  the  corn  field. 

819.  Baby  beef. — The  most  intensive  method  of  beef  production  is 
the  fattening  of  calves  as  baby  beef.  Under  this  system  beef  calves  are 
fattened  as  they  grow,  reaching  a  good  finish  when  16  to  18  months  old 
and  weighing  about  1,100  lbs.  or  less.     In  the  production  of  baby  beef, 

''^The  Management  and  Feeding  of  Cattle,  p.  174. 


COUNSEL  IN  THE  FEED  LOT  505 

first  of  all,  blocky  calves  of  good  beef  type  and  conformation  must  be 
selected,  for  scrub  or  dairy-bred  calves  will  not  usually  reach  the  desired 
maturity  and  finish  at  this  early  age.  As  Mumford^^  writes,  profitable 
baby  beef  production  requires  experience,  judgment,  and  skill  of  the 
highest  order  in  the  feeder.  It  is  a  mistake  for  the  inexperienced  to  dip 
heavily  into  this  art.  To  fatten  young  animals  profitably,  they  must  be 
good,  they  must  be  fed  for  a  considerable  time,  and  they  must  be  made 
fat;  this  means  that  "tops"  must  be  bought  or  bred.  The  most  suc- 
cessful operators  try  to  retain  the  "calf  fat"  or  bloom  of  the  young  calf. 
The  calf  should  be  in  good  condition  when  fattening  begins  and  should 
be  induced  to  consume  considerable  roughage  of  high  equality,  such  as 
clover  or  alfalfa  hay  and  silage,  during  winter  and  rich  pasture  grasses 
in  summer.  Shelled,  crushed,  or  ground  corn  should  be  fed  together  with 
linseed  meal,  cottonseed  meal,  or  other  protein-rich  concentrates.  If 
the  corn  is  given  whole,  hogs  may  profitably  follow.  Oats  are  one  of 
the  best  of  feeds  with  which  to  start  the  calf  on  its  way  to  fattening. 
The  tendency  of  the  calf  and  yearling  is  toward  growth  rather  than 
fattening.  In  baby  beef  production  the  young  things  must  fatten  as 
they  grow;  this  can  only  be  accomplished  by  the  most  liberal  and  ju- 
dicious feeding,  since  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  get  calves  and  yearlings 
sufficiently  fat  for  the  market  requirements.  Heifer  calves  mature  more 
quickly  and  may  be  marketed  earlier  than  steers.  It  is  seldom  possible 
or  profitable  to  get  spring  calves  ready  for  the  baby  beef  market  before 
July  of  the  following  year ;  more  frequently  they  are  not  marketed  until 
October,  November,  or  December  when  approximately  18  months  old. 

This  system  of  beef  production  is  best  suited  to  corn-belt  farms  where 
pasture  is  relatively  expensive,  while  corn  is  cheaper  in  price  than  in 
other  sections  of  the  country.  (711-2) 

820.  Econoiny  of  gains  of  calves  fed  for  baby  beef. — At  the  Kansas 
Station^^  Cottrell,  Haney,  and  Elling  placed  130  calves,  just  weaned, 
in  the  feed  lot  during  the  latter  part  of  October.  Sixty  were  grade 
Shorthorn,  Hereford,  and  Angus  range  heifers.  The  rest  were  pur- 
chased locally  or  raised  at  the  college  farm.  All  were  fed  twice  daily, 
getting  all  the  grain  and  roughage  they  would  clean  up  within  3  hours 
after  feeding.  They  were  sheltered  by  a  common  board  shed  open  to 
the  south  and  were  fed  for  7  months  with  the  results  shown  below : 

Feed  and  7-monihs*  gain  of  calves  fed  for  hahy  heef 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Av.  gain  Concen-  Rough- 
Feed  given                                                      per  head       trates  age 
Lbs.             Lbs.                  Lbs. 

Lot      I,  Alfalfa  hay  and  corn 407  470  544 

Lot    //,  Alfalfa  hay  and  kafir 379  524  626 

Lot  in,  Prairie  hay,  corn  %,  and  soy  beans  J^.  .  .       378  520  486 

Lot  IV,  Prairie  hay,  kafir  %,  and  soy  beans  i^. .  .       342  594  539 

Lot     V,  Skim-milk  calves — alfalfa  hay  and  com .  .       440  439  436 

Lot  VI,  Whole-milk  calves— alfalfa  hay  and  corn.       404  470  420 

Average 392  503  509 

'"Beef  Production,  pp.  76-82.  ==^Kan.  Bui.  113. 


506  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

The  surprisingly  small  amount  of  feed  for  100  lbs.  of  gain  will  be 
noted.  By  the  end  of  the  following  May,  when  from  12  to  14  months 
old,  the  entire  lot  averaged  800  lbs.  in  the  college  feed  lot,  and  on  ship- 
ping to  Kansas  City  shrank  3  per  ct. 

821.  Fattening  yearlings. — Less  extreme  than  the  feeding  of  calves 
for  baby  beef  is  finishing  steers  as  yearlings,  i.e.,  before  they  are  2  years 
old.  Spring  calves  may  be  carried  thru  the  first  winter  on  roughage 
with  but  a  small  allowance  of  concentrates.  However,  the  ration  must  be 
such  as  to  keep  them  growing  steadily.  The  second  summer  good  pasture 
alone  will  be  sufficient  to  put  them  into  condition  for  the  feed  lot  in 
the  fall. 

Calves  to  be  fattened  as  yearlings  should  be  taught  to  eat  grain  before 
being  weaned  so  that  there  may  be  no  loss  of  condition  at  this  time. 
Yearlings  can  hardly  be  finished  in  a  6-months  winter  feeding  period, 
but  require  fattening  for  8  to  10  months  even  if  of  good  beef  type. 
Skinner  and  Cochel  conclude  from  3  years'  trials  at  the  Indiana  Station-^ 
that  it  is  ordinarily  more  profitable  to  complete  the  fattening  in  the  feed 
lot,  rather  than  turn  the  half-finished  cattle  out  to  grass  in  the  spring, 
for  larger  and  cheaper  gains  are  thus  made.  (711-2) 

822.  Fattening  cattle  2  years  old  or  older. — ^Where  pasturage  is  cheap, 
cattle  are  usually  not  marketed  until  2  years  old  or  older.  They  may 
be  carried  thru  the  first  winter  chiefly  on  roughage,  or  even  entirely, 
if  fed  legume  hay  and  other  roughage  of  good  quality.  (799)  On  good 
pasture  they  will  make  good  growth  the  following  summer.  If  they  are 
to  be  finished  on  grass  early  the  third  summer  they  will  need  a  moder- 
ate allowance  of  concentrates  the  second  winter.  If  to  be  sold  in  the 
fall  or  after  finishing  in  the  feed  lot,  little  or  no  grain  will  be  required 
provided  good  quality  roughage  is  fed. 

According  to  Cochel,^^  the  system  of  beef  production  usually  most 
profitable  in  western  Kansas  is  to  raise  the  calves  on  pasture  the  first 
summer,  winter  them  on  kafir,  milo,  or  sorghum  silage,  alfalfa  hay  and 
straw  or  stover  from  the  sorghums,  with  perhaps  some  cottonseed  meal 
in  addition,  pasture  the  yearlings  the  second  summer  without  feeding 
grain,  carry  them  thru  the  second  winter  as  before,  and  market  the  third 
summer  from  grass.  With  good  pasture  such  cattle  should  reach  a 
weight  of  about  1,050  lbs.  and  be  fat  enough  to  sell  as  fleshy  feeders  or 
fair  killers.  In  other  sections  of  the  western  grazing  district  a  still 
more  extensive  system  is  yet  followed,  the  steers  not  being  sold  until 
3  years  of  age.  However,  the  tendency  is  ever  toward  hurrying  the  steer 
to  the  block,  and  while  4-  and  5-yr.-old  steers  were  once  common  on  the 
range,  but  few  now  reach  this  age. 

*'Ind.  Bui.  142.  **  Information  to  the  authors. 


CHAPTER  XXX 

GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY 

The  sheep  is  the  plant-scavenger  of  the  farm.  Because  of  its  dainty 
manner  of  nibbling  herbage  we  might  suppose  that  its  likes  were  few 
and  dislikes  many,  yet  nearly  every  plant  at  some  period  of  its  growth 
seems  palatable  and  is  freely  eaten.  No  domestic  or  wild  animal  is 
capable  of  subsisting  on  more  kinds  of  food.  Grasses,  shrubs,  roots, 
the  cereal  grains,  leaves,  bark,  and  in  times  of  scarcity  fish  and  meat, 
all  furnish  subsistence  to  this  wonderfully  adaptive  animal.  In  the 
great  pine  forests  of  Norway  and  Sweden^  they  will  exist  thru  a  hard 
winter  by  eating  the  pungent  resinous  evergreens.  Among  the  Lap- 
landers, when  other  foods  fail,  they  eat  dried  fish,  the  half-rotten  flesh 
of  the  walrus,  or  even  the  very  wool  off  each  others'  backs.  Low^  reports 
that  the  sheep  of  the  Shetland  Islands  feed  upon  the  salty  seaweed  dur- 
ing winter,  knowing  by  instinct  the  first  ebbing  of  the  tide,  and  that 
they  are  fed  dried  fish  when  normal  foods  are  scarce. 

McDonald^  writes  of  the  Iceland  sheep :  ' '  The  only  kindness  which 
these  animals  receive  from  their  keepers  in  the  winter  is  being  fed  on 
fish-bones  and  frozen  offal,  when  their  natural  food  is  buried  too  deep 
even  for  their  ingenuity  and  patience. ' ' 

While  sheep  may  exist  under  such  conditions,  we  can  expect  good 
returns  only  when  they  are  given  proper  feed  and  care. 

823.  Place  of  sheep  on  the  farm. — The  organs  of  mastication  and  di- 
gestion indicate  that  plants  in  some  form  constitute  the  natural  food 
of  sheep.  The  cutting  teeth  in  the  lower  jaw  fit  against  the  cartilag- 
inous pad  above  in  such  manner  that,  when  feeding,  the  herbage  is  torn 
off  rather  than  cut.  While  horses  and  cattle  eat  only  about  half  the 
plants  considered  weeds,  less  than  one-tenth  are  refused  by  sheep.  They 
even  prefer  some  weeds,  when  yet  succulent,  to  the  common  grasses. 
Sheep  graze  more  closely  than  other  stock,  and  if  many  are  confined  to 
one  field  every  green  thing  is  at  length  consumed.  When  closely  pas- 
tured on  cut-over  timber  lands  where  the  growth  is  not  too  rank  they 
derive  much  nourishment  from  the  leaves,  bark,  and  twigs,  destroying 
the  brush  nearly  as  effectively  as  goats.  (3)  The  feces  of  the  sheep  show 
the  finest  grinding  of  any  of  the  farm  animals,  and  as  they  relish  most 
weed  seeds  this  further  fits  them  as  weed  destroyers.  As  sheep  graze, 
their  droppings  are  distributed  more  uniformly  than  with  other  stock. 
At  nightfall  they  instinctively  seek  the  higher,  usually  poorer,  land  and 

^ Sheep  Husbandry,  Killebrew,  p.  6.  'Cattle,  Sheep  and  Deer. 

^Domestic  Animals  of  the  British  Islands. 

507 


508  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

thus  leave  their  droppings  on  areas  where  most  needed.  Thru  increas- 
ing the  fertility  of  the  pastures  it  grazes,  the  sheep  has  won  the  title  of 
"The  Golden  Hoof." 

Only  a  relatively  small  investment  is  necessary  to  start  in  sheep  hus- 
bandry, since  the  foundation  animals  cost  but  little  and  the  flock  in- 
creases rapidly.  Sheep  require  neither  expensive  barns  nor  implements 
and  only  the  minimum  of  care  and  attention  during  the  busy  summer 
season.  In  wool  and  in  the  flesh  of  her  off-spring,  the  ewe  gives  double 
returns  each  year.  With  fair  prices,  the  wool  pays  for  her  maintenance, 
leaving  as  profit  all  income  from  the  lamb  or  lambs,  after  deducting  the 
small  cost  of  the  additional  feed  and  care  they  require.  Returns  come 
quickly,  as  lambs  may  be  marketed  8  or  9  months  after  the  ewes  are  bred. 
While  surpassed  by  the  pig  in  economy  of  meat  production,  the  lamb 
requires  less  feed  per  pound  of  product  than  the  steer.  Because  sheep 
readily  consume  food  which  would  otherwise  be  wasted  a  flock  will  prove 
profitable  on  many  farms  where  most  of  the  revenue  is  derived  from  other 
sources.  On  rough  or  hilly  land  that  cannot  be  economically  tilled  sheep 
may  often  be  the  main  live  stock  of  the  farm.  Tho  the  cost  of  mainte- 
nance is  lowered  thru  their  utilization  of  otherwise  waste  feed,  one  must 
not  expect  profitable  production  from  such  feed  alone. 

824.  Mutton  breeds  and  Merinos  compared. — The  Merino  sheep  is  pe- 
culiarly a  wool-bearer,  and  nearly  all  lines  descended  from  the  Spanish 
stock  have  been  selected  for  that  single  purpose.  The  story  of  the  Spanish 
Merino  in  its  home  country  forms  one  of  the  most  interesting  chapters 
in  the  history  of  live  stock.^  In  their  pilgrimage  from  South  to  Central 
Spain  each  spring  and  their  return  in  the  fall  the  great  Spanish  flocks 
made  annual  journeys  covering  over  a  thousand  miles.  Only  the  strong- 
est and  most  rugged  survived  the  long,  fatiguing,  perilous  marches.  The 
ability  to  exist  in  enormous  flocks,  to  range  over  a  vast  territory,  and 
to  subsist  upon  scant  food  are  the  leading  of  the  many  remarkable  quali- 
ties WTOught  by  stern  Fate  into  the  very  constitution  of  the  Merino  sheep. 

Almost  opposite  in  several  characteristics  are  the  English  mutton 
breeds,  which  have  been  reared  in  small  flocks  confined  to  limited  pas- 
tures, the  best  specimens  being  saved  and  nurtured  each  year  with  in- 
telligent attention  to  all  their  wants.  They  have  been  sheltered  from 
storms  and  liberally  fed  with  rich  roughage  and  grain  in  the  sheepfold 
whenever  the  fields  were  scant  of  herbage  or  the  weather  severe.  In 
general  the  life  of  the  English  mutton  sheep  has  been  one  of  quiet  con- 
tentment and  plenty  almost  to  surfeit.  In  this  country  we  cannot  hope 
to  attain  the  wonderful  success  reached  by  British  flockmasters  unless 
we  closely  follow  or  improve  upon  their  methods. 

825.  Size  of  the  flock. — The  sheep  is  distinctly  gregarious.  The  im- 
proved American  Merino  still  shows  the  result  of  inheritance  in  its 
ability  to  exist  in  great  flocks  and  thrive  under  the  most  ordinary  con- 
ditions of  care  and  keep.    With  reasonable  oversight  thousands  of  Me- 

♦Low,  Domestic  Animals  of  the  British  Islands,  Vol  II. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY 


509 


rino  sheep  can  be  held  in  single  bands  where  the  range  is  ample,  and  for 
the  brief  period  of  fattening  tens  of  thousands  may  be  successfully  fed 
together,  as  is  still  done  with  range  sheep,  carrying  Merino  blood,  which 
are  brought  to  feeding  points  in  the  western  states  and  in  the  Missis- 
sippi valley. 

In  the  humid  regions,  two  hundred  sheep  of  the  mutton  breeds  are 
as  many  as  can  usually  be  successfully  managed  in  one  flock,  and  to 
secure  the  best  returns  from  even  this  number  one  should  have  had  pre- 
vious experience.  The  novice  would  better  begin  with  a  flock  of  25, 
increasing  the  number  as  experience  grows.  When  the  farm  is  heavily 
stocked  with  sheep,  increased  vigilance  is  needed  to  prevent  infestation 
with  internal  parasites  and  other  troubles  which  are  sure  to  threaten. 

826.  A  breed  test. — ^Wilson  and  Curtiss^  at  the  Iowa  Station  fattened 
wethers  of  different  breeds  on  the  same  rations  in  2  trials,  lasting  90 
and  105  days,  respectively,  with  the  results  averaged  in  the  table.  In 
the  first  trial  there  were  ten  12-months-old  wethers  in  each  lot  and  in 
the  second  9,  averaging  9  months  of  age.  National  Delaine  Merinos  were 
used  in  the  first  trial  and  Rambouillets  in  the  second. 

Comparison  of  hreeds  for  mutton  and  wool  production 


Av. 
wt. 

Av. 

daily 
gaiQ 

Av. 
total 
gain 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Per  cent 
dressed 
carcass 

Av.  wt. 

of 

fleece 

Value 

of 
fleece 

Grain 

Hay 

Roots 

Southdown 

Shropshire 

Dorset 

SuffoUs: 

Oxford 

Lbs. 

78 

95 

92 

105 

107 

109 

102 

108 

78 

Lbs. 

0.40 
0.41 
0.45 
0.47 
0.46 
0.48 
0..55 
0.50 
0.32 

Lbs. 

39.2 
40.6 
44.8 
46.3 
45.2 
47.2 
54.5 
49.7 
32.4 

Lbs. 
483 

500 
485 
492 
499 
465 
418 
457 
573 

Lbs. 

451 
476 
494 
493 
500 
462 
411 
451 
509 

Lbs. 
279 
306 
286 
280 
311 
293 
249 
270 
345 

Lbs. 

55.3 
54.6 
53.4 
53.1 
52.6 
54.8 
54.2 
53.4 
50.7 

Lbs. 
5.7 

8.3 

6.4 

6.4 

9.5 

10.3 

11.3 

11.7 

8.2 

DoUars 

0.70 
1.04 
0.80 
0.81 
1  30 

Leicester 

Cotswold 

Lincoln 

Merino 

1.54 
1.66 
1.67 
0.87 

The  large  breeds — Leicester,  Cotswold,  and  Lincoln — made  somewhat 
the  largest  daily  gains,  the  Merinos  ranking  lowest  and  consuming  the 
most  feed  for  100  lbs.  of  gain. 

827.  Breeds  for  crossing  on  western  ewes. — To  learn  the  value  of  the 
various  crosses  on  western  ewes,  Wilson®  of  the  South  Dakota  Station 
divided  60  Montana-bred  yearling  ewes  into  6  lots,  breeding  each  lot  to 
an  average-quality  ram  of  one  of  the  breeds  showTi  in  the  table.  The 
experiment  ran  6  years,  each  lot  being  bred  in  successive  years  to  a  ram 
of  each  of  the  6  breeds.  The  lambs  were  grazed  on  bluegrass  and  rape 
pastures  until  freezing  weather  in  the  fall,  and  then  fattened  on  a  grain 
mixture  of  100  lbs.  shelled  corn,  100  lbs.  oats,  and  25  lbs.  linseed  meal, 
with  all  the  upland  prairie  hay  they  would  eat.  They  were  shorn  before 
marketing  in  the  spring.  During  the  course  of  the  experiment,  some  of 
the  ewes  in  each  lot  were  lost  from  various  causes. 

''Iowa  Buls.  33,  35.  'S.  D.  Bui.  127. 


510  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Value  of  rams  of  various  breeds  for  crossing  on  western  ewes 

Concentrates     Value 

No.  of  Initial         Daily  for  100  lbs.      of  wool  Dressed 

Breed  of  ram  lambs  fed      weight         gain  gain  per  head  carcass* 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Dollars  Por  ct. 

Cotswold 65  77  .36  524  1 .63  52 .4 

Oxford 53  82  .34  543  1 .36  52 .9 

Hampshire 55  80  .31  587  1.37  53.4 

Shropshire 57  73  .31  575  1 .36  53.2 

Southdo\\Ti 53  72  .25  564  1.11  53.1 

Rambouillet 53  72  .31  563  1.24  54.2 

♦Average  of  3  years. 

The  Cotswold  lambs  made  the  largest  and  most  economical  gains  and 
led  in  value  of  fleece.  In  percentage  of  dressed  carcass  the  Cotswolds 
were  the  lowest  and  the  Rambouillets  the  highest.  The  general  criti- 
cisms before  slaughter  were  that  the  Cotswolds  were  too  leggy  and  heavy, 
the  Hampshires  and  Oxfords  too  heavy,  and  the  Rambouillets  not  smooth 
enough.  The  Southdowns  and  Shropshires  best  met  the  demands  of  the 
market. 

Faville,^  at  the  Wyoming  Station,  mated  29  fine-wooled  western  ewes 
with  a  good  Cotswold  ram  and  another  lot  with  a  Southdown  ram,  and 
fattened  the  resulting  lambs.  The  Cotswold  grades  made  slightly  larger 
and  more  economical  gains,  but  the  Southdowns  gave  a  higher  percentage 
of  dressed  carcass,  worth  more  per  pound.  Carlyle  and  Iddings,®  on 
fattening  a  lot  of  139  Lincoln-Merino  lambs  and  161  Shropshire-Merinos 
at  the  Idaho  Station,  found  that  the  latter  made  slightly  larger  gains, 
while  the  feed  consumed  per  100  lbs.  gain  was  practically  the  same  for 
both  lots. 

828.  Feeding  grain  before  and  after  weaning. — At  the  Wisconsin  Sta- 
tion,^ Craig  studied  the  profitableness  of  feeding  grain  to  lambs  before 
and  after  weaning  when  on  good  pasture.  In  4  trials  high-grade  Shrop- 
shire lambs,  early  induced  to  eat  various  grains,  were  given  all  they 
would  consume  in  a  trough  placed  in  a  lamb-creep.  (894)  The  following 
table  summarizes  the  results  secured  before  weaning,  in  periods  averag- 
ing 10  weeks: 

Feeding  various  grains  to  lambs  before  weaning 

Average  daily  grain  allowance 

Lot     I,  Corn  meal,  0.4  lb.* 

Lot   II y  Whole  oats,  0.4  lb 

Lot  III,  Wheat  bran,  0.3  lb 

Lot  IV,  Cracked  peas,  0.4  lb 

•Average  of  5  trials. 

The  large  daily  gain  of  over  one-half  pound  made  by  these  unweaned 
lambs  and  the  small  concentrate  requirement  in  addition  to  the  dam's 
milk  forcefully  illustrate  the  great  general  principle  that  young,  grow- 
ing animals  give  the  best  returns  for  feed  consumed.  All  the  different 
concentrates  fed  were  found  satisfactory.     Corn  fed  alone  gave  good 

'Wyo.  Bui.  95.  'Idaho  Bui.  77.  'Wis.  Rpts.  1896.  1903. 


[nitial 

Daily 

Total 

Concentrates  for 

TOight 

£r 

!r. 

100  lbs.  gain 

Lbs. 

Lbs 

39 

0.51 

35.8 

74 

44 

0.53 

37.0 

78 

43 

0.48 

33.6 

71 

37 

0.53 

37.0 

81 

GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY    511 

returns,  especially  when  cost  was  considered,  the  dam's  milk  supplement- 
ing this  highly  carbonaceous  grain.  From  these  and  other  careful 
studies,  Craig  reached  the  following  conclusions: 

' '  The  continuous  grain  feeding  from  birth  until  the  lambs  were  about 
10  months  old  did  not  produce  any  noticeable  difference  in  the  carcasses 
in  respect  to  the  mixture  of  fat  and  lean,  but  materially  influenced  the 
early  maturity  of  the  lambs.  The  lambs  so  fed  attained  a  given  weight 
from  4  to  7  weeks  sooner  than  those  fed  no  grain  before  weaning  and 
required  about  the  same  amount  of  grain  for  the  same  increase  in  weight. 
When  lambs  are  fed  grain  continuously  from  birth  they  are  fit  for  the 
market  at  any  time,  so  that  advantage  may  be  taken  of  any  favorable 
fluctuation  that  may  occur  in  prices.  "When  the  lambs  are  to  be  sold  at 
weaning  time  in  July  at  the  age  of  3  or  4  months,  or  in  November  when 
about  7  months  old,  it  will  pay  to  feed  them  grain. ' ' 

The  unlimited  feeding  of  grain  after  weaning  led  the  lambs  to  eat 
less  pasture.  One-half  pound  of  grain  per  head  daily  is  the  greatest 
amount  that  was  found  profitable  to  feed  at  this  time. 

829.  Soiling  ewes  and  lambs. — Because  of  their  daintiness  and  the 
large  variety  of  plants  they  crop  if  opportunity  offers,  it  is  usually 
undesirable  to  maintain  sheep  on  soilage.  However,  desiring  to  ascer- 
tain, regardless  of  cost,  the  amount  of  food  required  by  sheep  for  growth 
in  summer,  the  senior  author^°  conducted  the  following  trial  at  the  Wis- 
consin Station.  Ten  large  Merino  ewes  were  chosen,  each  with  a  vigor- 
ous lamb  at  foot  1  month  old  when  the  trial  began,  June  3.  With  pa- 
tience and  laborious  attention  to  details  the  shepherd  fed  the  lot  success- 
fully, obtaining  the  results  given  in  the  table : 

Feed  required  for  100  lbs.  gain  when  soiling  ewes  and  lamhs 

Green       Green  com  Total  dry 

clover  fodder  Hay  Oats  matter 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Ewes  and  lambs  before  weaning, 

106  days 1,806  1,366  ...  45  850 

Lambs  after  weaning,  28  days 915  292  413  806 

When  we  remember  that  the  ewes  and  lambs  would  have  preferred  to 
do  their  o-^ati  foraging  the  amount  of  dry  matter  required  per  100  lbs. 
gain  was  most  reasonable.  When  we  further  consider  that,  if  allowed 
to  graze,  they  would  have  eaten  weeds  and  weed  seeds  as  well  as  the 
better  forage,  we  must  conclude  that  the  sheep  is  one  of  the  most  eco- 
nomical meat  producers  on  the  farm. 

830.  Shearing  lambs  before  fattening. — From  trials  covering  4  years 
at  the  Wisconsin  Station"  Craig  found  that  fall  shearing,  not  later  than 
October,  was  beneficial  from  the  standpoint  of  size  and  economy  of  gains, 
when  lambs  that  were  6  months  old  were  to  be  prepared  for  the  early 
winter  market.  With  lambs  fattened  during  a  3  or  4  month  winter  pe- 
riod no  advantage  resulted.  Tho  more  wool  was  obtained  by  shearing  in 

"Wis.  Rpt.  1890.  "Wis.  Rpt.  1904. 


512  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

the  fall  and  again  in  the  spring,  the  market  value  of  the  2  clippings  was 
no  greater  than  the  single  clip  with  its  longer  fibers. 

In  a  13-week  trial  by  F.  B.  Mumford  at  the  Michigan  Station,^-  a  lot 
of  10  lambs  Avas  shorn  in  November  while  another  was  left  unshorn,  both 
being  fattened  on  a  ration  of  clover  hay  and  equal  parts  of  corn  and 
wheat.  Both  lots  were  kept  in  a  barn,  the  window  in  the  pen  contain- 
ing the  unshorn  lambs  being  left  open,  while  that  in  the  pen  of  the  shorn 
lambs  was  kept  closed.  Despite  this  care,  the  shorn  lambs  suffered  from 
the  cold.  The  shorn  lambs  ate  0.1  lb.  more  grain  and  0.2  lb.  more  hay 
per  head  daily,  yet  made  30  per  ct.  less  gain  than  those  not  shorn.  Had 
the  shorn  lambs  still  warmer  quarters,  there  undoubtedly  Avould  have 
been  less  difference  in  the  returns. 

On  account  of  the  prevalence  of  the  practice  of  shearing  lambs  before 
fattening  when  they  are  to  be  fed  late  in  the  spring.  Skinner  and  King 
fed  166  lambs  for  60  days,  beginning  March  14,  at  the  Indiana  Sta- 
tion.^^  Half  were  shorn  when  they  had  been  on  feed  10  days  while  the 
others  carried  their  wool  till  10  days  before  the  close  of  the  trial.  The 
early-shorn  lambs  made  neither  larger  nor  more  economical  gains  than 
the  others.  Undoubtedly  if  the  weather  grows  very  warm  in  the  spring 
before  lambs  are  finished,  it  mil  pay  to  remove  their  fleeces. 

831.  Fattening  sheep  of  different  ages. — At  the  Montana  Station^* 
Shaw  compared  the  fattening  qualities  of  average  western  range  lambs, 
1-  and  2-yr.-old  wethers,  and  aged  ewes.  Each  lot  of  about  50  was  fed 
whole  barley  and  clover  hay  for  88  days  with  the  following  results : 

Fattening  range  sheep  of  different  ages 


Average  ration 

Av.wt. 

Av. 

Av. 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Clover 

at  be- 

daily 

total 

Clover 

Age  when  fed 

Barley       hay 

ginning 

gain 

gain 

Barley 

hay 

Lba.        Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

T/ambs 

.     0.7      2.1 

63 

0.27 

23.7 

253 

763 

One-year-old  wethers. . . 

.     0.7      3.8 

95 

0.27 

23.5 

256 

1,413 

Two-year-old  wethers .  . 

.     0.7      4.1 

116 

0.28 

24.3 

248 

1,469 

Aged  ewes 

.     0.7      2.3 

92 

0.18 

15.6 

387 

1,320 

It  will  be  observed  that  all  lots,  except  the  aged  ewes,  made  practically 
the  same  daily  and  total  gains.  All  were  fed  the  same  amount  of  grain, 
but  the  lambs  ate  only  about  half  as  much  hay  as  the  yearlings  or  2-yr.- 
olds.  Hence  the  gains  of  the  lambs  were  much  more  economical.  In 
other  trials  at  the  same  Station,"  lambs  made  not  only  more  economical 
but  also  more  rapid  gains  than  yearling  wethers.  It  is  generally  unwise 
to  feed  yearlings  for  the  block,  since  they  are  shedding  teeth  and  there- 
fore not  in  condition  to  give  the  best  returns  for  feed  and  care.  Unless 
prices  for  wool  rule  high  the  stockman  cannot  afford  to  carry  wethers 
past  the  period  when  they  may  be  fed  off  as  lambs.  Culls  can  be  pre- 
pared for  the  butcher  at  any  time  by  the  use  of  a  little  grain.  In  the 
vicinity  of  cities  profitable  sales  can  be  made  of  fat  culls  at  times  when 
regular  feeders  have  failed  to  supply  the  market. 

^'Mich.  Bui.  128.        "led.  Bui.  168.         "Mont.  Bui.  35.        "Mont.  Buls.  47.  59. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY    513 

The  demand  for  well-fattened  lambs  grows,  the  tender,  juicy,  high- 
flavored  meat  finding  increasing  favor  among  Americans.  Not  only  do 
prices  for  fat  lambs  rule  high  as  compared  with  mature  sheep  and  farm 
animals  generally,  but  there  are  other  advantages  in  feeding  off  lambs 
before  they  reach  maturity.  A  given  weight  of  feed  goes  further  with. 
lambs  than  with  mature  sheep  ;  the  money  invested  is  sooner  turned,  and 
there  is  less  risk  from  death  and  accident.  Thus  the  tendency  is  toward 
marketing  the  lambs  as  rapidly  as  they  can  be  satisfactorily  sold.  If 
lambs  raised  on  farms  are  not  sufficiently  fat  in  late  summer  or  early  fall 
to  meet  the  reasonable  demands  of  the  market,  it  shows  a  lack  of  feed 
and  care,  or  that  parasites  have  destroyed  profits.  Owing  to  their  ten- 
dency to  grow,  lambs  require  a  longer  period  to  fatten  than  do  mature 
wethers.  Since  they  are  not  only  making  fat  but  also  lean  meat,  the 
ration  should  be  somewhat  narrower,  that  is,  contain  more  protein,  than 
is  needed  for  fattening  mature  sheep.  However,  a  ration  which  is  too 
narrow  will  unduly  stimulate  gro'W'th,  and  not  give  the  requisite  finish. 

832.  Shelter  for  sheep. — Above  every  other  animal  on  the  farm  the 
sheep  should  be  kept  dry  as  to  both  coat  and  feet.  Inattention  to  either 
of  these  essentials  will  result  disastrously.  With  dry  winter  quarters 
sheep  will  stand  a  great  degree  of  cold  without  injury.  Their  shelter 
should  not  be  warm,  compared  with  that  of  other  farm  animals,  for  sheep 
sweat  badly  in  winter  when  confined  in  quarters  sufficiently  warm  for 
dairy  cows.  One  thickness  of  matched  boards  will  make  the  barn  or 
shed  where  sheep  are  confined  sufficiently  warm  in  the  northern  states 
except  for  winter  lambs.  Ample  ventilation  is  of  great  importance,  but 
drafts  must  be  avoided.  On  the  western  plains,  it  is  even  more  necessary 
to  protect  sheep  from  cold  winds  than  from  rain.  Sunshine,  good  drain- 
age, and  conveniences  for  feeding  are  the  other  requisites  of  a  good  sheep 
barn.  When  succulent  feeds,  such  as  wet  beet  pulp  or  silage,  are  fed 
the  quarters  must  be  especially  well  drained  and  the  barn  or  shed  well 
bedded.  Stone  basements  are  unsatisfactory  for  sheep  on  account  of 
dampness,  and  if  used  good  ventilation  is  especially  necessary.  Damp 
walls  are  a  sure  indication  of  lack  of  ventilation  and  impending  trouble. 

In  late  spring  and  early  summer  when  cold  rains  begin,  the  flock 
should  be  sheltered  if  possible,  for  exposure  is  dangerous,  especially  to 
young  lambs.  In  the  heat  of  summer  if  there  is  no  natural  shade  in  the 
pastures  the  flock  should  have  access  to  a  darkened  but  well  ventilated 
shed.  A  fringed  curtain  thru  which  the  sheep  force  their  entrance  will 
keep  back  the  flies  from  this  retreat.  (881) 

833.  Winter  quarters  for  fattening  sheep. — At  the  Minnesota  Station" 
Shaw  fed  eight  78-lb.  lambs  for  117  days  in  a  yard  sheltered  from  the 
wind  by  a  low  building  at  one  side.  A  second  lot  was  confined  in  a  yard 
with  an  open  shed  for  shelter,  while  a  third  was  kept  in  a  compartment 
of  a  barn  ventilated  by  means  of  a  large  window  facing  the  east.  All 
lots  were  fed  the  same  ration  with  the  following  results : 

"Minn.  Bui.  44. 


514  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Effect  of  various  methods  of  confinement  on  fattening  lambs 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 
Average  Wheat 

Where  fed  daily  gain         screenings  Oil  meal  Hay 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot     I,  out  of  doors 0 .28  804  90  316 

Lot   II,  in  yard  with  shed 0 .32  668  74  251 

Lo<  7/7,  in  stable 0.28  722  80  283 

Lot  II,  kept  in  a  yard  with  an  open  shed,  made  the  largest  and  the 
most  economical  gains,  while  Lot  I,  kept  out  of  doors,  made  as  good  gains 
as  those  confined  in  the  barn,  but  required  slightly  more  feed  for  100 
lbs.  of  gain. 

Skinner  and  King  found  at  the  Indiana  Station^^  that  lambs  fattened 
during  the  winter  in  an  open  shed  and  adjacent  yard  made  0.01  lb.  less 
daily  gains  and  required  slightly  more  feed  for  100  lbs.  gain  than  others 
kept  in  a  well-ventilated  barn.  But  the  lambs  in  the  open  shed  were 
better  finished,  and  sold  for  enough  more  to  overbalance  the  slightly 
higher  cost  of  gains.  In  a  later  trial  the  lambs  fed  in  the  open  shed 
consumed  less  feed  per  100  lbs.  gain  and  again  sold  for  a  higher  price 
than  those  fed  in  the  barn. 

That  shelter  from  rain  is  needed  even  in  a  moderate  climate  is  shown 
in  a  trial  by  Mumford,  Trowbridge,  and  Hackedorn  at  the  Missouri  Sta- 
tion^^  in  which  yearling  wethers  fed  in  an  open  yard  made  smaller  gains 
and  required  over  19  per  ct.  more  feed  per  100  lbs.  gain  than  others 
which  had  access  to  a  barn.  In  the  northern  states  a  dry,  littered  yard, 
having  a  sunny  exposure,  and  provided  with  a  well-bedded,  comfortable 
shed  opening  to  the  east  or  south,  extending  along  the  windward  side  to 
break  the  cold  winds  and  driving  storms,  is  ideal  for  fattening  sheep.  In 
such  quarters  the  air  is  bracing,  the  sunshine  invigorating.  Here  the 
animals,  heavy  coated  and  filled  with  rich  grain  and  roughage,  are  both 
warm  and  comfortable,  and  comfort  is  essential  to  the  highest  gains. 
In  the  arid  regions,  protection  from  driving  winds  and  sandstorms  is 
all  that  is  essential. 

834.  Exercise. — For  the  breeding  flock  abundant  exercise  thruout  the 
year  is  essential.  (Ill)  That  fattening  sheep  make  better  gains  if  allowed 
but  limited  exercise  is  sho^vn  by  trials  at  the  Wisconsin  Station^^  in 
which  during  3  consecutive  winters  Humphrey  and  Kleinheinz  kept  one 
lot  of  12  wether  lambs  in  a  dry,  airy,  well-lighted  pen  during  fattening 
while  another  was  turned  out  daily  for  exercise  when  the  weather  per- 
mitted.   The  results  are  averaged  in  the  following  table : 

Exercise  vs.  confinement  for  fattening  ivether  lambs 

Average  ration  Av.  daily        Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Grain        Hay        Roots        gain         Grain         Hay      Roots 
Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.         Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.       Lbs. 

Exercised 1.1         19        1.4      0.15        708     1,297    1,068 

Not  exercised 1.1         19        1.4      0.17        618     1,113      899 

"Ind.  Bui.  168;  information  to  the  authors. 

"Mo.  Bui.  115.      ^»Wis.  Rpts.  1904-05. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY 


515 


In  no  case  did  these  lambs  make  large  or  economical  gains,  for  they 
were  in  better  condition  at  the  beginning  than  average  feeder  lambs  and 
were  not  forced  for  the  largest  gains.  The  lambs  given  exercise  made 
slightly  smaller  gains  and  required  over  16  per  ct.  more  feed  for  100  lbs. 
gain  than  those  more  closely  confined. 

835.  Grinding  grain ;  cutting  or  grinding  hay.— Of  all  farm  animals  the 
sheep  is  best  able  to  do  its  own  grinding,  and  with  few  exceptions  whole 
grain  only  should  be  furnished.  (423)  The  common  saying  of  feeders, 
"a  sheep  which  cannot  grind  its  own  grain  is  not  worth  feeding,"  is  a 
truthful  one.  Valuable  breeding  sheep  with  poor  teeth  may  be  contin- 
ued in  usefulness  by  being  fed  ground  grain.  In  certain  cases  grinding 
may  prove  advantageous.  At  the  Colorado  Station-*^  Cooke,  when  feed- 
ing western  sheep  on  wheat,  observed  that  much  of  the  grain  passed 
thru  the  animals  unbroken.  As  shown  in  the  next  chapter,  it  is  well  to 
grind  such  hard  seeds  as  bald  barley,  millet,  and  screenings  containing 
small  weed  seeds. 

From  4  trials  testing  the  value  of  cutting  and  grinding  alfalfa  hay  for 
fattening  lambs,  Morton  of  the  Colorado  Station  -^  concludes  that  when 
good  quality  long  alfalfa  hay  is  fed  not  enough  is  refused  to  warrant 
such  preparation.  When  poor  quality  hay  is  used,  cutting  into  three- 
fourth  inch  lengths  may  be  profitable  thru  inducing  closer  consumption, 
provided  the  cost  is  not  more  than  $1  per  ton.  Reducing  such  hay  to 
meal  may  be  warranted,  if  the  cost  is  not  more  than  $3  to  $4  per  ton. 

836.  Self  feeders;  feed  racks. — To  save  time  and  labor  some  feeders 
place  quantities  of  grain  sufficient  for  a  week  or  more  in  a  self  feeder, 
a  box  so  arranged  that  the  grain  passes  down  into  the  feed  trough  as 
rapidly  as  the  sheep  consume  the  supply  below.  Trials  with  self  feeders 
by  F.  B.  Mumford  at  the  Michigan  Station"  with  ten  80-lb.  lambs  in 
each  lot,  fed  for  105  days,  and  by  Shaw  at  the  Minnesota  Station-^  with 
eight  80-lb.  lambs  in  each  lot,  fed  for  117  days,  are  summarized  in  the 
table : 

Trials  ivith  self  feeders  for  fattening  lamhs 


Average  ration 

Av. 

daily 
gain 

Av. 
total 
gain 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Grain 

Hay 

Grain 

Hay 

Michigan 

Self-fed 

Com,  1.4  lbs 

Lbs. 

0.9 
1.0 
0,9 
1.0 

0.5 
0.8 

Lbs. 
0.23 
0.31 
0.22 
0.25 

0.35 
0.32 

Lbs. 
24.8 
32.8 
23.7 
26.7 

41.6 
37.5 

Lbs. 
607 
481 
776 
638 

908 

742 

Lbs. 
387 

Ordinary .... 

Self-fed 

Ordinary .... 
Minnesota 

Self-fed 

Ordinary .... 

Com,  1.5  lbs 

334 

Com  and  bran,  1.8  lbs 

Corn  and  bran,  1.6  lbs 

Wheat  screenings,  3.2  lbs. . . 
Wheat  screenings,  2.4  lbs.. . 

405 
421 

130 
251 

^Colo.  Bui.  32. 
^Colo.  Buls.  151,  187. 


"Mich.  Bui.  113. 
»»Minn.  Bui.  44. 


516  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

In  each  trial  the  self  feeder  increased  the  feed  consumed  for  100  lbs. 
of  gain.  Mumford'*  concludes  from  tests  covering  3  years,  "Fattening 
Iambs  by  means  of  a  self  feeder  is  an  expensive  practice,  and  economy  of 
production  requires  more  attention  to  the  variation  in  the  appetites  of 
the  animals  than  can  be  given  by  this  method. ' '  After  a  later  trial  with 
yearling  wethers  at  the  Missouri  Station-^  Mumford  writes,  "The  ad- 
vantage of  a  self  feeder  even  at  a  low  price  of  corn  is  small,  as  it  will 
be  found  necessary  to  feed  by  hand  the  first  5  or  6  weeks  of  the  feeding 
period  in  order  to  accustom  the  sheep  to  a  full  feed  of  grain  before  them 
all  the  time. ' '  Numerous  observations  show  that  the  death  rate  is  higher 
when  self  feeders  are  used.  The  more  concentrated  the  grain,  the  greater 
the  danger  in  feeding  it  thru  the  self  feeder.  Bulky  wheat  screenings 
have  been  satisfactorily  fed  in  self  feeders. 

From  trials  during  2  years  Morton-®  reports  that  under  Colorado  con- 
ditions, with  lambs  fattened  in  the  open,  self-feed  hay  racks,  costing 
$1  per  running  foot  and  accommodating  4  lambs  per  foot,  2  on  a  side, 
saved  sufficient  hay,  compared  with  feeding  it  on  the  ground  outside  the 
pens,  to  pay  their  cost  in  3  seasons.  It  is  well  to  construct  hay  racks  so 
that  chaff  and  seeds  will  not  fall  upon  the  necks  of  the  sheep,  since  such 
material  will  work  down  into  the  wool,  injuring  its  quality. 

Grain  and  roughage  should  be  fed  separately  to  sheep.  If  sheep  are 
fed  in  close  quarters  the  hay  should  be  supplied  daily,  since  they  dislike 
provender  that  has  been  ' '  blown  on, ' '  as  shepherds  say.  In  feeding  sheep 
in  open  lots,  as  is  done  thruout  the  West,  racks  sufficiently  large  to  hold 
roughage  for  several  days  are  often  used.  Grain  troughs  should  have 
a  wide,  flat  bottom,  forcing  the  sheep  to  consume  the  grain  slowly.  Fif- 
teen inches  of  linear  trough  space  should  be  provided  for  each  animal. 

837.  Water. — Opinions  as  to  the  amount  of  water  necessary  for  sheep 
vary  more  than  with  any  other  domestic  animal.  In  countries  with  heavy 
dews  and  ample  succulent  feed  in  summer,  and  where  roots  are  largely 
used  in  winter,  water  may  possibly  be  denied  sheep,  but  ordinarily  it 
is  a  necessity.  Because  of  the  danger  of  infestation  with  internal  para- 
sites, drinking  from  stagnant  pools  must  be  avoided.  On  the  arid  ranges 
of  the  Southwest,  when  grazing  on  certain  succulent  plants,  like  singed 
cacti,  sheep  sometimes  go  60  days  without  water.-''^  The  wise  shepherd  will 
under  all  usual  conditions  see  that  his  sheep  are  supplied  with  water  daily. 

A  sheep  needs  from  1  to  6  quarts  of  water  daily,  according  to  feed, 
temperature,  and  weather.  Ewes  suckling  lambs,  and  sheep  that  are 
being  fattened  require  more  water  than  those  being  simply  carried  thru 
the  winter.  The  following  table  presents  data  gathered  at  the  Michi- 
gan^^  and  Colorado-*^  Stations  on  the  amount  of  water  consumed  by 
fattening  lambs,  averaging  about  80  lbs.  at  the  beginning  of  the  trials : 

"Mich.  Bui.  128.  ^Mich.  Buls.  113,  128,  136. 

"Mo.  Bui.  115.  "Colo.  Bui.  75. 

=«Colo.  Bui.  187. 

"Wilcox  and  Smith,  Farmers'  Cyclopedia  of  Live  Stock,  p.  590. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  517 

Water  drunk  by  lambs  on  various  rations  during  fattening 

Water  Water 

Av.  daily         drunk  drunk  per         No.  of 

Rations                                                       gain             daily  100  lbs.  gain       trials 

Lbs.               Lbs.  Lba. 

Michigan 

Grain  and  clover  hay,  open-yard  feeding  0.22  1.4  599  1 

Grain  and  clover  hay 0 .28  2.8  979  8 

Grain,  roots,  and  clover  hay 0 .36  1 .9  540  3 

Clover  hay  and  sugar  beets 0 .  13  0.3  314  1 

Colorado 

Grain  and  alfalfa  hay  (cold  water) 0 .  36  5.1  1 ,423  2 

Grain  and  alfaKa  hay  (warm  water)  ...  0.36  5.3  1,514  2 

Adding  roots  to  the  ration  greatly  decreased  the  water  requirement, 
the  lambs  fed  clover  hay  and  unlimited  sugar  beets  drinking  only  0.3 
lb.  each  daily.  Lambs  fed  in  an  open  yard  required  less  water  than  those 
in  confinement,  due  probably  to  the  lower  temperature  outside.  Supply- 
ing lambs  fattening  on  alfalfa  hay  and  grain  with  warm  instead  of  cold 
water  made  no  difference  either  in  the  quantity  of  water  drunk  or  in  the 
rate  and  economy  of  the  gains  produced. 

Gray  and  Ridgeway  of  the  Alabama  Station^*'  found  that  in  late  sum- 
mer ewes  in  confinement  drank  2.5  lbs.  of  water  each  while  living  on 
green  sorghum  forage,  and  6.1  lbs.  when  on  cottonseed  meal  and  hulls. 
(103) 

838.  Salt. — Sheep  require  salt,  which  should  be  available  at  all  times, 
for  an  irregular  supply  induces  scouring.  In  winter  it  may  be  given  in 
a  trough  used  only  for  this  purpose.  In  summer  salt  may  be  rendered 
doubly  useful  by  scattering  it  on  sprouts  growing  about  stumps,  on  brush 
patches,  or  over  noxious  weeds.  Some  western  sheep  raisers  never  salt 
their  sheep  but  allow  them  to  eat  alkali,  which  is  safe  when  it  contains 
80  per  ct.  salt.^^  It  is  believed  that  salted  sheep  are  less  liable  to  become 
locoed. 

In  an  experiment  in  France^^  in  which  3  lots  of  sheep  were  fed  the 
same  ration  of  hay,  straw,  potatoes,  and  beans,  those  receiving  a  daily 
allowance  of  0.5  oz.  of  salt  with  their  feed  gained  4.5  lbs.  more  per  head 
than  those  fed  no  salt,  and  1.25  lbs.  more  than  those  fed  0.75  oz.  per 
head  daily.  This  indicates  that  sheep  may  be  given  too  much  as  well 
as  too  little  salt.  The  fleeces  of  the  salt-fed  sheep  were  better  and  heavier 
than  those  fed  no  salt.  (101) 

839.  Weight  and  gains  of  fattened  wethers. — By  far  the  most  compre- 
hensive data  on  the  weights  and  gains  of  fattened  wethers  of  different 
ages  and  from  the  various  breeds  are  furnished  by  the  records  of  the  ani- 
mals winning  prizes  at  the  Smithfield  Club  Show,  London,  England. 
Below  are  presented  these  data  for  the  years  1895  to  1912,  inclusive.^'' 
As  given  in  these  records  the  daily  gain  includes  the  weight  of  the  ani- 
mal at  birth. 

""Ala.  Bui.  148. 

"Wilcox  and  Smith,  Farmer's  Cyclopedia  of  Live  Stock,  p.  590. 

»=Abs.  in  Agr.  Jour,  and  Min.  Rec.  5  (1902),  p.  361. 

^'Lond.  Live  Stock  Jour.,  Vols.  42-76. 


518 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Weight  of  prize-winning  wethers  at  Smithfield 


Wether  lambs 

Yearling  wethers 

Number 

Av. 
age 

Av. 

wt. 

Av. 
daily 
gain 

Number 

Av. 
age 

Av. 
wt. 

Av. 
daily 
gain 

Days 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Days 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

35 

238 

141 

0.59 

53 

592 

224 

0.37 

49 

331 

200 

0.60 

23 

679 

261 

0.38 

94 

309 

208 

0.67 

78 

661 

282 

0.42 

36 

232 

132 

0.56 

60 

591 

197 

0.33 

56 

298 

196 

0.66 

53 

649 

285 

0.44 

57 

266 

159 

0.58 

58 

636 

253 

0.39 

99 

286 

150 

0.52 

105 

637 

202 

0.31 

76 

287 

201 

0.70 

56 

648 

291 

0.44 

25 

276 

188 

0.68 

15 

624 

292 

0.46 

42 

276 

188 

0.68 

28 

625 

268 

0.42 

73 

250 

160 

0.64 

65 

606 

267 

0.44 

54 

247 

157 

0.64 

59 

607 

273 

0.45 

48 

290 

209 

0.72 

55 

639 

334 

0.52 

Middle-wool 
Cheviot.  .  . 
Dorset .... 
Hampshire . 
Mountain.  . 

Oxford 

Shropshire . 
SouthdowTi . 
Suffolk 


Long-wool 
Cotswold . 
Devon. . . 

Kent 

Leicester . 
Lincobi .  . 


The  greater  economy  of  the  gains  made  by  lambs  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  the  lambs  made  daily  gains  ranging  from  0.52  lb.  to  0.72  lb.,  while 
those  of  the  yearlings  were  considerably  lower,  ranging  from  0.31  to  0.52 
lb.  per  head  daily. 

840.  Weight  of  fattened  sheep. — The  weights  of  fat  sheep  of  the  sev- 
eral breeds  competing  for  prizes  at  the  American  Fat-Stock  Show,  Chi- 
cago, during  the  years  1878  to  1884,  inclusive,^*  were  as  follows : 

Weights  of  fat  sheep  of  various  breeds — American  Fat-Stock  Show 


Wethers 

Ewes 

Breed 

Under 
1  year 

1  year  and 
under 
2  years 

2  years 
or  over 

Under 
1  year 

1  year  and 
under 
2  years 

2  years 
or  over 

Cotswold 

Other  long  wools 

Southdown 

Other  middle  wools 

American  Mermo 

Grades  or  crosses 

Lbs. 
142 
151 
119 
117 
79 
118 

Lbs. 

199 
239 
172 
181 
112 
188 

Lbs. 
258 
263 
205 
223 
137 
221 

Lbs. 

127 

112 

97 

87 

52 

122 

Lbs. 

235 
204 
130 
208 
73 
165 

Lbs. 

273 
238 
169 
211 
101 
213 

In  most  instances  the  ewes  of  a  given  breed  and  age  were  somewhat 
lighter  in  weight  than  the  wethers. 

841.  Slaughter  tests;  dressing  percentage. — The  records  of  the  slaugh- 
ter competitions  at  the  Smithfield  Club  Show^°  also  furnish  the  most 
extensive  data  available  on  the  dressing  percentage,  and  weight  of  in- 
ternal fat,  pluck  (heart,  liver,  and  lungs),  and  skin  for  wethers  of  the 
different  breeds.  In  the  following  table  are  averaged  the  results  of  these 
"block"  tests  for  20  years,  1895-1914  inclusive. 

=" Trans.  Dept.  Agr.,  111.,  1884,  p.  228. 
""Lend.  Live  Stock  Jour.,  Vols.  42-80. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY 


519 


Smithfield  slaughter  tests 


Breed  and  age 


Av.  live 

wt.  at 

slaughter 


Av.  wt.  of 
dressed 
carcass 


Av.  per  ct. 

of  dressed 

carcass 


Av.  wt. 
of  fat 


Av.  wt. 

of 
pluck 


Av.  wt. 
of  skin 


No.  of 
animals 


Blackfaced,  lambs .  .  . 
Blackfaced,  1-2  years 

Cheviot,  lambs 

Cheviot,  1-2  years . . . 
Hampshire,  lambs .  . . 
Hampshire,  1-2  years 

Kent,  lambs 

Kent,  1-2  years 

Shropshire,  1-2  years . 
Southdown,  lambs.  . . 
Southdown,  1-2  years 

Suffolk,  lambs 

Suffolk,  1-2  years.  .  .  . 
Welsh,  1-2  years .... 
Cross-bred,  lambs.  .  . 
Cross-bred,  1-2  years . 


Lbs. 

116 

171 
113 
147 
163 
209 
141 
242 
259 
123 
142 
152 
188 
121 
129 
161 


Lbs. 

71 

110 

67 

94 

102 

135 

85 

155 

175 

76 

92 

95 

121 

74 

79 

102 


9.0 
5.8 
6.9 
5.2 
6.8 
5.2 
5.5 
6.2 
4.3 
6.2 
7.0 
10.6 
8.8 
5.9 
8.3 


Lbs. 

3.7 
4.4 
3.6 
4.4 
5.1 
6.0 
5.0 
6.0 
7.0 
3.9 
4.1 


Lbs. 
14.6 
18.6 
12.6 
14.3 
15.0 
15.8 
19.4 
27.0 
25.2 
10.8 
12.0 
13.6 
14.3 
11.0 
13.2 
14.8 


7 

16 

54 

68 

54 

30 

5 

2 

4 

54 

45 

104 

43 

14 

106 

101 


It  will  be  noted  that  the  yearlings  yielded  a  slightly  higher  percent- 
age of  dressed  carcass  than  the  lambs.  These  wethers  were  thoroly  fin- 
ished, and  thus  their  dressing  percentage  is  higher  than  with  sheep  as 
usually  fattened  for  the  market.  A  survey  of  the  experiments  at  the 
various  stations  in  which  slaughter  tests  have  been  conducted  with  the 
animals  fattened  shows  that  the  usual  dressing  percentage  of  lambs  or 
yearlings  ranges  from  48  to  57  per  ct.,  depending  on  how  completely  the 
animals  were  fattened. 

842.  Shrinkage  in  shipping. — During  4  winters  Linfield  of  the  Mon- 
tana Station^*'  fattened  average  range  lambs  and  2-yr.-old  wethers  on 
clover  hay  and  grain,  shipping  them  from  Bozeman  to  Chicago,  a  distance 
of  about  1,440  miles.  Lambs,  averaging  87.5  lbs.  when  shipped,  shrank 
7.6  per  ct.  on  the  average,  the  range  being  4.6  to  8.7  per  ct.  The  2-yr.-old 
wethers  shrank  somewhat  less,  averaging  6.8  per  ct.,  with  a  range  of 
5.1  to  8.6  per  ct.  The  older  sheep  yielded  2.2  per  ct.  more  dressed  carcass. 

Shaw"  states  that  fattened  lambs  weighing  under  100  lbs.,  when  4 
days  in  transit,  will  shrink  7  to  8  lbs. ;  l-yr.-old  wethers  weighing  about 
120  lbs.,  approximately  10  lbs.;  and  aged  wethers  and  ewes  about  12 
lbs.  On  shipping  lambs  fattened  in  4  trials  on  corn  and  either  clover 
hay,  alfalfa  hay,  corn  stover,  soybean  straw,  or  timothy  hay,  with  and 
without  the  addition  of  a  nitrogenous  supplement,  Carmichael  and  Ham- 
mond of  the  Ohio  Station^®  found  no  variation  in  shrinkage  attributable 
to  the  ration.    Lambs  shipped  135  to  149  miles  shrank  1.3  to  6.8  per  ct. 

When  sheep  are  marketed  off  pasture,  especially  rape,  excessive  shrink- 
age from  scouring  may  be  prevented  by  giving  dry  feed  for  a  day  or 
more  prior  to  shipping.    The  grain  ration  should  be  decreased  previous 

="Mont.  Buls.  47,  59.  =«Ohio  Buls.  187,  245. 

''Management  and  Feeding  of  Sheep,  p.  365. 


520  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

to  shipping  for  the  same  reason.  Shaw^^  regards  oats  as  the  safest  con- 
centrate to  feed  sheep  when  in  transit. 

843.  Wool  production. — A  general  discussion  of  the  nutrients  required 
for  wool  production  has  been  given  in  an  earlier  chapter.  (151-2)  Soil 
and  climate  produce  marked  effects  on  the  characteristics  of  sheep,  as 
sho-\^Ti  by  Brown*"  in  his  study  of  the  evolution  of  the  various  English 
breeds.  The  rich  lowlands  of  England  vnth  their  abundant,  nutritious 
grasses  produced  the  heavy-bodied,  plethoric  Long-wools,  the  next  higher 
lands  with  less  abundant  herbage  furnished  the  Downs  and  Middle-wools, 
while  the  mountains  with  scanty  herbage  produced  the  active,  still  lighter 
breeds.  Coleman*^  states  that  the  peculiar  luster  of  the  Lincoln  wool 
diminishes  when  these  sheep  pass  to  a  less  congenial  soil,  and  that  wool 
in  certain  districts  of  Yorkshire  brings  a  higher  price  than  that  of  other 
localities,  due  to  the  favorable  influence  of  soil  and  climate.  He  further 
states  that  limestone  soils,  otherwise  peculiarly  suited  to  sheep,  tend  to 
harshness  in  wool  which  renders  it  less  valuable  than  that  from  sheep 
living  on  clays  or  gravels. 

To  prevent  injury  to  the  wool,  feeding  racks  should  be  so  constructed 
that  seeds  and  chaff  will  not  lodge  on  the  neck  and  shoulders  of  the  sheep, 
and  the  feed  lot  or  barn  must  be  well  bedded  so  that  the  wool  will  not 
become  soiled. 

Weiske  and  DehmeP-  found  that  sheep  shorn  6  times  a  year  produced 
less  unwashed  wool,  but  nearly  25  per  ct.  more  pure  wool  fiber  than  those 
shorn  annually,  but  such  short  wool  is  of  low  value. 

^*Management  and  Feeding  of  Sheep,  p.  361. 
*°  British  Sheep  Farming. 
**  Cattle,  Sheep,  and  Pigs  of  Great  Britain. 
*^  Fiitterungslehre,  1872,  p.  511. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

FEEDS  FOR  SHEEP 
I.  Concentrates  for  Sheep 

In  the  follo^ving  articles,  which  discuss  the  value  of  various  feeding 
stuffs  for  sheep,  especially  for  fattening  animals,  it  will  be  noted  that 
nearly  all  the  trials  reviewed  were  with  lambs.  This  is  due  to  the  facts, 
already  pointed  out,  that  lambs  make  better  use  of  their  feed  and  that 
their  flesh  is  in  greater  demand.  (831)  In  all  trials  where  the  weight 
of  the  lambs  and  duration  of  the  fattening  period  are  not  stated,  it  may 
be  assumed  that  either  western  lambs  weighing  about  65  lbs.  or  eastern 
lambs  of  about  80  lbs.  were  used,  and  that  the  feeding  period  covered 
from  12  to  15  weeks. 

844.  Indian  corn. — Corn,  the  best  single  grain  for  fattening  sheep,  is 
the  cereal  most  commonly  used  over  the  United  States  as  far  west  as 
Colorado,  beyond  which  wheat  and  barley  are  more  generally  fed.  Leg- 
ume hay,  rich  in  protein,  admirably  supplements  this  carbonaceous 
grain.  Hence,  the  combination  of  corn  and  legume  hay  has  become  a 
standard  ration  for  fattening  sheep  over  a  large  extent  of  our  country. 
In  this  chapter,  so  far  as  possible,  other  rations  are  compared  with  this 
successful  combination.  To  show  the  possibilities  of  this  ration,  below 
are  averaged  the  results  from  8  stations  with  26  lots,  including  527  lambs, 
which  were  fed  an  unlimited  allowance  of  shelled  corn  and  either  clover 
or  alfalfa  hay,  for  periods  averaging  90  days.  The  results  are  also  given 
from  4  stations  at  which  17  lots,  including  1,180  lambs,  were  fed  a 
limited  allowance  of  shelled  corn  (from  0.7  to  1.1  lbs.  per  head  daily), 
with  the  same  roughages,  in  trials  averaging  92  days. 

Corn  and  legume  hay  for  fattening  lambs 


Initial 

Daily 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Average  ration 

weight 

gain 

Corn 

tT^ 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Corn  allowance  unlimited 

Shelled  corn,  1 .3  lbs. 

Clover  or  alfalfa  hay,  1 . 4  lbs 

67 

0.32 

400 

436 

Corn  allowance  limited 

SheUed  corn,  0.9  1b. 

Clover  or  alfalfa  hay,  2 . 1  lbs 

...       60 

0.32 

288 

655 

The  lambs  given  a  full  feed  of  corn  consumed  an  average  ration  of 
1.3  lbs.  shelled  corn  and  1.4  lbs.  clover  or  alfalfa  hay  and  gained  0.32 
lb.  per  head  daily,  requiring  400  lbs.  shelled  corn  and  436  lbs.  hay  per 
100  lbs.  gain.  Due  probably  to  the  superior  quality  of  the  hay  fed,  the 
lambs  getting  the  limited  corn  allowance  made  as  good  gains  as  those 

621 


522 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


on  a  full  feed  of  corn.  These  lambs  required  655  lbs.  of  hay  and  only 
288  lbs.  of  corn  for  100  lbs.  of  gain.  From  these  averages,  the  feeder 
may  readily  calculate  the  cost  and  possible  profits  of  fattening  lambs 
under  reasonably  favorable  conditions,  and  when  the  fattening  period 
is  not  too  extended.  (201-7) 

845.  Corn  requires  supplement. — Owing  to  its  carbonaceous  character 
corn  should  be  supplemented  with  some  variety  of  legume  hay,  or  if 
this  is  not  available  then  with  some  protein-rich  concentrate,  even  when 
fed  to  fattening  sheep  or  lambs.  (201) 

This  is  shown  in  the  following  table,  in  the  first  division  of  which  are 
summarized  the  results  of  7  trials,  averaging  81  days,  in  each  of  which 
corn  was  fed  with  clover  or  alfalfa  hay  to  one  lot  of  lambs  and  with  tim- 
othy or  prairie  hay  to  another  lot.  In  the  second  division  are  given 
the  results  of  4  trials,  averaging  80  days,  in  which  the  effect  of  adding 
linseed  or  cottonseed  meal  to  a  ration  of  corn  and  timothy  hay  was 
studied.  Thus,  the  first  division  shows  the  value  of  supplementing  corn 
with  legume  hay,  and  the  second,  of  adding  a  nitrogenous  concentrate 
to  a  ration  of  corn  and  carbonaceous  hay. 


Corn  requires  supplement  for  fattening  lambs 


Initial 
weight 

Daily 
gain 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Average  ration 

Concen- 
trates 

Hay 

Legume  hay  as  supplement  to  corn* 
Unbalanced  ration,  164  lambs 
Corn,  0.9  1b. 

Carbonaceous  hay,  1  0  lb. 

Lba. 

59 
59 

64 

64 

Lbs. 

0.19 
0.32 

0.23 

0.30 

Lba. 
497 

340 
520 
463 

Lbs. 

547 

Balanced  ration,  172  lambs 
Corn,  1.1  lbs. 

Legume  hay,  1  5  lbs 

475 

Nitrogenous  concentrate  as  supplement  to  cornf 
Unbalanced  ration,  90  lambs 
Corn,  1.2  lbs. 

Timothy  hay,  1  0  lb 

448 

Balanced  ration,  90  lambs 
Corn,  1.2  lbs. 
Cotton-  or  linseed  meal,  0 .2  lb. 

Timothy  hay,  1 .0  lb 

334 

♦Average  of  1  trial  by  Burnett  (Nebr.  Bui.  66),  1  by  Emery  (Wyo.  Bui.  51),  1  by  Faville  (Wyo.  Bui.  85), 
1  by  Morton  (Wyo.  Bui.  7.3),  and  3  by  Skinnor  and  King  (Ind.  Bui.  162). 

fAverage  of  1  trial  by  Carmichael  and  Hammond  (Ohio  Bui.  245),  1  by  Hays  (Minn.  Bui.  31),  and  2 
by  Skinner  and  King  (Ind.  Bui.  162). 

While  the  lambs  fed  corn  with  carbonaceous  timothy  or  prairie  hay 
gained  only  0.19  lb.  per  head  daily,  those  fed  corn  ^vith  legume  hay, 
either  clover  or  alfalfa,  gained  0.32  lb.  The  lambs  on  the  unbalanced 
ration  required  46  per  ct.  more  grain  and  15  per  ct.  more  hay  than  those 
on  legume  hay. 

Supplementing  the  carbonaceous  ration  of  corn  and  timothy  hay  with 
0,18  lb.  of  protein-rich  cotton-  or  linseed  meal  per  head  daily,  increased 


FEEDS  FOR  SHEEP  523 

the  gains  and  lowered  the  amount  of  feed  required  for  100  lbs.  gain. 
Lambs  will  go  off  feed  more  readily  when  corn  is  fed  without  being 
properly  supplemented  by  some  protein-rich  feed.  On  the  other  hand, 
in  these  trials  the  lambs  fed  corn  and  legume  hay  or  corn,  carbonaceous 
hay,  and  a  nitrogenous  supplement  had  good  appetites  at  all  times. 

846.  Corn  alone  and  in  combination. — Altho  corn  and  legume  hay  alone 
have  given  excellent  results  in  numerous  experiments  and  in  extensive 
commercial  feeding,  many  maintain  that  the  animals  have  better  appe- 
tites and  are  less  subject  to  digestive  disorders  when  a  variety  of  grains 
is  used,  especially  toward  the  close  of  the  fattening  period,  or  when 
lambs  are  being  forced  on  heavy  grain  allowances.  Without  question, 
mixing  a  more  bulky  concentrate,  such  as  oats  or  wheat  bran,  with  corn 
is  advisable  to  prevent  digestive  trouble  in  starting  animals  on  feed. 
Whether  there  is  any  benefit  in  adding  other  feeds  to  corn  for  the  sake 
of  variety  when  the  lambs  are  on  full  feed  seems  to  be  an  unsettled  ques- 
tion, for  in  trials  reviewed  later  (851),  the  Indiana  Station  secured  just 
as  good  results  with  corn  as  the  sole  concentrate,  when  fed  with  clover 
hay  and  corn  silage,  as  with  a  combination  of  corn  and  oats.  Much  of 
the  trouble  experienced  in  feeding  corn  as  the  sole  concentrate  is  due 
to  its  improper  use  with  carbonaceous  roughage  without  any  nitrogenous 
supplement. 

At  the  Wisconsin  Station  Craig^  fed  lambs  gra2dng  on  bluegrass  pasture 
corn  meal  alone,  com  meal  and  oats,  or  corn  meal  and  peas  for  8  weeks  be- 
fore weaning  and  for  the  same  period  after  weaning.  The  lambs  fed  corn 
meal  alone  made  the  largest  and  most  economical  gains  before  weaning, 
and  as  large  and  economical  gains  as  the  other  lots  after  weaning.  In 
this  case,  the  needed  protein  came  from  the  dam's  milk  and  the  pasture 
grass. 

847.  Feeding  com  in  various  forms. — To  determine  the  relative  efficiency 
of  different  methods  of  preparing  corn  for  fattening  lambs,  Evvard-  at 
the  Iowa  Station  fed  6  lots,  of  40  range  lambs  each,  averaging  52  lbs., 
corn  in  various  forms,  as  shown  in  the  table,  all  lots  getting  0.6  lb.  al- 
falfa hay,  0.7  lb.  corn  silage,  and  0.15  lb.  linseed  meal  per  head  daily  in 
addition. 

Various  methods  of  preparing  corn  for  fattening  lambs 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain  Cost  of 

Daily  Concen-  100  lbs. 

Average  daily  corn  allowance               gain              trates  Hay  Silage  gain* 

Lbs.              Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Dollars 

Lot      I,  Whole  ear  corn,  1 .3  lbs 0 .33           438  181  225  5 .95 

Lot    77,  Broken  ear  com,  1.3  lbs 0.33           425  177  220  5.86 

Lot  III,  SheUed  corn,  1 .3  lbs 0 .34          416  175  217  5 .81 

Lot  IV,  Ground  corn,  1 .2  lbs 0 .33          425  184  228  6 .  18 

Lot     V,  Whole,   broken   and   ground 

com,  1 .3  lbs 0 .35           399  167  208  5 .51 

Lo«  F7,Com-and-cob  meal,  1.2  lbs..   0.34          415  172  214  5.77 

*Corn,  per  bushel,  on  basis  of  56  lbs.  grain — whole  ear  54  cts.,  broken  ear  55  cts.,  shelled  56  cts., 
ground  59  cts.,  and  corn-and-cob  meal  60  cts.;  oil  meal,  $30;  silage,  $3.50;  and  alfalfa  hay  $12  per  ton. 

^Wis.  Rpt.  1897.  ^Information  to  the  authors. 


524  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

In  the  table  the  equivalent  amount  of  shelled  com  is  given  for  each 
lot;  e.  g.,  each  lamb  in  Lot  I  received  daily  ear  corn  equivalent  to  1.3 
lbs.  of  shelled  corn.  The  whole  ear  corn,  fed  Lot  I,  made  practically 
as  large  and  economical  gains  as  broken  ear  corn  or  shelled  corn,  tho 
shelling  the  corn  decreased  the  feed  required  for  100  lbs.  gain  enough 
to  slightly  more  than  pay  the  expense.  Wing^  declares  that  no  ration  will 
make  better  or  more  marketable  lambs  than  a  combination  of  ear  corn, 
corn  silage,  and  alfalfa  hay.  Lot  IV,  fed  ground  corn,  made  the  lowest 
gains  in  the  trial.  From  previous  trials  Evvard  concluded  that  the  best 
results  may  be  secured  by  starting  the  lambs  on  ear  corn,  changing  to 
broken  ear  corn  as  the  feeding  period  progresses,  and  finishing  on  ground 
corn  and  broken  ear  corn;  i.  e.,  increasing  the  preparation  of  the  grain 
fed  as  the  lambs  fatten.  Lot  V,  fed  in  this  manner,  made  slightly  the 
largest  and  most  economical  gains.  Corn-and-cob  meal  ranked  second  in 
amount  of  gains  and  economy  of  production.  To  study  the  most  econom- 
ical method  of  preparing  corn  for  lambs  fed  clover  hay  Coffey  fed  5  lots, 
each  of  16  western  lambs  averaging  65  lbs.  in  weight,  clover  hay  and  corn 
in  various  forms  for  98  days  in  a  trial  at  the  Illinois  Station*  with  the 
results  shown  in  the  table  : 

Methods  of  preparing  corn  for  fattening  lambs 

Daily     Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 
Average  ration  gain  Corn      Roughage 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot     I,  Ear  corn,  1 .6  lbs.     Clover  hay,  1 .3  lbs 0 .293  439*  453 

Lot    II,  SheUed  com,  1 .3  lbs.     Clover  hay,  1 .3  lbs...  .  0 .295  432  449 

Lot  III,  Ground  corn,  1 .3  lbs.     Clover  hay,  1 .3  lbs. . .  0 .264  483  505 

Lot  IV,  Corn-and-cob  meal,  1 .5  lbs.     C.  hay,  1 .2  lbs.  0.264  489*  475 

Lot     V,  Shelled  com,  0 .06  lb.    Clover  hay,  1 .0  lb.  ,  .oa 

Shock  corn,  2 . 7  lbs.. . .  0 .247  23  ^  *"^ 


*Reduced  to  shelled  corn  basis. 

tShock  corn,  containing  53  per  ct.  of  ears. 


l,lllt 


The  lambs  in  Lot  II,  fed  shelled  corn,  made  the  largest  and  most  eco- 
nomical gains.  Both  ground  corn  and  corn-and-cob  meal  produced 
smaller  and  more  expensive  gains  than  did  shelled  corn.  Ear  corn, 
fed  Lot  I,  produced  about  as  large  and  economical  gains  as  shelled 
corn.  Lot  V  was  fed  a  small  amount  of  shelled  corn  until  they  had 
learned  to  husk  shock  corn,  and  thereafter  were  given  corn  only  in  the 
form  of  shock  corn.  These  lambs  made  somewhat  lower  gains  than  the 
other  lots,  and,  including  the  corn  in  the  shock  corn,  required  522  lbs. 
of  corn  for  100  lbs.  gain.  Coffey  points  out  that  both  ear  corn  and  shock 
corn  are  better  suited  for  feeding  on  a  thick  sod  than  in  a  dry  lot  or 
barn,  for  they  may  be  scattered  on  the  sod  so  that  each  lamb  will  have 
an  equal  chance  to  feed  and  little  will  be  wasted.  In  the  lot  or  barn 
lambs  are  apt  to  drop  the  ears  on  the  ground  where  they  become  soiled 
or  bunch  them  up  in  the  trough  so  that  each  lamb  does  not  get  its  share. 

From  these  trials  we  may  conclude  that  it  will  rarely  pay  to  grind 
corn  for  fattening  lambs,  except  perhaps  where  they  are  fairly  fat  and 

'Sheep  Farming  in  America,  p.  285.        'Information  to  the  authors. 


FEEDS  FOR  SHEEP 


525 


it  is  desired  to  continue  feeding  them  for  some  time.  (423,  835)  "When 
ground  corn  is  to  be  fed,  it  should  be  cracked  or  ground  coarsely,  for 
Carlyle^  found  in  repeated  trials  that  lambs  ate  corn  ground  coarsely 
much  more  readily  than  that  which  was  fine  and  powdery, 

848.  Barley. — Thruout  the  western  range  district,  where  but  little 
corn  is  grown,  barley  is  extensively  used  for  fattening  sheep  and  lambs. 
In  the  following  table  are  summarized  the  results  of  6  trials,  averaging 
96  days,  in  which  brewing  or  Scotch  barley  was  compared  with  shelled 
corn  for  fattening  lambs  when  fed  with  alfalfa  hay.  The  table  also 
summarizes  4  trials,  averaging  98  days,  in  which  barley  was  compared 
with  shelled  corn  when  fed  with  carbonaceous  roughage — prairie,  timothy, 
or  mixed  prairie  and  brome  hay. 


Barley  vs.  corn  for  fattening  lamhs 

Initial 
weight 

Daily 
gain 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Grain 

Hay 

With  alfalfa  hay* 
Lot  I,  total  of  355  lambs 
Whole  barley,  0.9  1b. 

Alfalfa  hav,  2  4  lbs  

Lbs. 

62 
60 

71 
71 

Lbs. 

0.31 
0.32 

0.21 
0.23 

Lbs. 
296 

283 

580 
528 

Lbs. 

777 

Lot  II,  total  of  355  lambs 
SheUed  corn,  0.9  1b. 
Alfalfa  hay,  2  3  lbs 

708 

With  carbonaceous  hayf 
Lot  I,  total  of  57  lambs 
Whole  barley,  1.2  lbs. 

Hay,  1 .3  lbs 

598 

Lot  II,  total  of  57  lambs 
SheUed  corn,  1 .2  lbs. 

Hay,  1.3  lbs 

586 

*Average  of  3  trials  by  Faville  (Wyo.  Buls.  SI,  85,  103),  1  by  Buflum  and  Griffin  (Colo.  Bui  .75).  and 
2  by  Morton  (Colo.  Bui.  187). 

tAverage  of  1  trial  each  by  Hays  (Minn.  Bui.  31),  Morton  (Wyo.  Bui.  73),  Faville  (Wvo.  Bui.  89).  and 
WUson  and  H.  G.  Skinner  (S.  D.  Bui.  SG).  v     y  .  ou  .  o  ;,  *uu 

With  alfalfa  hay  for  roughage,  the  lambs  fed  whole  barley  made  only 
slightly  smaller  gains  than  those  fed  corn,  the  former  consuming  5  per  ct. 
more  grain  and  10  per  ct.  more  hay  for  100  lbs.  gain.  In  trials  by  Mor- 
ton with  450  lambs,  Scotch  barley  proved  fully  equal  to  shelled  corn  in 
the  amount  and  economy  of  gains.  With  carbonaceous  hay,  the  barley- 
fed  lambs  required  10  per  ct.  more  grain  and  only  2  per  ct.  more  hay 
for  100  lbs.  gain  than  those  fed  corn.  These  trials  show  that  good  brew- 
ing or  Scotch  barley  nearly  equals  corn  for  fattening  lambs.  California 
feed  barley  was  found  by  Morton  to  have  slightly  lower  value  than  the 
heavier  Scotch  barley,  lambs  given  feed  barley  requiring  11  per  ct.  more 
grain  and  4  per  ct.  more  alfalfa  hay  than  those  fed  Scotch  barley.  Altho 
somewhat  richer  in  protein  than  corn,  barley  is  decidedly  a  carbonaceous 
grain  and  hence  gives  the  best  results  when  fed  with  legume  hay,  as  the 

"Wis.  Rpt.  1899,  p.  45. 


526 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


table  shows.  When  fed  with  carbonaceous  hay,  the  ration  should  be  sup- 
plemented with  a  protein-rich  concentrate,  such  as  linseed  or  cottonseed 
meal.  (226) 

At  the  Wyoming  Station  Faville®  found  that  soaking,  cracking,  or 
grinding  western  Scotch  barley,  which  is  harder  than  eastern  brewdng 
barley,  did  not  increase  its  value  for  lambs.  It  will  probably  pay  to  roll 
or  crack  the  hard  bald  or  hulless  barley,  as  Faville^  found  that  lambs 
passed  more  of  it  undigested  than  of  Scotch  barley.  Cooke^  at  the  Colo- 
rado Station  found  that,  when  ground,  bald  barley  formed  a  sticky  mass 
in  the  lambs'  mouths  and  they  would  not  consume  more  than  1  lb.  per 
head  daily.  (835) 

849.  Wheat. — Rarely  will  wheat  be  fed  to  sheep  unless  off  grade  or 
low  in  price.  To  show  its  value  compared  with  shelled  corn,  the  fol- 
lowing table  presents  the  results  of  3  trials,  averaging  104  days,  in  which 
good  quality  common  wheat  was  compared  with  corn  in  lamb-feeding 
trials.  In  the  table  are  also  summarized  the  results  of  3  trials,  aver- 
aging 101  days,  in  which  wheat  and  barley  were  compared. 

Wheat  vs.  corn  or  barley  for  fattening  lamhs 


Average  ration 


Wheat  vs.  corn* 

Lot  I,  total  of  29  lambs 
Wheat,  1.4  lbs. 

Hay,  1.5  lbs 

Lot  II,  total  of  29  lambs 

Shelled  corn,  1 .4  lbs. 

Hay,  1.5  lbs 


Wheat  vs.  barley] 
Lot  I,  total  of  66  lambs 
Wheat,  1 .0  lb. 

Hay,  1.7  lbs 

Lot  II,  total  of  66  lambs 
Barley,  1 .0  lb. 

Hay,  1.8  lbs 


Initial 

Daily 
gain 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

weight 

Grain 

Hay 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

78 

0.30 

524 

482 

79 

0.30 

515 

472 

66 

0.25 

382 

686 

69 

0.25 

400 

712 

♦Average  of  2  trials  by  Wilson  and  H.  G.  Skinner  (S.  D.  Buls.  80,  86)  and  1  by  F.  B.  Mumford  (Mich. 
Bui.  128). 

tAverage  of  2  trials  by  Linfield  (Mont.  Buls.  47,  59)  and  1  by  Wilson  and  H.  G.  Skinner  (S.  D.  Bui.  86). 


The  lambs  fed  wheat  made  the  same  gains  as  those  fed  corn,  and  re- 
quired only  2  per  ct.  more  grain  and  hay  for  100  lbs.  gain.  Those  fed 
wheat  and  barley  also  made  the  same  average  daily  gains,  but  the  barley- 
fed  lots  required  5  per  ct.  more  grain  and  3  per  ct.  more  hay  for  100 
lbs.  gain.  Carlyle  and  Iddings^  likewise  found  wheat  slightly  superior 
to  barley  in  a  trial  with  505  lambs  at  the  Idaho  Station  in  which  0.8 
lb.  of  either  wheat  or  barley  was  fed  with  a  basal  ration  of  0.3  lb.  oats 
and  2.4  lbs.  alfalfa  hay.     These  experiments,  confirmed  by  British  tri- 

•Wyo.  Bui.  103.  ^Wyo.  Bui.  89.  »Colo.  Bui.  40.  'Idaho  Bui.  77. 


FEEDS  FOR  SHEEP  527 

als/°  show  that  good  quality  wheat  is  slightly  superior  to  barley  and 
nearly  equal  to  corn  for  fattening  sheep.  Since  wheat  is  a  carbonaceous 
grain,  the  best  results  are  secured  when  it  is  fed  with  legume  hay. 

In  2  trials  at  the  South  Dakota  Station  Wilson  and  Skinner^^  found 
durum,  or  macaroni,  wheat  practically  equal  to  common  wheat  for  fat- 
tening lambs.  Frosted  wheat,  in  a  trial  by  Foster  and  MerrilP^  at  the 
Utah  Station,  produced  as  large  and  more  economical  gains  than  market- 
able wheat.  (215) 

850.  Wheat  screenings. — The  value  of  wheat  screenings  from  the  ele- 
vators and  mills  depends  on  their  quality,  the  light,  chaffy  grades  being 
more  like  a  roughage  than  a  concentrate.  Successful  feeders  wisely  util- 
ize screenings  of  low  grade  in  getting  the  lambs  on  feed,  and  as  fatten- 
ing advances  change  to  the  heavier  screenings.  Hundreds  of  thousands 
of  Montana  sheep  and  lambs  were  annually  fed  during  the  nineties  on 
wheat  screenings  in  feed  lots  near  St.  Paul,  Minnesota.  The  screenings 
were  fed  in  sheds  and  usually  from  self  feeders,  as  the  bits  of  chaff  and 
straw  in  the  feed  render  it  so  bulky  that  there  is  less  danger  of  founder- 
ing than  when  corn  is  fed  in  self  feeders.  With  the  bulky  class  of  screen- 
ings which  were  used,  little  or  no  hay  was  required.  During  the  season 
of  1902  about  330,000  sheep  and  lambs  were  fattened  in  these  feed  lots.^^ 
Two  years  later  the  number  fell  below  200,000,  and  at  the  present  time, 
because  of  prohibitory  prices  for  screenings  and  their  poor  quality,  this 
district  has  ceased  to  be  a  factor  of  importance  in  the  winter  mutton 
supply.  Screenings  are  still  employed  more  or  less  extensive^  in  other 
sections  of  the  country  for  sheep  feeding.  (222) 

The  relative  value  of  heavy  wheat  screenings  and  good  wheat  for  fat- 
tening lambs  is  shown  in  the  following  table  summarizing  3  trials,  from 
90  to  97  days  in  length,  where  either  clover  or  alfalfa  hay  was  fed  for 
roughage  to  lambs  averaging  58  lbs.  in  weight. 

Wheat  screenings  vs.  good-quality  wheat  for  lamls 

Daily  Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Average  ration                                                             gain  Grain          Hay 

Lbs.  Lbs.          Lbs. 
Lot  I,  68  lambs* 

Wheat  screenings,  0 .8  lb.     Legume  hay,  1 .8  lbs 0 .26  307         695 

Lot  II,  70  lamhs* 

Wheat,  0.8  1b.     Legume  hay,  1 . 7  lbs 0.22  347         744 

♦Average  of  2  trials  by  Linfield  (Mont.  Buls.  47,  59)  and  1  by  Foster  and  Merrill  (Utah  Bui.  78). 

The  table  shows  that  when  fed  with  legume  hay  heavy-weight  screen- 
ings produced  larger  and  more  economical  gains  than  good  wheat.  Fos- 
ter and  Merrill  found  that  it  required  35  per  ct.  more  light-weight,  chaffy 
screenings  than  those  of  heavy  weight  for  100  lbs.  of  gain.  Screenings 
should  be  fed  close  to  the  mills  or  elevators,  thereby  avoiding  large 

"Trans.  High!,  and  Agr.  Soc.  Scotland,  1910. 
"S.  D.  Bui.  86.      "Utah  Bui.  78. 
"Breeder's  Gazette,  46,  1904,  p.  1000. 


528 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


freight  bills.  As  with  wheat,  the  best  returns  come  thru  feeding  in  com- 
bination with  legume  hay. 

Lambs  fed  by  Hays^*  at  the  Minnesota  Station  on  unground  screen- 
ings containing  90  per  et.  of  either  small  wheat,  wild  buckwheat, 
or  pigeon-grass  seed,  made  as  large  gains  as  others  receiving  cracked 
corn,  but  required  42  per  ct.  more  grain  per  100  lbs.  gain,  in  the  case 
of  those  fed  small  wheat,  and  67  per  ct.  more  with  those  fed  pigeon- 
grass  seed.    To  prevent  the  spread  of  weeds,  screenings  should  be  ground. 

851.  Oats. — This  grain,  so  well  liked  by  sheep,  is  especially  useful  and 
safe  in  getting  them  on  feed  and  is  excellent  for  the  breeding  flock. 
(883)  Owing  to  their  usual  high  price  and  the  fact  that  they  induce 
growth  rather  than  fattening,  oats  are  rarely  economical  as  the  sole 
grain  for  fattening  sheep.  When  used,  the  proportion  of  oats  to  other 
concentrates  should  be  decreased  as  the  fattening  period  progresses. 
At  the  South  Dakota  Station  Wilson  and  H.  G.  Skinner^^  compared 
the  value  of  oats  and  shelled  corn  as  the  sole  grain  for  lambs  fed  mixed 
prairie  and  brome  hay  for  roughage  in  trials  averaging  111  days,  with 
the  results  shown  in  the  following  table.  In  the  second  division  of  the 
table  are  given  the  results  secured  by  J.  H.  Skinner  and  King^*'  at  the 
Indiana  Station  in  three  90-day  trials,  in  which  a  mixture  of  oats  and 
corn  was  compared  with  shelled  corn  alone,  clover  hay  and  corn  silage 
forming  the  roughage. 


Value  of  oats  for  fattening  lamhs 

Initial 
weight 

Daily 
gain 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Average  ration 

Grain 

Hay 

Silage 

Oats  vs.  corn 
Lot  I,  10  lambs 
Oats,  1.6  lbs. 

Mixed  hay,  1 .3  lbs 

Lbs. 

70 
71 

60 
60 

Lbs. 

0.25 
0.28 

0.32 
0.33 

Lbs. 

650 
561 

365 
349 

Lbs. 

535 

485 

329 
323 

Lbs. 

Lot  II,  10  lambs 

SheUedcorn,  1.5  lbs. 

Mixed  hay,  1 .3  lbs 

Oats  and  corn  vs.  corn 
Lot  I,  total  of  75  lambs 
Oats,  0.5  1b. 
Corn,  0.7  1b. 
Clover  hay,  1.0  1b. 
Corn  sila<''e   1  4  lbs                 

453 

Lot  II,  total  of  75  lambs 
Corn,  1 .2  lbs. 
Clover  hay,  1 . 1  lbs. 

428 

Both  in  the  South  Dakota  trial  where  oats  was  fed  as  the  sole  grain 
and  in  the  Indiana  trials  where  a  mixture  of  oats  and  shelled  corn  was 
used,  the  lambs  getting  either  oats  or  oats  and  corn,  required  more  feed 

"Minn.  Bui.  31.      »=S.  D.  Bui.  86. 

"Ind.  Buls.  168,  179:   information  to  the  authors. 


FEEDS  FOR  SHEEP 


529 


for  100  lbs.  gain  than  those  fed  corn  only.  The  Indiana  trials  show  that 
in  a  ration  properly  balanced  with  legume  roughage  corn  alone  is  as  satis- 
factory for  fattening  lambs  as  a  mixture  of  corn  and  oats. 

In  the  South  Dakota  trial  the  lambs  fed  corn  made  larger  and  more 
economical  gains  than  those  fed  oats.  In  the  Indiana  trials  the  lambs 
fed  corn  as  the  sole  grain  made  slightly  larger  gains  than  those  fed  a 
mixture  of  oats  and  corn,  and  required  less  feed  per  100  lbs.  gain.  In 
starting  Lot  II  on  feed,  some  oats  was  mixed  with  the  corn  during  the 
first  few  days.  These  trials  indicate  that  when  lambs  are  on  full  feed, 
corn  as  the  sole  grain  is  as  satisfactory  as  a  mixture  of  corn  and  oats, 
when  fed  with  legume  hay.  (846) 

In  2  trials  at  the  Montana  Station  by  Linfield^^  lambs  fed  clover  hay 
for  roughage  made  nearly  as  large  gains  on  oats  as  those  fed  barley,  but 
required  6  per  ct.  more  grain  and  5  per  ct.  more  hay  for  100  lbs.  gain. 
(223) 

852.  Emnier. — Owing  to  greatly  increased  production,  emmer  (wrongly 
called  spelt)  has  become  an  important  concentrate  for  sheep  and  lambs 
in  the  northern  plains  states.  The  value  of  emmer  compared  with  shelled 
corn  is  shown  in  the  following  table,  in  which  the  results  are  summarized 
for  3  trials,  averaging  91  days,  where  alfalfa  hay  was  fed,  and  2  trials, 
averaging  110  days,  in  which  the  roughage  was  prairie  and  brome  hay : 

Emnier  vs.  corn  for  fattening  lamhs 


Initial 
weight 

Daily 
gain 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Grain 

Hay 

With  alfalfa  hay,  3  trials* 
Lot  I,  total  of  81  lambs 
Emmer,  0.9  1b. 

Alfalfa  hay,  2 .4  lbs 

Lbs. 
59 

59 

75 

76 

Lbs. 

0.28 
0.31 

0.29 
0.32 

Lbs. 
324 

276 

660 
513 

Lbs. 

875 

Lot  II,  total  of  81  lambs 
SheUed  corn,  0.9  1b. 

Alfalfa  hay,  2  2  lbs 

673 

With  mixed  hay,  2  trials\ 
Lot  I,  total  of  18  lambs 
Emmer,  1 .8  lbs. 

Mixed  hay,  1  4  lbs 

511 

Lot  II,  total  of  19  lambs 
SheUed  corn,  1 .6  lbs. 

Mixed  hay,  1.4  lbs 

462 

*Average  of  2  trials  by  Fa\'ille  (Wyo.  Bub.  81,  85)  and  1  by  Buffum  and  Griffin  (Colo.  Bui.  75). 
tAverage  of  2  trials  by  Wilson  and  H.  G.  Skinner  (S.  D.  Buls.  80,  86). 

Both  with  alfalfa  and  with  prairie  and  brome  hay  as  the  roughage, 
emmer  produced  0.03  lb.  less  daily  gain  per  lamb,  altho  the  lambs  fed 
emmer  ate  as  much  or  more  grain.  With  alfalfa  hay,  the  corn-fed  lambs 
required  only  85  per  ct.  as  much  grain  and  77  per  ct.  as  much  hay  for 
100  lbs.  gain  as  those  fed  emmer.    With  prairie  and  brome  hay,  78  per 

"Mont.  Buls.  47,  59. 


Feed  for  100  lbs. 
Grain         Hay 
Lbs.          Lbs. 

'  iu'age 
Lbs. 

308        385 

309 

303        378 

303 

269        335 

271 

530  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

et.  as  much  grain  and  90  per  ct.  as  much  hay  was  required  by  the  corn- 
fed  lambs  as  by  those  receiving  emmer.  Considering  the  larger  amount 
of  both  grain  and  hay  required  per  100  lbs.  gain  by  the  lambs  fed  emmer, 
we  may  conclude  the  value  of  emmer  to  be  about  80  per  ct.  that  of  shelled 
corn.  In  the  South  Dakota  trials  emmer  had  a  somewhat  higher  value 
when  fed  with  barley  or  corn,  than  when  used  as  the  sole  concentrate. 
(233) 

853.  Kafir;  milo. — Cochel  of  the  Kansas  Station^^  compared  kafir  and 
shelled  corn  in  a  60-day  trial  with  3  lots,  each  of  fifty  56-lb.  lambs,  fed 
1.4  lbs.  alfalfa  hay  and  1.1  lbs.  sweet-sorghum  silage  per  head  daily  for 
roughage. 

Kafir  vs.  corn  for  fattening  lambs 

Daily 
Average  concentrate  allowance  gain 

Lbs. 

WLole  kafir,  0 .9  lb.  Cottonseed  meal,  0 .  19  lb.  0 .35 
Ground  kafir,  0 .9  lb.  Cottonseed  meal,  0 .  19  lb.  0 .36 
Shelled  corn,  0 .9  lb.      Cottonseed  meal,  0 .  19  lb.  0 .40 

In  this,  as  in  2  previous  trials  at  the  same  Station,^^  lambs  fed  kafir 
made  satisfactory,  tho  slightly  smaller  gains  than  those  fed  corn.  The 
lambs  fed  kafir  in  this  test  required  about  15  per  ct.  more  feed  for  100 
lbs.  gain  than  those  receiving  corn.  Grinding  kafir  did  not  increase  its 
value  for  sheep.  This  trial  is  valuable  and  important  in  showing  the 
excellent  returns  possible  from  feeds  so  well  adapted  to  the  southern 
plains  states — sorghum  silage,  alfalfa  hay,  kafir,  and  cottonseed  meal. 
Tho  the  stations  have  reported  no  tests  with  milo  for  fattening  sheep, 
it  should  have  substantially  the  same  value  as  kafir.  (236-40) 

854.  Miscellaneous  carbonaceous  concentrates. — Dried  heet  pulp  pro- 
duced as  large  and  as  economical  gains  as  corn  in  a  trial  by  Shaw  at 
the  Michigan  Station-"  in  which  mixtures  of  either  4  parts  dried  beet 
pulp  or  4  of  corn,  together  with  2  parts  wheat  bran  and  1  part  linseed 
meal,  were  fed  with  clover  hay  to  western  lambs.  Humphrey  and  Klein- 
heinz  of  the  "Wisconsin  Station-^  found  dried  beet  pulp  equal  to  corn 
for  producing  growth  in  ewe  lambs  when  oats  were  fed  with  both.  (275) 

Molasses-beet  pulp  show^ed  no  marked  superiority  over  ordinary  dried 
beet  pulp  in  the  trial  by  Shaw  when  3  parts  of  either  was  fed  with  1 
part  of  linseed  meal,  clover  hay  forming  the  roughage.  (277) 

Beet  molasses  is  now  in  some  instances  being  fed  to  sheep  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  beet  sugar  factories  in  the  West.  Morton  of  the  Colorado  Sta- 
tion-2  states  that  it  is  used  chiefly  with  the  cheaper  grades  of  sheep, 
such  as  old  ewes.  To  avoid  "smearing"  the  wool,  the  molasses  is  pref- 
erably mixed  thoroly  with  cut  hay  or  straw.  In  some  cases  no  other 
concentrate  is  fed,  and  in  others  wet  beet  pulp  and  a  little  cottonseed 
cake  are  added  to  the  ration.  (276) 

"Information  to  the  authors.  ="Wis.  Rpt.  1906. 

^'Breeder's  Gaz.,  51,  1907,  p.  960.  -Information  to  the  authors. 

-"Mich.  Bui.  220. 


FEEDS  FOR  SHEEP 


531 


Millet  seed,  coarsely  ground,  was  found  by  Wilson  and  H.  G.  Skinner-^ 
practically  equal  to  corn  for  fattening  lambs  when  fed  with  mixed  prai- 
rie and  brome  hay.  Sheep  fed  whole  millet  voided  a  large  percentage 
of  the  seed  undigested.  (243) 

855.  Linseed  and  cottonseed  meal  or  cake. — The  value  of  these  nitrog- 
enous concentrates,  the  supplements  most  commonly  used  with  sheep 
in  balancing  rations  deficient  in  protein,  has  already  been  pointed  out. 
(845)  The  relative  value  of  linseed  and  cottonseed  meal  is  shown  in  2 
trials  presented  in  the  following  table,  the  first  by  Carmichael  at  the 
Ohio  Station^*  and  the  second  by  Mumford,  Trowbridge,  and  Hackedorn 
at  the  Missouri  Station.  ^^ 


Linseed  vs.  cottonseed  meal  for  fattening  sheep 

Initial 
weight 

Daily 
gain 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Average  ration 

Concen- 
trates 

Hay 

Ohio  Station,  112-day  trial 
Lot  I,  40  lambs 

Linseed  meal,  0.2  1b. 
SheUedcorn,  1.0  1b. 

Clover  or  alfalfa  hay,  1  5  lbs 

Lba. 

65 
67 

79 

78 

Lbs. 

0.30 
0.31 

0.25 
0.24 

Lbs. 

397 

388 

491 
511 

Lbs. 

497 

Lot  II,  40  lambs 

Cottonseed  meal,  0.2  lb. 
Shelled  corn,  1 .0  lb. 

486 

Missouri  Station,  98-day  trial 

Lot  I,  20  yearling  wethers 

Linseed  meal,  0 .2  lb. 

SheUedcorn,  1.1  lbs. 

Clover  hay,  1 .8  lbs 

703 

Lot  II,  20  yearling  wethers 
Cottonseed  meal,  0 .2  lb. 
SheUedcorn,  1.1  lbs. 

Clover  hay,  1 .8  lbs 

748 

These  trials  show  that  cotton-  and  linseed  meal  have  substantially  the 
same  value  for  balancing  the  rations  of  fattening  sheep  and  lambs. 
(250,  254) 

Undecorticated  cottonseed  cake,  which  is  similar  to  the  cold-pressed 
cake  sold  in  this  country  (248),  was  found  by  Bruce-''  at  the  Edinburgh 
Agricultural  College  to  produce  0.06  lb.  less  gain  per  head  daily  with 
yearling  wethers  than  linseed  cake,  when  both  were  fed  as  the  sole 
concentrate  with  hay  and  turnips.  "Wethers  fed  undecorticated  cotton- 
seed cake  required  20  per  ct.  more  cake  and  29  per  ct.  more  roots  than 
those  fed  linseed  cake.  Lambs  should  not  receive  more  than  half  a  pound 
of  linseed  or  cottonseed  meal  per  head  daily,  and  one-eighth  or  one- 
fourth  pound,  in  combination  with  other  concentrates,  will  usually  pro- 

=^S.  D.  Bui.  86.  -=Mo.  Bui.  115. 

^Ohio  Bui.  179.  =' Edinburgh  and  East  of  Scot.  Col.  Agr.,  Bui.  10. 


532  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

vide  a  well-balanced  ration.    Linseed  cake  of  pea  size  is  better  relished 
by  sheep  than  the  finely  ground  meal.  (883) 

856.  Minor  protein-rich  concentrates. — Field  peas  and  soybeans  are 
usually  too  expensive  to  form  the  entire  concentrate  allowance  for  fat- 
tening lambs,  but  may  be  used  with  corn  or  other  grains.  Of  several 
concentrate  mixtures  tested  for  fitting  yearling  wethers  for  show,  the 
best  results  were  secured  with  a  mixture  of  peas,  oats,  and  bran.  Hum- 
phrey and  Kleinheinz  of  the  Wisconsin  Station-^  show  that  peas  produce 
firm  flesh  and,  combined  with  other  grains,  are  especially  helpful  in 
securing  high  quality  mutton.  (261,  860,  883) 

Richards  and  Kleinheinz-®  fed  one  lot  of  10  ewe  lambs  equal  parts  of 
soybeans  and  shelled  corn  and  another  equal  parts  of  oats  and  corn, 
all  receiving  a  daily  roughage  allowance  of  0.8  lb.  hay  and  0.6  lb.  corn 
stover  per  head.  The  results  of  the  trial,  which  lasted  84  days,  are  shown 
below : 

Soybeans  vs.  oats  for  ewe  lambs 

Daily      Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 
Average  grain  allowance  gain  Grain     Roughage 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot    I,  Soybeans  and  com,  1 .2  lbs 0 .  19        611         711 

Lot  II,  Oats  and  com,  1 .2  lbs 0 .16        728        862 

With  these  lambs,  lightly  fed,  since  they  were  intended  for  the  breed- 
ing flock,  soybeans  and  corn  produced  larger  and  more  economical  gains 
than  oats  and  corn.  (256) 

Wheat  bran  should  form  no  large  part  of  the  concentrate  allowance 
for  fattening  sheep,  for,  like  oats,  it  induces  growth  rather  than  fatten- 
ing and  is  too  bulky.  When  lambs  are  being  started  on  feed,  bran  is 
useful  for  mixing  with  corn  and  other  heavy  concentrates  to  forestall 
digestive  troubles.  Bran  is  a  most  valuable  feed  for  breeding  ewes. 
(218,  883) 

Dried  distillers'  and  brewers'  grains,  rarely  fed  to  sheep  in  this  coun- 
try, have  given  good  results  in  Europe.-^  Aitken^°  of  Scotland  found  that 
dried  distillers'  grains  fed  with  roots,  or  with  roots  and  hay,  to  fatten- 
ing sheep  produced  as  large  gains  as  linseed  meal.  (282,  228) 

Gluten  feed,  tho  not  relished  by  sheep,  in  a  trial  by  Gilchrist^^  at 
Durham  College,  England,  produced  larger  gains  than  split  peas  or  equal 
parts  of  barley  meal  and  undecorticated  cottonseed  meal,  when  fed  as 
the  sole  concentrate  T\dth  hay  and  rutabagas.  (210) 

Flesh  meal,  according  to  Schenke,^-  was  readily  consumed  by  sheep 
when  it  was  fed  with  better-liked  feed  and  formed  not  more  than  5  to 

"Wis.  Rpt.  1905  and  Bui.  232. 

=«Wls.  Rpt.  1904. 

»Pott,  Handb.  Ernahr.  u.  Futter.,  Ill,  1909,  p.  241. 

""Trans.  Highl.  and  Agr.  See.  Scotland,  1900,  1901. 

»^  Trans.  Highl.  and  Agr.  Soc.  Scotland,  1910,  p.  253. 

«Landw.  vers.  Stat,  58,  1903,  pp.  26,  27. 


FEEDS  FOR  SHEEP  533 

10  per  ct.  of  the  ration.  Flesh  meal  produced  larger  but  less  economical 
gains  than  grain  alone,  and  evidently  increased  the  wool  production. 

Dried  hlood,  fed  to  young  lambs  in  place  of  milk,  at  the  rate  of  about 
0.5  lb.  daily  for  each  100  lbs.  live  weight,  gave  excellent  results  in  a 
trial  by  Regnard-^*^  (271) 

Tankage  was  found  by  Morrison  and  Kleinheinz^*  at  the  Wisconsin 
Station  to  be  readily  eaten  by  lambs  when  mixed  with  9  parts  coarsely 
ground  corn.  When  fed  with  corn  and  poor-quality,  over-ripe  blue- 
grass  hay,  both  feeds  low  in  protein,  10  per  ct.  tankage  was  as  effective 
as  18  per  ct.  linseed  meal  in  balancing  the  ration.  (270) 


II.  Roughages  for  Sheep 

857.  Legume  hay. — The  legumes  are  the  prime  source  of  roughage  for 
sheep — in  the  East  clover  and  alfalfa,  thruout  the  West  alfalfa  with 
clover  and  field  peas  in  certain  sections,  and  in  the  South  the  cowpea, 
beggarweed,  and  other  plants.  It  is  more  important  for  sheep  than  for 
cattle  that  the  hay  be  fine-stemmed  and  leafy. 

The  superiority  of  legume  over  carbonaceous  hay  for  sheep  is  shown 
in  the  following  summary  of  5  trials,  averaging  99  days,  in  which  rations 
of  clover  or  alfalfa  hay  mth  corn  as  the  sole  concentrate,  have  been  com- 
pared with  rations  of  timothy  or  prairie  hay  with  corn  and  cotton-  or 
linseed  meal,  which  were  equally  well  balanced  so  far  as  the  amount  of 
protein  was  concerned: 

Legume  hay  vs.  carbonaceous  hay  for  fattening  lambs 

Initial         Daily         Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 
Average  ration  weight        gain         Concentrates        Hay- 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Legume  hay,  71  lambs* 

Clover  or  alfalfa  hay,  1 .5  lbs. 

Com,  1 .3  lbs 63        0 .32  388  455 

Carbonaceous  hay,  63  lambs* 
Timothy  or  prairie  hay,  1 .0  lb. 
Com,  1 .0  lb. 
Cotton- or  Unseed  meal,  0.2  1b, 63        0.24  505  422 

*Average  of  1  trial  by  Burnett  (Nebr.  Bui.  66),  1  by  INIcDonald  and  Malone  (Okla.  Bui.  78),  1  by 
Morton  (Colo.  Bui.  73),  and  2  by  Skinner  and  King  (Ind.  Bui.  162). 

Tho  the  lambs  fed  timothy  or  prairie  hay  received  a  well-balanced 
ration,  those  on  clover  or  alfalfa  made  much  larger  gains  and  required 
less  feed  per  100  lbs.  gain.  So  long  as  there  is  an  ample  supply  of  good 
legume  hay  of  any  kind,  sheep  show  little  desire  for  other  roughage. 
(Chapter  XIV) 

858.  Nitrogenous  supplement  with  corn  and  legume  hay. — The  ad- 
vantage of  adding  a  nitrogenous  concentrate  to  a  ration  of  corn  and 
legume  hay  for  fattening  lambs  has  been  studied  by  several  stations. 
The  following  table  summarizes  10  trials  in  which  a  ration  of  clover  or 
alfalfa  hay  with  corn  alone  was  compared  with  the  legume  hay  and  corn 
plus  cotton-  or  linseed  meal. 

''Pott,  Handb.  Ernahr.  u.  Futter.,  Ill,  1909,  p.  515.  ''Unpublished  data. 


534  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Adding  a  supplement  to  a  ration  of  corn  and  legume  hay 


Average  ration 

Lot  I,  193  lambs* 
Corn,  1 .3  lbs. 

Legume  hay,  1 .4  lbs. 

Initial 
weight 
Lbs. 

63 

Daily 

0.32 
0.33 

Feed  for  100  lb3.  gain 

Concentrates        Hay 

Lbs.                Lb!. 

402                424 

Lot  II,  193  lambs* 
Corn,  1.1  lbs. 
Cotton-  or  linseed  meal, 
Legume  hay,  1 .4  lbs.. 

0.2  1b. 

63 

402            428 

♦Average  of  5  trials  by  Carmichael  and  Hammond  (Ohio  Buls.  187,  245),  1  by  Coffey  (111.  Station, 
information  to  the  authors),  1  by  F.  B.  Mumford  (Mich.  Bui.  113),  and  3  by  Skinner  and  King  (Ind. 
Buls.  162,  168). 

In  7  of  the  trials  the  lambs  fed  the  nitrogenous  supplement  made 
slightly  larger  gains  and  in  3,  smaller  gains  than  those  on  corn  and 
legume  hay  alone.  On  the  average,  replacing  0.2  lb.  of  corn  in  the 
ration  by  the  same  weight  of  cotton-  or  linseed  meal  increased  the  daily 
gain  0.01  lb.  but  did  not  decrease  the  amount  of  concentrates  or  hay 
consumed  for  100  lbs.  gain.  With  normal  prices  for  corn  and  nitrog- 
enous concentrates,  the  only  advantage  from  adding  a  nitrogenous  sup- 
plement to  an  already  well-balanced  ration  of  corn  and  legume  hay  is 
evidently  the  fact  that  the  gains  are  usually  somewhat  more  rapid,  en- 
abling the  feeder  to  put  the  lambs  in  condition  for  the  market  in  a 
shorter  time. 

859.  Legume  hays  compared. — Red  clover,  one  of  the  best  roughages 
for  sheep,  should  be  cut  early  to  secure  the  leaves  and  heads,  which  are 
the  portions  most  desired.  (347)  The  relative  values  of  alfalfa  and  clo- 
ver hay  for  sheep  is  a  disputed  point.  In  trials  covering  3  years  at  the 
Ohio  Station,^^  Carmichael  and  Hammond  found  that  lambs  fed  good 
quality  alfalfa  hay  and  shelled  corn  gained  0.02  lb.  more  per  day  on  the 
average  than  those  fed  clover  hay  of  the  same  quality,  tho  consuming 
16  lbs.  less  grain  and  9  lbs.  less  hay  per  100  lbs.  gain.  Humphrey  and 
Kleinheinz,  when  fitting  yearling  wethers  for  exhibition  during  3  years 
at  the  Wisconsin  Station,^*'  found  that  clover  hay  produced  slightly 
larger  and  more  economical  gains,  but  the  carcasses  from  the  alfalfa- 
fed  wethers  were  superior.  Skinner  and  King^^  in  a  90-day  test  found 
good  clover  slightly  superior  to  good  alfalfa  hay  for  fattening  lambs 
when  fed  with  shelled  corn.  From  these  data  we  may  conclude  that  there 
is  no  material  difference  in  the  value  of  clover  and  alfalfa  hays  for  sheep. 
(338)  R.  S.  Shaw  found  alsike  clover  hay  slightly  superior  to  alfalfa 
or  red  clover  in  a  trial  at  the  Montana  Station^*  where  lambs  were  fed 
grain,  hay,  and  roots.  (350)  Cowpea  hay  proved  equal  to  alfalfa  hay 
in  a  trial  by  McDonald  and  Malone  at  the  Oklahoma  Station,^^  while  at 
the  Kansas  Station  lambs  fed  cowpea  hay  by  Cochel*°  required  14  per 

''Ohio  Bui.  245.  »«Mont.  Bui.  21. 

"Information  to  the  authors.  "'Okla.  Bui.  78. 

*'Ind.  Bui.  179.  '"Information  to  the  authors. 


FEEDS  FOR  SHEEP  535 

ct.  more  grain  and  silage  and  29  per  ct.  more  hay  for  100  lbs.  gain  than 
others  fed  alfalfa  hay.  (357)  In  a  trial  at  the  South  Dakota  Station*^ 
Wilson  found  sweet  clover  hay  a  palatable  and  satisfactory  roughage, 
tho  somewhat  inferior  to  alfalfa.  Lambs  fed  equal  parts  of  shelled  corn 
and  oats  with  sweet  clover  hay,  gained  0.43  lb.  per  head  daily  during  a 
67-day  trial,  requiring  442  lbs.  grain  and  319  lbs.  hay  for  100  lbs.  gain. 
(352)  In  the  same  trial  field  pea  hay,  while  relished  by  the  lambs,  pro- 
duced lower  gains  than  either  alfalfa  or  sweet  clover  hay.  (355) 

Field  hean  straw  proved  a  good  substitute  for  clover  hay  in  a  trial  by 
H.  W.  Mumford  at  the  Michigan  Station,'*^  lambs  fed  a  ration  of  1.5 
lbs.  bean  straw,  1.4  lbs.  shelled  corn  and  1.2  lbs.  rutabagas  gaining  0.30 
lb.  daily,  in  comparison  with  0.33  lb.  for  lambs  fed  clover  hay.  With 
bean  straw,  9  per  ct.  more  grain  and  35  per  ct.  more  dry  fodder  was  re- 
quired per  100  lbs.  gain  than  with  clover  hay.  Lambs  fed  a  ration  of 
1.2  lbs.  soybean  straw,  1.2  lbs.  shelled  corn  and  0.2  lb.  linseed  meal  by 
Carmichael  and  Hammond  at  the  Ohio  Station*^  made  daily  gains  of 
0.28  lb.  per  head  and  required  499  lbs.  concentrates  and  420  lbs.  soy- 
bean straw  per  100  lbs.  gain — a  fair  gain,  tho  19  per  ct.  less  than  was 
made  by  lambs  fed  corn  with  alfalfa  or  clover  hay.  (329) 

860.  Field  peas. — The  fattening  of  lambs  by  grazing  on  field  peas  is 
an  important  industry  in  certain  sections  of  the  West,  especially  in  the 
San  Luis  valley,  Colorado.**  Mexican  peas,  similar  to  the  common  Ca- 
nadian field  peas,  are  sown  at  the  rate  of  30  to  50  lbs.  per  acre,  with  a 
small  quantity  of  oats  or  barley  to  support  the  vines  and  furnish  ad- 
ditional feed.  About  November  1,  as  soon  as  most  of  the  peas  have 
matured,  lambs  or  sheep  are  turned  into  the  field,  and  without  other 
feed  are  fattened  in  from  70  to  120  days.  An  acre  of  such  peas  will 
fatten  from  8  to  15  lambs,  each  making  a  gain  of  from  6  to  8  lbs.  per 
month.  One  acre  of  peas  produces  about  $15  worth  of  lamb  mutton  at 
no  expense  for  harvesting  the  crop.  Confining  the  lambs  to  small  areas 
by  hurdles  gives  better  results  than  allowing  them  to  roam  over  the  en- 
tire field.  Sometimes  the  peas  are  cut,  stacked,  and  fed  to  the  lambs  in 
yards.  (355) 

At  the  Wyoming  Station*^  lambs  grazed  on  field  peas  made  larger 
gains  and  reached  market  in  better  condition  than  others  fed  alfalfa 
and  corn.  In  a  second  trial  Morton*^  found  that  altho  the  gains  of  al- 
falfa and  corn  fed  lambs  were  50  per  ct.  greater  than  those  grazed  on 
field  peas,  due  to  the  low  cost  of  producing  the  peas  the  net  returns 
were  the  same.  In  this  trial  the  lambs  consumed  0.6  acre  of  peas  for 
each  100  lbs.  gain. 

861.  Timothy  and  other  carbonaceous  hay. — Timothy  hay  is  unsatis- 
factory for  sheep,  being  both  unpalatable  and  constipating.  The  dry 
heads  of  this  grass  work  into  the  wool,  irritating  the  skin,  lowering  the 
quality  of  the  wool  and  making  shearing  difficult.     As  has  been  shown 

"S.  D.  Bui.  143.  «Ohio  Bui.  245.  «Wyo.  Bui.  64. 

*^Mich.  Bui.  136.  "Breeder's  Gaz.,  49,  1906,  p.  244.  «Wyo.  Bul.  73. 


536  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

before  (857),  even  when  a  nitrogenous  supplement  is  added  to  timothy- 
hay  and  corn,  the  ration  is  still  inferior  to  one  of  legume  hay  and  corn. 
Marsh  hay  is  too  coarse  and  woody  for  sheep.  Bluegrass  hay  and  bright 
oat  straw  are  preferable  to  either  of  these  hays.  (311,  328)  Millet  hay 
in  a  trial  at  the  Michigan  Station*^  by  H.  W.  Mumford  proved  poorer 
than  corn  stover  or  oat  straw.  More  care  was  necessary  in  feeding  this 
hay  than  any  other  coarse  fodder,  as  it  induced  scours  unless  fed  in 
limited  quantity.  (317) 

Western  prairie  hay,  tho  more  palatable  than  timothy  hay,  is  much 
inferior  to  alfalfa  hay.  (857)  When  prairie  hay  is  fed  with  carbona- 
ceous grains,  as  corn,  larger  gains  will  be  secured  by  the  addition  of 
some  nitrogenous  supplement  to  the  ration.  This  is  shown  by  the  fol- 
lowing table,  giving  the  average  results  of  2  trials  at  the  Wyoming** 
and  1  at  the  Nebraska  Station  :*^ 

Value  of  supplement  with  prairie  hay  and  corn 

Initial  Daily  Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Average  ration                                                      weight  gain  Concentrates        Hay 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.               Lbs. 
Lot  I,  total  of  45  lambs 
Prairie  hay,  1 .2  lbs. 

SheUed  corn,  0.9  lb 64  0.19  485            628 

Lot  II,  total  of  4-5  lambs 
Prairie  hay,  1 .3  lbs. 
Shelled  com,  0.8  1b. 

Oilcake  or  meal,  0.2  1b 64        0.23  451  547 

Lot  II,  fed  oil  meal  in  addition  to  prairie  hay  and  corn,  made  larger 
gains  than  Lot  I,  receiving  the  unbalanced  ration,  and  required  34  lbs. 
less  grain  and  81  lbs.  less  hay  for  100  lbs.  gain.  When  corn  or  other 
carbonaceous  grains  are  very  low  in  price  compared  Avith  all  nitrogenous 
concentrates,  the  unbalanced  ration  may  prove  more  profitable  for  the 
feeder,  even  tho  the  lambs  make  less  rapid  gains. 

Sorghum  hay  ranks  with  corn  stover,  its  value  depending  to  a  large 
extent  upon  its  fineness.  Burnett  of  the  Nebraska  Station^"  has  shown 
that  some  nitrogenous  supplement,  such  as  linseed  meal,  should  be  added 
to  a  ration  of  corn  and  sorghum  hay  for  the  best  results.  (308) 

862.  Corn  stover  and  corn  fodder;  straw. — Next  in  value  to  hay  from 
the  legumes  come  the  dry  leaves  of  the  corn  plant.  For  sheep  feeding, 
corn  should  be  cut  early  and  cured  in  well-made  shocks.  The  sheep 
will  eat  a  little  more  of  the  stalks  if  shredded,  but  cutting  will  not  in- 
duce them  to  eat  any  of  the  coarser  parts.  (294-5)  That  neither  corn 
stover  nor  straw  should  form  the  sole  roughage  for  sheep  is  shown  in 
the  following  table,  which  gives  the  average  results  secured  by  Car- 
michael  and  Hammond^^  at  the  Ohio  Station  in  2  trials,  lasting  93  and 
83  days,  and  presents  the  data  obtained  by  McDonald  and  Malone  in 
a  140-day  test  with  lambs  at  the  Oklahoma  Station  :^- 

"Mich.  Bui.  136.  «Nebr.  Bui.  66.  "Ohio  Bui.  245. 

*»Wyo.  Buls.  73,  89.  »»Nebr.  Bui.  71.  "^Okla.  Bui.  78. 


FEEDS  FOR  SHEEP 


537 


Corn  stover  and  oat  straw  for  fattening  lanibs 

Concentrates  fed  daily 

Daily 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Daily  roughage  allowance 

Dry 

Corn 

linseed  meal 

trates 

fodder 

Ohio  trials 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lot      /,  Clover  hay,  1 .2  lbs 

1.3 

0.32 

389 

383 

Lot    II,  Corn  stover,  1 .4  lbs 

1.1 

6.21 

0.28 

453 

485 

Lot  III,  Oat  straw,  1 .1  lbs 

1.1 

0.21 

0.24 

527 

447 

Oklahoma  trial 

Lot     /,  AKalfahay,  l.Slbs 

1.6 

0.36 

454 

411 

Lot    II,  Corn  stover,  0 .8  lb 

Alfalfa  hay,  0.7  1b 

1.2 

0.40 

0.34 

479 

426 

While  making  fair  gains  and  shomng  fair  finish,  the  Ohio  lambs  fed 
stover  consumed  16  per  et.,  and  those  fed  oat  straw  35  per  ct.,  more  con- 
centrates for  100  lbs.  gain  than  Lot  I,  fed  clover  hay.  Carmichael  and 
Hammond  conclude  that  at  the  prevailing  prices  for  feeds  and  lambs, 
it  is  unprofitable  to  feed  either  corn  stover  or  oat  straw  as  the  sole  rough- 
age. In  the  Oklahoma  trial,  tho  fed  for  an  unusuall}^  long  period,  both 
lots  of  lambs  made  exceedingly  good  gains.  Lot  II,  fed  corn  stover  and 
alfalfa  hay,  made  practically  as  large  gains  as  Lot  I,  receiving  twice 
as  much  alfalfa  hay.  The  amount  of  concentrates  required  by  this  lot 
for  100  lbs.  gain  was  also  but  little  more  than  with  Lot  I. 

Coffey^^  of  the  Illinois  Station  states  that  experienced  Michigan  sheep 
feeders  give  oat  straw  at  one  feed  and  alfalfa  hay  at  the  next,  claim- 
ing that  the  lambs  so  fed  gain  as  well  as  tho  alfalfa  formed  the  sole 
roughage.  With  yearling  wethers  Coffey^*  secured  daily  gains  of  0.26 
lb.  per  head  on  a  ration  of  shelled  corn,  corn  silage,  and  oat  straw,  and 
0.25  lb.  on  shelled  corn,  silage,  and  corn  stover,  in  comparison  with  0.29 
lb.  on  corn,  alfalfa  hay,  and  silage,  and  only  0.15  lb.  on  corn  and  oat 
straw  alone.  This  trial  shows  clearly  that  for  the  best  results  straw 
should  be  fed  with  other  more  palatable  roughage,  especially  succulent 
feed.  Such  good  gains  with  rations  as  low  in  protein  would  have  been 
impossible  Math  lambs,  which  are  growing  as  well  as  fattening.  These 
trials  show  that,  judiciously  fed,  such  cheap  roughages  as  corn  stover 
and  oat  straw  may  lower  the  cost  of  mutton  production.  (296,  328) 
Shaw^^  advises  that  when  both  legume  hay  and  some  other  less  palat- 
able roughage  are  fed,  the  legume  hay  be  given  for  the  evening  meal. 

Shock  corn  may  be  fed  to  sheep  with  satisfactory  results,  as  is  shown 
in  a  trial  by  Coffey^''  at  the  Illinois  Station,  which  has  been  previously 
reviewed.  (847)  Whether  it  will  be  more  profitable  to  feed  shock  corn  or 
to  husk  and  shell  the  corn  before  feeding  will  depend  on  the  price  of 
feeds  and  labor. 

^^Breeder's  Gaz.,  66,  1914,  p.  85. 
"Information  to  the  authors. 
"^Management  and  Feeding  of  Sheep,  p.  212. 
*•  Information  to  the  authors. 


538  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

III.  Succulent  Feeds 

863.  Value  of  succulent  feeds. — One  of  the  advantages  of  succulent 
feeds,  so  keenly  relished  by  sheep,  is  their  tonic  and  regulating  effect. 
Roots  are  universally  fed  in  large  amounts  to  sheep  in  Great  Britain, 
and  to  this  fact  may  be  attributed  much  of  the  reputation  of  the  British 
shepherd  for  producing  mutton  of  the  highest  quality.  As  is  shown  in 
the  following  articles,  experiments  in  this  country  have  proved  that  roots 
can  be  successfully  replaced  by  corn  silage,  which  is  produced  at  lower 
cost  in  most  sections  of  the  United  States.  (109) 

864.  Roots. — The  value  of  roots  for  fattening  lambs  is  shown  in  the 
following  summary  of  5  trials,  averaging  113  days,  in  each  of  which  1 
lot  was  fed  roots  in  addition  to  an  already  excellent  ration  of  grain 
(chiefly  corn)  and  either  alfalfa,  clover,  or  mixed  clover  and  timothy  hay. 

Value  of  roots  for  fattening  lambs 


Initial 

Daily 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Average  ration 

weight 

gain 

Grain 

Roots         Hay 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs.          Lbs. 

Roots,  total  of  41  lambs* 

Roots,  3.7  lbs. 

Hay,  1.4  lbs. 

Grain,  1 . 4  lbs 

81 

0.39 

374 

940        358 

No  roots,  total  of  41  lambs* 

Hay,  1.7  lbs. 

Grain,  1.5  lbs 

82 

0.32 

456 

525 

♦Average  of  3  trials  by  Kennedy,  Robbins,  and  Kildee  (Iowa  Bui.  110),  1  by  Smith  and  Mumford 
(Mich.  Bui.  113),  and  1  by  Arkell  (N.  H.  Bui.  152). 

In  these  trials  the  allowance  of  roots — mangels,  sugar  beets,  rutabagas, 
or  turnips — ranged  from  1.9  to  5.0  lbs.  per  head  daily,  the  average  being 
3.7  lbs.  The  lambs  fed  roots  ate  0.1  lb.  less  grain  and  0.3  lb.  less  hay  per 
day  but  made  0.07  lb.  larger  daily  gain.  It  is  noteworthy  that  in  each 
of  the  5  trials  the  root-fed  lambs  made  the  larger  gains.  In  these  trials 
100  lbs.  of  roots  replaced  8.7  lbs.  of  grain  and  17.7  lbs.  of  hay. 

In  trials  at  the  Iowa  Station  by  Kennedy,  Robbins,  and  Kildee^^  sugar 
beets  ranked  first  in  amount  and  economy  of  gain,  with  mangels  second, 
and  turnips  third.  Since  mangels  and  sugar  beets  when  fed  to  sheep  tend 
to  produce  calculi,  or  stones,  in  the  kidneys  or  bladder,  which  are  dan- 
gerous in  the  case  of  rams  and  wethers,  these  roots  should  not  be  fed 
to  males  for  long  periods.  In  the  Iowa  trials  rams  died  after  being 
fed  on  rations  containing  4.4  lbs.  of  sugar  beets  or  mangels  for  5  to  6 
months.    Ewes  are  not  so  affected.  (365-74) 

865.  lessons  from  Great  Britain. — The  value  of  succulent  feed  in  the 
form  of  roots  for  sheep  fattening  is  well  shown  in  the  compilation  made 
by  Ingle  of  the  results  of  sheep-feeding  trials  reported  in  Great  Bri- 
tain^® from  1844  to  1905,  numbering  194.  From  his  extended  report 
the  following  typical  examples  show  the  use  British  farmers  make  of 
roots  in  fattening  sheep  and  lambs: 

"Iowa  Bui.  110.  ■« Trans.  Highl.  and  Agr.  Sec.  Scotland,  1910. 


FEEDS  FOR  SHEEP  539 


Rations  used  by  British  farmers  in  fattening  sheep  and  lambs 

Initial         Daily        Total  gain 
weight  gain  per  hea  " 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 


Average  ration  weight  gain  per  head 

Lb 


Oxford-Hampshire  lambs,  fed  87  days 

Roots,  5.7  lbs. 

Kohlrabi,  11.2  lbs. 

Clover  hay,  0 .38  lb.     Linseed  cake,  0 .7  lb 117        0 .48  43 

Leicester-Black jaced  lambs,  fed  105  days 

Swedes,  1.5.3  lbs. 

Hay,  0 .7  lb.     No  concentrates 80        0 .21  22 

Oxford  lambs,  fed  102  days 

Swedes,  22 .9  lbs.     Linseed  cake,  0 .3  lb. 

Hay,  0.4  1b.     Barley,  0.3  1b 107         0.43  42 

Colswold  yearlings,  fed  121  days 

Roots,  15  lbs. 

Hay,  1 .0  lb.     Cottonseed  cake,  1 .6  lbs Ill        0 .33  41 

Leicester-Blackfaced  lambs,  fed  63  days 

Swedes,  19  .3  lbs.     Dried  dist.  grains,  0 .5  lb 72         0 .39  25 

Leicester-Blackfaced  lambs,  fed  105  days 

Swedes,  12 .8  lbs.     Linseed  cake,  0 .7  lb 81         0 .36  37 

Not  only  i.s  the  large  allowance  of  roots  noteworthy,  but  also  the 
almost  universal  use  of  oil  cake — linseed  or  cottonseed.  The  gains  re- 
ported in  the  first  trial  are  surprising,  considering  that  the  only  con- 
centrate fed  was  0.7  lb.  linseed  cake  per  head  daily.  In  the  second  trial 
fair  gains  were  secured  on  swedes  and  hay  alone.  In  the  last  2  trials 
the  lambs  fed  no  dry  roughage,  but  only  roots  and  dried  distillers'  grains 
or  linseed  cake,  made  excellent  daily  gains. 

Altho  these  British  trials  show  that  large  amounts  of  roots  may  be 
safely  fed  to  sheep,  it  is  not  ordinarily  profitable  in  this  country  to 
feed  over  4  to  5  lbs.  per  head  daily,  and  even  half  this  allowance,  pref- 
erably pulped  or  sliced,  will  furnish  the  needed  succulence  in  the  ration. 

866.  Corn  silage  vs.  roots. — Owing  to  the  low  cost  of  producing  corn 
silage,  the  possible  substitution  of  this  succulence  for  roots  is  a  question 
of  prime  importance.  The  following  table  summarizes  the  results  of  7 
trials,  averaging  116  days,  in  which  corn  silage  and  roots  (sugar  beets, 
mangels,  rutabagas,  or  turnips)  were  compared,  when  fed  with  concen- 
trates and  legume  or  mixed  hay : 

Corn  silage  vs.  roots  for  fattening  lambs 


Initial 

Daily 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Average  ration 

weight 

fS° 

Concentrates     Hay     Succulence 

Lbs. 

Lbs.            Lbs.          Lbs. 

Silage,  total  of  72  lambs* 

Corn  silage,  3.0  lbs. 

Hay,  1.3  lbs. 

Concentrates,  1 .2  lbs 

89 

0.30 

396          439       1,040 

Roots,  total  of  90  lambs* 

Roots,  4,6  lbs. 

Hay,  1 .5  lbs. 

Concentrates,  1 .2  lbs 

89 

0.32 

380          471        1,507 

♦Average  of  3  trials  by  Grisdale  (Ottawa  Expt.  Farms  Rpts.  1910,  1911,  1912),  2  by  Kennedy,  Robbins, 
and  Kildee  (Iowa  Bui.  110),  and  2  by  F.  B.  Mumford  (Mich.  Buls.  84,  107). 


540  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

The  lambs  fed  silage  made  the  same  gains  in  2  of  the  trials,  larger 
gains  in  1,  and  somewhat  smaller  gains  in  the  other  4  trials.  On  the 
average  there  was  only  0.02  lb.  difference  in  the  daily  gains  of  the  lambs 
fed  silage  and  roots.  The  silage-fed  lambs  required  16  lbs.  more  grain,  but 
32  lbs.  less  hay  for  100  lbs.  gain  than  those  fed  roots,  the  larger  require- 
ment of  grain  by  the  silage-fed  lambs  being  offset  by  the  larger  eon- 
sumption  of  hay  by  those  fed  roots.  Thus,  based  on  the  feed  required 
per  100  lbs.  gain,  1,040  lbs.  of  silage  replaced  1,507  lbs.  of  roots,  due 
to  the  more  watery  nature  of  the  roots.  (366) 

867.  Com  silage. — Only  in  recent  years  has  the  value  of  corn  silage 
for  cheapening  the  cost  of  fattening  sheep  been  appreciated.  The  fol- 
lowing average  of  7  trials,  lasting  from  70  to  105  days,  in  which  a  ration 
of  clover  hay  and  shelled  corn  was  compared  with  one  of  corn  silage, 
clover  hay,  and  shelled  corn  for  fattening  lambs  shows  the  benefits  from 
adding  silage  to  an  already  excellent  ration : 


Value  of  corn  silage  when  added  to  well-halanced  ration 

[nitial         Daily  Feed  for  100  lbs.  i 

reight  gain  Corn  Hay  „ 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 


Initial         Daily  Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Average  ration  weight         gain  Corn  Hay  Silage 


Lot  I,  total  of  147  lambs* 
Com  silage,  1 .4  lbs. 
Clover  hay,  0.9  lb. 

SheUed  corn,  1 .2  lbs 62        0 .326  360  284  425 

Lot  II,  total  of  147  lambs* 
Clover  hay,  1 . 5  lbs. 

Shelled  com,  1 .3  lbs 62        0 .323  394  471 

♦Average  of  5  trials  by  Skinner  and  King  (Ind.  Buls.  162,  1G8,  179;'and  information  to  the  authors), 
and  2  by  Coffey  of  the  111.  Station  (Information  to  the  authors). 

On  the  average,  the  lambs  fed  silage  ate  0.6  lb.  less  hay  and  0.1  lb. 
less  corn  daily  yet  gained  slightly  more  than  those  fed  clover  hay  and 
shelled  corn.  Adding  silage  to  a  ration  of  clover  hay  and  corn  does  not, 
however,  always  result  in  increased  gain,  for  in  4  of  these  trials  the  lambs 
fed  no  silage  made  the  larger  gains.  The  great  advantage  in  feeding  silage 
lies  in  the  saving  of  corn  and  hay  required  for  100  lbs.  of  gain.  In 
these  trials  100  lbs.  of  corn  silage  saved  8.0  lbs.  of  corn  and  44.0  lbs.  of 
clover  hay.  With  corn  at  a  cent  a  pound  and  clover  hay  at  $10  per 
ton,  the  silage  fed  had  a  value  of  $6.00  per  ton,  or  nearly  twice  the  cost 
of  production  on  most  farms.  (410)  Besides  cheapening  the  gains  in 
these  trials  the  addition  of  silage  to  the  ration  usually  resulted  in  higher 
finish  and  consequently  in  a  greater  selling  price.  (300,  411) 

Corn  silage  of  good  quality  is  as  valuable  for  the  breeding  flock  as 
for  sheep  being  fattened  for  market.  (884)  The  numerous  instances 
in  which  sheep  of  all  classes  have  died  from  eating  moldy  or  decayed 
silage  show  that  greater  care  is  necessary  in  administering  this  feed 
to  sheep  than  to  cattle.  As  sour  silage  is  apt  to  cause  colic  and  scour- 
ing, silage  for  sheep  should  be  made  from  well-matured  corn. 

868.  Supplements  to  silage,  com  and  legume  hay. — It  has  already  been 
shown  that  adding  a  nitrogenous  concentrate  such  as  cotton-  or  linseed 


FEEDS  FOR  SHEEP 


541 


meal  to  an  already  well-balanced  ration  of  corn  and  legume  hay  is  not 
ordinarily  profitable.  (858)  When  corn  silage  is  added  to  a  ration  of 
corn  and  legume  hay,  all  being  fed  in  unlimited  allowance,  the  lambs 
will  eat  less  of  the  protein-rich  hay,  the  nutritive  ratio  thereby  being 
widened  to  a  marked  degree.  Skinner  and  King^^  conducted  trials  dur- 
ing 5  successive  years  at  the  Indiana  Station  with  60-lb.  lambs  to  deter- 
mine whether  it  would  be  profitable  to  add  a  nitrogenous  concentrate 
(cottonseed  meal)  to  such  a  ration.  In  3  of  the  trials,  as  is  shown  in 
the  table,  they  also  determined  whether  it  was  more  profitable  to  feed 
1  part  of  cottonseed  meal  to  7  or  to  4  parts  of  shelled  corn : 

Adding  a  supplement  to  a  ration  of  corn,  corn  silage,  and  clover  hay 


DaUy 
gain 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Nutritive 
ratio 

Average  ration 

Concen- 
trates 

Hay 

SUage 

Supplement  vs.  no  supplement,  5  trials 
Lot  I,  total  of  116  lambs 
Cottonseed  meal,  0.16  lb. 
SheUed  corn,  1 . 1  lbs. 
Corn  silage,  1 .3  lbs. 
Clover  hay,  1  0  lb 

Lbs. 

0.355 
0.331 

0.355 
0.358 

Lbs. 

348 
360 

337 
336 

Lbs. 

287 
299 

312 
307 

Lbs. 

368 
379 

428 
422 

1:6.8 

Lot  II,  total  of  115  lambs 
SheUed  com,  1.2  lbs. 
Corn  silage,  1 .2  lbs. 
Clover  hay,  1  0  lb. 

1:8.8 

Amount  of  supplement,  3  trials 
Lot  I,  total  of  75  lambs 
Cottonseed  meal,  0.15  lb. 
SheUed  com,  1 .0  lb. 
Corn  silage,  1 .5  lbs. 
Clover  hay,  1 . 1  lbs 

1:6.8 

Lot  II,  total  of  75  lambs 
Cottonseed  meal,  0 .24  lb. 
SheUed  corn,  1 .0  lb. 

Com  silage,  1 .5  lbs. 

Clover  hay,  l.llbs 

1:6.1 

The  first  comparison  shows  that  feeding  1  part  of  cottonseed  meal 
with  7  parts  of  shelled  corn  increased  the  gains  and  slightly  decreased 
the  amount  of  feed  for  100  lbs.  of  gain.  This  shows  that  the  ration  of 
shelled  corn,  corn  silage,  and  clover  hay,  having  a  nutritive  ratio  of 
1 : 8.8,  was  too  wide  for  the  maximum  gains  with  fattening  lambs.  It 
does  not  imply,  however,  that  the  most  profitable  gains  are  necessarily 
produced  when  a  nitrogenous  supplement  is  added,  for  the  economy  of 
the  gains  will  depend  on  the  relative  price  of  corn  and  the  supplement. 
In  2  of  these  trials  cheaper  gains  were  produced  without  cottonseed 
meal.  On  the  average  the  lambs  fed  cottonseed  meal  reached  slightly 
higher  finish  and  sold  for  5  cts.  more  per  100  lbs.  In  3  trials  the  prof- 
it was  greater  and  in  the  other  2  less  when  cottonseed  meal  was  fed. 
Whether  or  not  to  add  a  nitrogenous  concentrate  to  a  ration  of  shelled 

"Ind.  Buls.  162,  168,  179;  information  to  the  authors. 


542 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


corn,  corn  silage,  and  legume  hay  must  be  determined  by  each  feeder 
for  himself,  after  taking  into  consideration  the  prices  of  feeds,  the  value 
of  the  manure,  and  the  time  the  animals  should  be  ready  for  the  market. 

The  second  part  of  the  table  shows  that  the  gains  were  not  appreciably 
larger  when  1  part  of  cottonseed  meal  was  fed  to  4  parts  of  corn  than 
when  the  smaller  allowance  was  used.  In  2  of  the  3  trials  the  gains 
were  cheaper  on  the  smaller  allowance  of  cottonseed  meal.  These  trials 
indicate  that  a  ration  having  a  nutritive  ratio  of  1 :  6.8  is  about  as  satis- 
factory for  fattening  lambs  as  the  narrower  ratio  of  1 :  6.1, 

869.  Amount  of  silage  to  feed. — That  corn  silage  should  not  ordinarily 
form  the  sole  roughage  for  fattening  lambs  is  shown  by  the  following 
summary  of  2  trials,  averaging  95  days,  conducted  by  Skinner  and  King 
at  the  Indiana  Station.*^"  The  table  further  gives  the  results  for  3  trials, 
averaging  94  days,  1  by  Skinner  and  King''^  and  2  by  Coffey,*'-  in  which 
the  relative  value  of  large  and  small  allowances  of  corn  silage  were  com- 
pared when  fed  with  clover  hay  and  shelled  corn. 

Amount  of  corn  silage  to  feed  fattening  lambs 


■ 

Feed  for  100  lbs. 

gJiin 

Initial 

Daily- 

Average  ration 

weight 

gain 

Concen- 
trates 

Hay 

Silage 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Silage  vs.  silage  and  hay,  2  trials 

Silage  alone,  50  lambs 

Corn  silage,  2.2  lbs. 

SheUed  corn,  1 .0  lb. 

Cottonseed  meal,  0 .  14  lb 

61 

0.26 

431 

856 

Silage  and  clover  hay,  50  lambs 

Clover  hay,  1.1  lbs. 

Corn  silage,  1.6  lbs. 

Shelled  com,  1.1  lbs. 

Cottonseed  meal,  0 .  16  lb 

61 

0.36 

344 

301 

436 

Large  vs.  small  silage  allowance,  3  trials 

Silage  in  small  amount,  57  lambs 

Corn  silage,  1.1  lbs. 

Clover  hay,  1 .0  lb. 

Shelled  corn,  1 .2  lbs 

66 

0.31 

379 

332 

360 

Silage  in  large  amount,  57  lambs 

Corn  silage,  1 .7  lbs. 

Clover  hay,  0.8  lb. 

Shelled  com,  1 .2  lbs 

65 

0.32 

361 

268 

526 

In  each  of  2  trials  averaged  in  the  first  portion  of  the  table  the  lambs 
fed  corn  silage  only  for  roughage  made  much  smaller  gains,  had  poorer 
appetites,  and  required  more  care  to  prevent  going  ' '  off  feed. ' '  Tho  in 
the  first  trial  silage  alone  produced  cheaper  gains,  the  poorer  finish  of 
the  lambs  resulted  in  a  sufficiently  lower  selling  price  to  more  than  off- 
set the  cheaper  gains.  In  the  other  ,  trial  gains  were  cheaper  and  profit 
greater  when  hay  was  fed  in  addition  to  silage.     Contrary  to  their  find- 

~Ind.  Buls.  168,  179.  "Ind.  Bui.  168.  "^Information  to  the  authors. 


FEEDS  FOR  SHEEP  543 

ings  with  steers  (778),  Skinner  and  King  report  that  the  appetite  of 
lambs  for  dry  roughage  was  not  satisfied  by  supplying  oat  straw  in  ad- 
dition to  silage.  They  therefore  conclude  that  for  the  best  results  legume 
hay  should  be  fed  with  corn  silage. 

The  second  part  of  the  table  shows  that  the  largest  allowance  of  si- 
lage produced  the  most  rapid,  and,  with  feeds  at  the  usual  prices,  the 
cheapest  gains.  Similar  results  were  secured  by  Skinner  and  King^^  in 
2  trials  in  which  large  or  small  allowances  of  silage  were  compared  when 
fed  with  clover  hay,  shelled  corn,  and  cottonseed  meal.  In  each  trial 
as  good  or  better  finish  was  produced  by  the  heavy  silage  feeding. 

Skinner  and  King  conclude  that  it  is  best  to  allow  the  lambs  all  the 
silage  they  will  clean  up  both  morning  and  evening,  with  free  access  to 
legume  hay.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  lambs  given  all  the  silage 
they  would  eat  still  consumed  nearly  one-half  as  much  hay  as  they  did 
silage,  while  on  similar  feeds  steers  eat  5  to  7  times  as  much  silage  as 
hay.  (776) 

870.  Silage  other  than  com. — Sorghum  silage  from  plants  sufficiently 
matured  to  produce  silage  low  in  acidity  is  satisfactory  for  sheep.  This 
is  shown  by  the  results  already  reported  (853),  secured  by  CocheP*  in 
trials  at  the  Kansas  Station  in  fattening  lambs  on  sweet  sorghum  silage, 
alfalfa  hay,  cottonseed  meal,  and  corn  or  kafir  grain.  In  a  119-day  trial 
by  Jones  of  the  Texas  Station*'^  a  lot  of  250  western  lambs  were  fed  a 
ration  of  0.23  lb.  cottonseed  meal  and  3.8  lbs.  of  feterita  and  sorghum 
silage  during  the  first  59  days,  during  which  time  the  average  daily 
gain  was  0.28  lb.  Ground  feterita  was  then  added,  the  average  ration 
during  the  remainder  of  the  trial  consisting  of  0.35  lb.  cottonseed  meal, 
1.0  lb.  feterita,  and  3.5  lbs.  silage.  During  the  last  60  days  the  lambs 
gained  0.29  lb.  per  head  daily,  requiring  121  lbs.  cottonseed  meal,  341 
lbs.  feterita,  and  1,196  lbs.  silage  for  100  lbs.  gain.  "While  these  lambs, 
fed  silage  as  the  sole  roughage,  made  satisfactory  gains,  Jones  states 
that  it  is  advisable  to  supply  some  dry  roughage,  as  otherwise  the  lambs 
are  apt  to  go  off  feed. 

In  districts  where  the  field  pea  flourishes,  the  whole  plant  may  be 
profitably  ensiled  for  sheep  fattening.  (355)  In  the  vicinity  of  pea 
canneries  fattening  sheep  and  lambs  on  ensiled  pea  vines  and  pods 
is  an  important  industry,  especially  in  Wisconsin.  (356)  Some  dry 
roughage,  such  as  corn  stover  or  hay,  is  supplied  in  addition  to  the 
silage,  and  grain  or  screenings  fed,  especially  during  the  latter  part  of 
the  fattening  period.  Tormey^^  of  the  Wisconsin  Station  reports  that 
one  -^-inter  a  large  feeder  fed  about  6,000  59-lb.  lambs  for  an  average 
of  94  days  on  a  ration  of  1.6  lbs.  of  grain,  chiefly  corn  and  screenings, 
3.5  lbs.  pea  vine  silage,  and  a  small  allowance  of  hay.  The  lambs  gained 
0.30  lb.  per  head  daily  on  the  average,  requiring  541  lbs.  grain  and 
1,147  lbs.  silage  for  100  lbs.  gain. 

»«Ind.  Bui.  162.  *' Information  to  the  authors. 

"Information  to  the  authors.  '^ Country  Gentleman,  79,  p.  808. 


544  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

871.  Wet  beet  pulp. — ^Wet  beet  pulp  has  been  extensively  fed  to  fat- 
tening sheep  in  the  vicinity  of  beet  sugar  factories  in  the  western  states, 
and  has  proved  an  excellent  feed.  The  value  of  an  unlimited  allowance 
of  pulp  and  alfalfa  hay,  fed  with  and  without  grain,  was  tested  by  Lin- 
field  at  the  Utah  Station^^  in  a  78-day  trial  with  the  following  results: 

Wet  beet  pulp  with  and  ivithout  grain  for  fattening  lamhs 


Initial 

Daily 

Feed  for  100  lbs. 

gain 

Average  ration 

weight 

gain 

Concentrates      Pulp 

Hay 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs.              Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lot  1,17  lambs 

Wet  beet  pulp,  3.3  lbs. 

AlfaKa  hay,  1 .4  lbs. 

Screenings  and  bran,  0.5  lb. . . . 

..     54 

0.33 

156          1,014 

423 

Lot  II,  17  lambs 

Wet  beet  pulp,  3.7  lbs. 

Alfalfa  hay,  1.6  lbs 

..     61 

0.21 

1,786 

797 

Lot  I,  fed  a  half-pound  of  concentrates  with  an  unlimited  allowance 
of  pulp  and  alfalfa  hay,  made  over  50  per  ct.  larger  gains  than  Lot  II, 
fed  pulp  and  hay  only.  The  feeding  of  156  lbs.  of  grain  effected  a  sav- 
ing of  772  lbs.  of  wet  beet  pulp  and  374  lbs.  of  alfalfa  hay  for  each 
100  lbs.  of  gain.  In  another  triaP^  practically  as  large  and  decidedly 
more  economical  gains  were  produced  with  an  average  daily  grain  allow- 
ance of  0.4  lb.  per  head  as  when  0.9  lb.  was  fed.  The  Colorado  Sta- 
tion*^**  found  1  ton  of  wet  beet  pulp  equal  to  200  lbs.  of  corn  for  fatten- 
ing lambs,  tho  when  fed  without  grain  it  produced  soft  flesh  and  the 
lambs  shrank  excessively  when  shipped.  Alfalfa  hay  contains  an  abun- 
dance of  protein  and  mineral  matter,  in  which  both  corn  and  beet  pulp 
are  deficient,  and  is  therefore  an  admirable  roughage  to  use  with  the 
pulp.  Pulp  is  especially  suitable  for  fattening  aged  ewes  with  poor  teeth. 
When  feeding  heavily  with  pulp,  the  yards  should  be  kept  dry  by  proper 
drainage  and  the  use  of  bedding.  Morton^*'  of  the  Colorado  Station  states 
that  in  Colorado  pulp  is  generally  fed  to  old  ewes  and  wethers,  rather 
than  lambs,  the  pulp  seeming  to  be  too  bulky  to  give  the  best  results  with 
the  younger  animals.  Owing  to  its  cheapness  the  pulp  is  usually  fed  in 
unlimited  allowance  thruout  the  whole  fattening  period.  ,(274) 

872.  Pastures. — As  sheep  relish  weeds  and  browse  with  avidity  on 
sprouts  and  brush  refused  by  other  stock,  they  are  helpful  in  cleaning 
up  the  farm,  especially  such  by-places  as  lanes  and  fence  corners.  Of 
the  permanent  pastures,  bluegrass  is  the  most  common  in  the  upper  Mis- 
sissippi valley  and  eastward.  (311)  Farther  south  red  top  is  prominent, 
and  in  the  southern  states  Bermuda  grass.  (314,  320)  In  the  "West  the 
native  grasses,  especially  the  grama  species,  furnish  much  of  the  graz- 
ing on  the  ranges,  tho  on  mountain  ranges  in  Idaho,  Beattie  of  the  Wash- 
ington Station^  ^  found  the  food  mostly  herbs,  and  the  leaves  and  twigs 
of  shrubs. 

•^Utah  Bui.  78.  "'Colo.  Bui.  76.  "Wash.  Bui.  113. 

*Utah  Bui.  90.  ™ Information  to  the  authors. 


FEEDS  FOR  SHEEP  545 

The  clovers  furnish  valuable  pasture,  but  great  care  is  necessary  to 
prevent  bloat  when  sheep  are  grazed  on  them,  (340,  348)  Alfalfa  is 
especially  liable  to  cause  bloat  and  can  be  recommended  as  a  pasture 
plant  for  but  few  sections,  altho  some  skillful  flockmasters  suffer  little 
loss.  In  some  sections  of  the  West  alfalfa  is  utilized  for  winter  grazing 
as  it  is  then  so  lacking  in  succulence  that  danger  from  bloat  is  practically 
absent.  In  the  humid  regions  care  is  always  necessary  to  prevent  in- 
festation with  stomach  worms  when  permanent  pastures  are  used. 

873.  Annual  pastures. — Grazing  sheep  chiefly  on  annual  pastures  spe- 
cially sown  for  them  was  first  practiced  in  America  at  the  Minnesota 
Station  in  1895  by  Shaw.^-  This  system  enables  the  flockmaster  to  main- 
tain more  animals  on  a  given  area  than  otherwise,  favors  rapid,  contin- 
uous gains  by  providing  succulent  pasture  from  spring  to  fall,  destroys 
nearly  all  kinds  of  weeds,  and  uniformly  fertilizes  the  land.  In  one  trial 
Shaw  grazed  2  lots,  each  of  ten  80-lb.  yearling  wethers,  for  112  days  by 
means  of  hurdles  on  the  following  succession  of  pastures:  Winter  rye, 
peas  and  oats,  barley  and  oats,  rape,  kale,  peas  and  oats.  Lot  II  re- 
ceived 0.5  lb.  of  oats  per  head  daily  in  addition  to  pasture,  as  is  shown 
below  : 

Grazing  yearling  wethers  on  special  crops  with  and  without  grain 

Average  ration  Daily  gain  Gain  per  head 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot    I,  Pasture 0 .  15  16 .8 

Lot  II,  Pasture  and  0 .5  lb.  oats 0 .24  26 .9 

While  the  gains  were  not  large  with  either  lot,  they  were  all  that  could 
be  expected  during  warm  weather.  Lot  II  gained  60  per  ct.  more  than 
Lot  I,  which  received  no  grain,  and  was  in  better  condition  at  the  close 
of  the  trial.  The  increase  in  gain  was  worth  more  than  the  grain  fed. 
In  this  system  grass  pasture  should  be  available  during  wet  seasons,  es- 
pecially on  heavy  soils. 

Craig"  reports  that  on  British  farms  heavily  stocked  with  sheep,  a 
rotation  of  grazing  crops  carries  the  ewes  and  lambs  from  the  first  of 
the  season  until  weaning,  after  which  the  ewes  go  on  old  grass  land  and 
the  lambs  to  freshly  seeded  land  or  other  green  crops.  Lands  newly 
seeded  to  grass  and  clover  can  be  successfully  pastured  by  sheep  pro- 
vided they  are  withdrawn  therefrom  when  the  ground  is  soft  from  rain 
and  if  they  are  not  allowed  to  crop  the  young  plants  too  closely. 

874.  Supplementary  grazing  crops. — More  common  than  keeping  sheep 
primarily  on  annual  pastures  is  the  growing  practice  of  using  various 
annual  crops  to  supplement  permanent  pastures.  The  earliest  grazing 
is  usually  furnished  by  the  cereals,  the  best  of  which,  according  to 
Shaw,^*  is  winter  rye.  Rye  is  also  grown  for  fall  grazing  and  in  sec- 
tions with  moderate  winters,  winter  wheat  furnishes  feed  during  the 
colder  months.   (318)     The  sorghums  are  useful  in  the  plains  region, 

"Minn.  Bui.  78.  "Management  and  Feeding  of  Sheep,  p.  171, 

"Sheep  Fanning,  p.  206. 


546  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

altho  not  especially  relished  by  sheep.  Where  they  flourish  field  peas, 
vetches,  cowpeas,  and  crimson  and  Japan  clover  all  furnish  excellent 
grazing.  (355,  359,  357,  353,  360)  Rape  is  the  most  widely  useful  member 
of  the  mustard  family,  which  furnishes  several  other  grazing  crops.  (381) 
In  the  mild  climate  of  the  Pacific  coast  where  it  endures  the  winter,  kale 
provides  excellent  spring  feed.  (382)  In  the  fall  kohlrabi  and  cabbage 
may  be  useful.  (379-80)  Both  rutabagas  and  turnips  are  widely  grown 
in  Britain  for  grazing.  Shaw  suggests  that  these  crops  should  be  profit- 
able for  winter  grazing  in  the  southern  states.  (370-1) 

Caution  should  be  used  in  putting  sheep  onto  clover  or  rape  pasture, 
as  both  often  cause  bloat,  which  may  prove  fatal.  When  beginning  to 
pasture  these  forages,  the  sheep  should  be  allowed  to  graze  but  a  short 
time  the  first  day,  and  the  period  gradually  increased  till  after  a  week 
they  may  remain  continuously  on  the  pasture.  It  is  well  to  allow  sheep  to 
satisfy  their  hunger  largely  on  other  pasture  or  with  hay  or  grain,  be- 
fore turning  them  on  these  crops.  Even  when  care  is  taken,  animals 
occasionally  bloat,  especially  on  sultry  days  following  a  rain.  Immediate 
attention  is  then  necessary  to  save  the  afflicted  ones.  Kleinheinz"  of  the 
Wisconsin  Station  recommends  a  drench  of  a  pint  to  a  quart  of  milk 
warm  from  the  cow.  Others  place  a  stick  in  the  animal's  mouth,  tied 
back  of  the  head  with  a  string,  or  resort  to  the  trocar  or  knife. 

875.  Rape. — To  determine  the  value  of  rape  for  lambs  Shaw^^  at  the 
Ontario  Agricultural  College  confined  3  lots  of  71-lb.  lambs  each  to  a 
measured  acre  of  rape  by  means  of  hurdles.  Lot  II  was  fed  oats  in  ad- 
dition and  Lot  III  had  the  run  of  an  adjoining  grass  pasture.  Each 
acre  of  rape  lasted  15  lambs  grazing  thereon  58  days,  during  which  time 
the  gains  were  as  indicated : 

Returns  from  rape  grazed  hy  fattening  lamhs 

Daily  gain  Gain  per  acre 

Lbs.  Lb3. 

Lot      I,  Rape  only 0 .39  344 

Lot    II,  Rape  and  0 .5  lb.  oats  per  head  daily 0 .40  348 

Lot  III,  Rape  and  grass  pasture  adjoining 0 .47  420 

The  addition  of  oats  did  not  prove  economical,  while  the  value  and 
importance  of  grass  pasture  in  supplementing  rape  is  strongly  brought 
out  by  the  larger  gains  of  Lot  III.  From  344  to  420  lbs.  of  gain  was 
made  per  acre  of  rape  by  these  lambs.  Shaw"  concludes  that  feeding 
grain  to  lambs  grazing  on  rape  will  not  pay  when  bluegrass  pasture  is 
available.  The  economy  of  feeding  grain  when  no  pasture  is  available 
will  turn  on  the  relative  abundance  of  rape  and  the  cost  of  grain,  as  the 
feeding  of  gi'ain  should  decrease  the  amount  of  rape  eaten. 

876.  Rape  vs.  bluegrass. — At  the  Wisconsin  Station  Craig^^  grazed 
one  lot  of  48  lambs  on  a  bluegrass  pasture  and  another  on  rape  for  4 
weeks,  feeding  in  addition  0.7  lb.  daily  per  head  of  a  mixture  of  equal 

"Sheep  Management,  p.  121.     "Management  and  Feeding  of  Sheep,  p.  197. 
"Ont.  Agr.  Col.  Rpt.  1891.  '^Wis.  Rpt.  1897. 


FEEDS  FOR  SHEEP 


547 


parts  of  peas  and  corn.  During  this  period  the  first  lot  consumed  the 
rape  on  0.64  acre.  Both  lots  were  then  placed  in  pens  and  fed  an  un- 
limited allowance  of  hay  and  an  increased  grain  allowance,  as  shown  in 
the  table : 


Relative  value  of  rape  and  hluegrass  pasture  for  lambs 


Pasture  period  of  4  weeks 

Pen  period  of  12  weeks 

Average  ration 

Daily 
gain 

Average  ration 

Daily 
gain 

Feed  for  100 
lbs.  gain 

Grain 

Hay 

I,  Rape;  grain,  0  7  lb 

Lbs. 

0.37 
0.24 

Grain,  1  lb.;  hay,  0.6  lb.. 
Grain,  1  lb.;  hay,  0.7  1b.. 

Lbs. 

0.24 

0.22 

Lbs. 
429 

476 

Lbs. 
261 

II,  Bluegrass;  grain,  0 .7  lb 

315 

The  table  shows  that  the  lambs  pastured  on  rape  did  much  better  than 
those  on  bluegrass,  both  while  on  pasture  and  later  when  confined  to 
feeding  pens. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

GENERAL  CARE  OF  SHEEP  AND  LAMBS— FATTENING— HOT- 
HOUSE LAMBS— GOATS 

I.  The  Breeding  Flock 

Order,  regularity,  and  quiet  are  paramount  in  the  management  of 
sheep.  The  flock  should  always  be  cared  for  by  the  same  attendant,  who 
moves  among  them  quietly,  giving  notice  of  his  approach  by  speaking 
in  a  low  voice  and  closing  doors  and  gates  gently.  Dogs  and  strangers 
should  be  kept  from  the  pens  at  all  times.  Cleanliness  is  essential,  for 
the  sheep  is  the  most  dainty  and  particular  of  all  farm  animals.  The 
successful  shepherd  is  therefore  gentle,  patient,  punctual,  and  cleanly 
at  all  times  in  the  care  of  his  flock. 

877.  The  ewe  flock. — Autumn  is  the  time  when  the  beginner  in  sheep 
husbandry  usually  makes  his  start,  and  when  preparations  for  the  suc- 
ceeding lamb  crop  are  made  in  flocks  already  established.  Before  the 
breeding  season  opens  in  the  fall,  all  non-breeding  ewes,  poor  milkers, 
those  with  "broken"  mouths  or  spoiled  udders,  and  others  which  are  too 
old  or  otherwise  past  usefulness  should  be  discarded.  The  reserve  ewes 
should  not  be  selected  by  looks  alone,  for  the  thinnest  ones  may  have 
been  brought  to  this  condition  by  a  heavy  milk  flow.  As  a  rule  a  good 
ewe  should  be  retained  as  long  as  she  will  breed.  The  ewes  disposed  of 
should  be  replaced  by  the  yearlings  picked  as  most  promising  the  pre- 
ceding fall  while  still  lambs. 

878.  Date  of  lambing;  gestation  period. — The  lamb  dropped  in  late 
winter  or  early  spring  is  far  more  valuable  than  one  coming  later.  Under 
good  management  the  early -yeaned  lamb  comes  into  the  world  with  com- 
fortable surroundings  and  a  kind  master  to  give  attentions  conducive  to 
comfort  and  growth.  With  the  coming  of  spring  the  young  thing  is  of 
sufficient  size  and  vigor  to  pass  out  with  its  dam  and  make  the  most  of 
the  fresh  grass  and  genial  sunshine.  The  early  lamb  is  less  susceptible 
to  stomach  worms  and  many  of  the  evils  which  attack  the  later-dropped 
lambs.  Early  farm-raised  lambs  may  be  fattened  and  sold  before  the 
market  is  flooded  with  western  range  lambs  from  the  feed  lots.  Where 
there  are  poor  accommodations  or  cold  quarters  lambs  should  not  be 
dropped  in  northern  latitudes  earlier  than  May,  and  not  until  the  dams 
are  on  pasture. 

The  most  extensive  data  on  the  gestation  period  of  the  ewe  are  those 
compiled  by  Humphrey  and  Kleinheinz^  from  the  records  of  the  flock 
at  the  Wisconsin  Station,  consisting  mainly  of  ewes  of  the  English 

*  Information  to  tlie  authors. 

548 


GENERAL  CARE  OF  SHEEP  AND  LAMBS      549 

breeds.  The  gestation  period  for  1,142  ewes  ranged  from  140  to  156 
days,  the  average  being  147  days.  The  greatest  number  (19  per  ct.) 
dropped  their  lambs  on  the  146th  day,  followed  by  the  147th  and  145th. 
Over  half  the  entire  number  yeaned  on  these  3  days.  Tessier  of  France- 
reports  that  the  average  gestation  period  of  912  ewes,  doubtless  of  the 
Merino  breed,  was  152  days,  over  75  per  ct.  lambing  between  the  150th 
and  154th  days.  This  accords  with  the  Wisconsin  records,  which  show 
that  the  Merino  and  Cheviot  ewes  carried  their  lambs  longer  than  those 
of  the  English  breeds.  It  was  further  found  that  the  gestation  period 
for  Shropshires  and  Southdowns  was  shorter  than  for  the  larger  English 
breeds. 

879.  Flushing  the  ewes. — Altho  the  ewe  with  lamb  at  foot  may  have 
had  good  care  and  pasture  during  the  summer,  if  she  has  had  a  large 
milk  flow  she  will  be  somewhat  run  down  by  fall.  With  the  farm  flock 
it  is  often  advisable  to  "flush"  the  ewes  after  their  lambs  are  weaned 
and  before  breeding,  a  common  practice  with  English  flockmasters.  This 
consists  in  giving  an  extra  allowance  of  nutritious,  highly  palatable  food 
for  2  or  3  weeks  before  the  desired  date  of  breeding,  so  that  the  ewes 
will  then  be  rapidly  gaining  in  flesh.  Several  advantages  result  from  this 
practice.  Not  only  is  the  ewe  which  is  bred  in  a  thrifty  condition  more 
certain  to  produce  a  vigorous  lamb,  but  she  is  a  more  reliable  breeder  and 
more  likely  to  drop  twins.  The  flock  will  all  breed  within  a  briefer  time 
if  flushed,  thus  shortening  the  lambing  period  with  its  anxious  hours. 
Craig^  found  that  ewes  suckling  twins  lost  no  more  flesh  than  those  with 
one  lamb,  and  that  twins  made  as  rapid  gains  as  singles;  hence  the  ad- 
vantage of  twins  under  favorable  farm  conditions.  On  the  western 
ranges,  where  but  little  attention  can  be  given  to  the  individual  ewe, 
single  lambs  have  given  the  best  results. 

880.  The  ram. — A  well-built,  vigorous  ram  should  be  chosen  and  then 
be  so  fed  and  cared  for  that  he  will  remain  virile.  He  needs  no  grain 
while  on  good  pasture  during  summer,  but  beginning  at  least  a  month 
before  breeding  time  some  concentrate  should  be  fed.  During  the  breed- 
ing season  he  should  be  kept  in  good  condition  on  such  muscle-forming 
foods  as  bran,  oats,  peas,  and  oil  meal,  and  not  be  allowed  to  run  down 
thru  insufficient  feed  or  over  use.  On  the  other  hand,  he  should  never 
become  fat.  In  purchasing,  avoid  a  ram  that  has  been  fitted  for  shows, 
for  such  high  living  tends  to  impotence. 

During  the  breeding  season  the  ram  should  run  with  the  ewes  but  a 
short  time  daily,  or  at  night  only.  Where  "hand  coupling"  is  not  prac- 
ticed, to  determine  whether  a  ewe  has  been  bred  and  at  what  time,  the 
ram  should  be  painted  on  the  brisket  with  some  compound  which  will 
leave  a  mark  on  the  wool  of  the  ewe. 

In  the  winter  the  ram  may  be  kept  in  thrifty  condition  on  a  daily  al- 
lowance of  0.5  to  1.0  lb.  of  concentrates,  with  good  roughage.  Some  suc- 
culent food  is  desirable  but  mangels  and  sugar  beets  should  be  avoided. 

» Coleman,  Sheep  of  Great  BriUin.  »Wis.  Rpt.  1899. 


550  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

(864)  Ram  lambs  need  liberal  rations  of  muscle-building  foods,  but 
should  be  given  little  fat-forming  food.  Lack  of  exercise  injures  the 
ram's  procreative  powers.  Except  during  mating  time  the  ram  should 
be  kept  away  from  the  ewe  flock,  so  that  he  cannot  annoy  them. 

881.  The  flock  in  winter. — Before  going  into  winter  quarters  the  flock 
should  be  divided  into  groups  of  the  same  age,  sex,  strength,  and  gen- 
eral characteristics.  To  give  the  highest  returns  a  division  of  mutton 
sheep  should  not  contain  over  50  members.  Aged  breeding  ewes  should 
constitute  one  band,  shearling  ewes  another,  the  ewe  lambs  a  third,  and 
the  wether  lambs  a  fourth.  These  bands  should  be  again  divided  if  there 
is  a  marked  difference  between  their  strongest  and  weakest  members. 
Each  member  will  then  have  an  equal  chance  with  its  fellows  at  the  feed 
trough  and  in  enjoying  comforts  and  attentions  from  the  shepherd's 
hand,  and  the  ration  may  then  be  adapted  to  the  special  needs  of  each 
group. 

The  quarters  for  the  flock  in  winter  should  be  dry,  well- ventilated,  and 
sunny.  Drafts  must  be  avoided,  or  trouble  is  sure  to  result.  Warm  quar- 
ters are  not  only  unnecessary,  but  inadvisable.  (832)  From  10  to  15 
square  feet  of  ground  space  should  be  provided  for  each  ewe.  There 
should  be  wide  doorways,  lest  the  animals  suffer  injury  when  all  attempt 
to  rush  thru  at  once,  in  true  sheep  fashion.  Conveniently  placed  feed 
racks  should  furnish  15  to  24  inches  of  space  per  head. 

To  insure  a  crop  of  strong,  healthy  lambs  exercise  for  the  ewes  is 
essential.  Breeding  sheep  housed  in  winter  should  have  access  to  a  dry, 
sunny  yard,  well  protected  from  wind  and  storm.  To  force  the  ewes 
to  exercise  on  all  fair  days  roughage  may  be  scattered  in  small  bunches 
over  a  nearby  field.  When  the  snow  is  deep,  paths  should  be  broken 
out  with  snow  plow  or  stone  boat.  On  stormy  days  the  sheep  should 
remain  indoors,  for  w^et  fleeces  dry  but  slowly  in  winter. 

882.  Wintering  the  breeding  ewes. — ^When  pasturage  is  deficient  in 
the  fall  or  the  grass  soft  and  washy,  it  is  well  to  provide  supplemental 
feed  before  the  ewes  are  taken  off  pasture.  This  may  be  hay,  grain,  or 
better,  such  grazing  crops  as  rape  or  fall  rye.  For  the  greatest  economy 
the  winter  feed  of  the  ewes  should  consist  largely  of  roughages,  hay 
from  the  legumes  easily  leading.  (857)  Indeed,  when  good  legume  hay 
is  given  along  wdth  an  allowance  of  roots  or  silage  no  grain  is  needed 
until  about  a  month  before  lambing  time.  The  aim  should  be  to  bring 
the  ewes  to  lambing  in  medium  flesh  and  vigorous  condition,  thus  in- 
suring a  good  milk  flow  for  the  new-born  lambs.  The  trained  shepherd 
knows  that  the  only  safe  way  to  determine  the  condition  of  a  sheep 
is  by  "handling"  its  back.  If  he  finds  that  the  ewes  are  not  thriving, 
he  will  add  concentrates  to  their  ration.  With  an  ample  supply  of  good 
roughage  not  over  0.5  lb.  per  head  daily  of  concentrates  is  needed.  While 
breeding  ewes  should  not  be  fat,  they  should  carry  more  flesh  than  most 
American  farmers  think  proper.  To  winter  them  on  only  straw,  or  straw 
and  hay  is  to  perpetuate  a  flock  that  will  gradually  but  surely  deteriorate. 

Both  ram  and  ewe  lambs  intended  for  the  breeding  flock  should  receive 


GENERAL  CARE  OF  SHEEP  AND  LAMBS      551 

liberal  rations  of  muscle-building  foods  during  the  first  winter  to  insure 
steady  growth,  but  they  should  never  receive  a  fattening  ration.  Craig* 
writes :  ' '  The  growth  and  development  of  the  lamb  the  first  year  of  its 
life  determines  very  largely  the  size  and  weight  of  the  fleece  and  the 
vigor  and  power  the  animal  will  attain." 

883.  Concentrates  for  ewes. — Such  feeds  as  oats,  Iran,  and  peas  are 
especially  suitable  for  breeding  ewes,  since  they  contain  ample  protein 
and  mineral  matter  and  do  not  tend  to  fatten.  When  legume  hay  is 
fed,  carbonaceous  grains,  such  as  corn,  barley,  and  kafir,  may  be  used, 
but  should  preferably  form  but  a  part  of  the  grain  allowance  for  they 
are  too  fattening.  Linseed  meal  and  wheat  bran  ward  off  constipation, 
which  is  responsible  for  many  of  the  winter  troubles  of  the  breeding 
fiock.  For  this  purpose  1  or  2  tablespoonfuls  of  linseed  meal  a  day 
should  suffice.   (855-6) 

The  value  of  various  concentrates  for  wintering  breeding  ewes  was 
studied  at  the  Wisconsin  Station  by  Carlyle  and  Kleinheinz^  with  uni- 
form lots,  each  of  12  ewes,  chiefly  of  the  mutton  breeds  and  ranging  from 
138  to  157  lbs.  Each  ewe  was  fed  2  lbs.  of  mixed  hay  and  2.5  lbs.  corn 
silage,  with  0.5  lb.  of  concentrates,  as  shown  in  the  table : 

Comparison  of  concentrates  for  wintering  breeding  ewes 

Average  concentrate  allowance  Daily  gain 

Lbs. 

Lot      I,  Whole  oats,  0 .5  lb 0 .23 

Lot    II,  Wheat  bran,  0 .5  lb 0 .20 

Lot  III,  Shelled  corn,  0 .5  lb 0 .23 

Lot  IV,  Dried  brewers'  grains,  0 .5  lb 0 .24 

All  rations  proved  satisfactory,  these  large  ewes  gaining  steadily  on 
the  0.5  lb.  of  concentrates.  When  the  milk  flow  of  the  ewe  after  lambing 
was  considered,  dried  brewers'  grains  ranked  first.  A  fifth  lot  fed  0.7 
lb.  of  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  of  corn,  bran,  and  oats  made  no  larger 
gains,  tho  consuming  slightly  more  hay  and  silage.  From  these  data 
and  those  following,  the  cost  of  feed  required  to  winter  breeding  ewes 
may  readily  be  computed. 

884.  Eoughages  and  succulence. — Ewes  should  have  an  abundant  sup- 
ply of  roughage,  the  legume  hays — alfalfa,  red  and  alsike  clover,  cow- 
pea,  and  vetch — being  the  best.  (857-9)  Other  useful  roughages  supply- 
ing less  protein  are  corn  fodder  or  corn  stover,  cut  while  the  leaves  are 
still  green,  prairie  hay,  oat  hay,  pea  straw,  oat  straw,  barley  straw,  etc. 
These  serve  best  when  fed  with  good  legume  hay.  (861-2)  Alsike  clover 
is  highly  satisfactory.  Timothy  hay  is  unsatisfactory  for  it  may  cause 
serious  constipation.  Succulent  feeds  promote  thrift  and  keep  the  di-' 
gestive  organs  in  condition.  Chopped  roots  are  an  excellent  succulence, 
tho  corn  silage,  free  from  mold  and  low  in  acid,  is  equally  satisfactory 
and  usually  less  expensive.  (864-6)  It  is  not  wise  to  supply  too  much 
succulent  feed  to  pregnant  ewes,  for  shepherds  declare  that  it  produces 
soft,  flabby  lambs.    Tho  larger  allowances  are  sometimes  successfully  fed 

'Wis.  Rpt.  1897.  "Wis.  Rpt.  1903. 


552  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

when  silage  of  excellent  quality,  high  in  dry  matter,  is  available,  Klein- 
heinz®  of  the  Wisconsin  Station  recommends  no  more  than  2  lbs.  per 
head  daily  of  roots  or  silage  for  ewes  in  lamb.  At  the  Missouri  Station 
during  each  of  2  winters  Hackedorn^  compared  various  roughages  for 
ewes,  when  fed  with  and  without  a  concentrate  mixture  of  6  parts  shelled 
corn,  3  of  wheat  bran,  and  1  of  pea-size  linseed  cake  by  weight.  Lots  of  9 
to  17  western  ewes,  averaging  86  lbs.,  were  fed  the  rations  shown  in  the 
table : 

Comparison  of  roughages  for  wintering  breeding  ewes 

Total  gain 
Daily  grain     or  loss 
Average  daily  roughage  allowance  allowance    per  head 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot        /,  Clover  hay,  3.0  lbs 0.44  +4.9 

Lot      II,  Corn  silage,  2 . 1  lbs.     Clover  hay,  2 . 1  lbs 0 . 45  +4.3 

Lot     777,  Corn  silage,  3.4  lbs 0.43  +1.2 

Lot     7 F,  Corn  stover,  2.4  lbs.     Clover  hay,  1 . 9  lbs 0.40  —0.3 

Lot        F,  Corn  stover,  6.2  lbs 0.50  —0.8 

Lot      VI,  Corn  silage,  2 .4  lbs.     Clover  hay,  1 .9  lbs —2.6 

Lot    VII,  Corn  stover,  2 .3  lbs.     Clover  hay,  2 .3  lbs —2.1 

Lot  VIII,  Clover  hay,  3  .3  lbs.     (One  trial) —3.2 

Clover  hay  and  grain,  fed  Lot  I,  and  corn  silage,  clover  hay,  and 
grain,  fed  Lot  II,  proved  the  most  satisfactory  rations.  The  ewes  in 
Lot  IV,  fed  corn  stover,  clover  hay,  and  0.40  lb.  grain  daily,  nearly  main- 
tained their  weights  and  produced  strong,  thrifty  lambs.  A  compar- 
ison of  Lots  II  and  IV,  with  III  and  V,  shows  that  the  ewes  fed  silage 
maintained  their  weight,  while  those  fed  stover  lost  a  trifle.  (867)  The 
rations  fed  Lots  VI,  VII,  and  VIII,  containing  no  grain,  were  quite 
satisfactory  up  to  lambing,  nearly  maintaining  the  weights  of  the  ewes. 
After  lambing,  however,  it  was  necessary  to  add  grain  to  the  ration  to 
produce  a  milk  flow  sufficient  for  the  lambs. 

At  the  Alabama  Station  Gray  and  Ridgeway*  found  that  breeding 
ewes  gained  1.6  lbs.  per  head  during  106  days  on  a  ration  of  1.9  lbs. 
soybean  hay,  maintaining  their  weight  practically  as  well  as  others  fed 
0.5  lb.  cottonseed  meal  and  1.3  lbs.  cottonseed  hulls. 

Carlyle  and  Kleinheinz^  studied  the  value  of  corn  forage  (corn  fodder 
and  corn  stover),  corn  silage,  and  roots  for  wintering  breeding  ewes 
during  each  of  2  winters  at  the  Wisconsin  Station.  Lots  of  12  ewes, 
averaging  148  lbs.  and  mostly  of  the  mutton  breeds,  were  fed  0.5  lb.  of 
a  mixture  of  equal  parts  corn,  oats,  and  wheat  bran  per  head  daily,  with 
the  roughages  shown  in  the  table : 

Corn  forage,  corn  silage,  and  roots  for  wintering  breeding  ewes 

Average  roughage  allowance  Av.  daily  gain 

Lbs. 

Lot     7,  Corn  silage,  2.9  lbs.     Mixed  hay,  2 . 1  lbs 0.16 

Lot    II,  Roots,  2  .9  lbs.     Mixed  hay,  2 .6  lbs 0 .  18 

Lot  III,  Com  silage,  3  .0  lbs.     Corn  forage,  1 .8  lbs 0 .09 

Lot  IV,  Corn  forage,  3 .3  lbs 0 .19 

« Sheep  Management,  p.  35.  'Ala.  Bui.  148. 

'Mo.  Bui.  120.  'Wis.  Rpts.  1900,  1901. 


GENERAL  CARE  OF  SHEEP  AND  LAMBS      553 

The  ewes  were  satisfactorily  maintained  in  all  cases.  A  significant 
finding  was  that  Lot  I,  fed  corn  silage,  mixed  hay,  and  grain,  made  prac- 
tically as  large  gains  as  Lot  II,  getting  roots  in  place  of  silage,  and  re- 
quired 0.5  lb.  less  hay  per  head  daily. 

Tomhave  and  Severson  of  the  Pennsylvania  Station^"  report  that  breed- 
ing ewes  were  maintained  satisfactorily  on  alfalfa  hay  and  corn  silage 
with  0.25  to  0.50  lb.  of  a  mixture  of  15  parts  of  shelled  corn,  3  of  oats, 
2  of  wheat  bran,  and  1  of  linseed  meal.  When  silage  was  fed  as  the 
sole  roughage  the  cost  of  feed  was  reduced  but  a  large  loss  of  lambs 
resulted. 

Trials  by  Skinner  and  Smith^^  at  the  Indiana  Station  and  Eward^^ 
at  the  Iowa  Station  likewise  show  the  value  of  corn  silage  for  breeding 
ewes.  Corn  silage  and  clover  hay  proved  a  more  economical  roughage 
allowance  than  clover  hay  alone. 

885.  Lambing  time. — As  lambing  time  approaches,  the  shepherd  should 
take  quarters  in  the  sheep  barn  or  close  by,  and  remain  in  attendance 
until  the  season  is  over.  It  is  wise  to  provide  lambing  pens  for  the 
ewes  and  their  newly  born  lambs.  "Where  lambs  come  early,  the  pens 
should  be  kept  warmer  than  the  quarters  for  the  rest  of  the  flock.  Here 
each  ewe  and  her  new-born  young  remain  for  a  couple  of  days  until  they 
are  well  wonted  to  each  other  and  the  lambs  strong  enough  to  look  out 
for  themselves  among  the  flock.  Then  they  may  pass  back  to  the  flock 
or  to  quarters  especially  set  apart  for  the  ewes  and  lambs. 

As  they  enter  the  world  lambs  of  the  mutton  breeds  often  need  quick, 
intelligent  attention,  which  is  always  given  by  the  true  shepherd.  The 
mucus  should  be  cleaned  from  the  nostrils  and  mouth  of  any  weakling. 
With  the  first  fill  of  milk  from  the  dam  the  new-born  lamb  becomes 
comfortable,  and  is  usually  able  thereafter  to  care  for  itself.  The  new- 
born unable  to  draw  milk  within  a  few  minutes  after  birth  should  have 
patient,  intelligent  assistance ;  to  this  end  the  ewe  must  be  held,  arnd  the 
lamb  aided,  all  being  accomplished  by  that  kindly,  sympathetic  skill  so 
characteristic  of  the  good  shepherd,  but  impossible  of  description.  A 
chilled,  new-born  lamb  is  best  warmed  bj^  immersion  in  water  as  hot  as 
the  hand  can  bear.  When  well  warmed  it  should  be  wiped  dry,  taken 
to  its  mother,  and  held  until  supplied  with  her  milk.  Some  advise^^ 
wrapping  it  in  thick  woolen  cloths  that  have  been  warmed  on  a  stove, 
and  renewing  these  as  often  as  they  become  cool.  A  lamb  born  almost 
lifeless  may  often  be  restored  by  alternately  blowing  gently  into  the 
mouth  to  start  breathing,  and  laying  it  on  its  belly  and  slapping  the 
body  smartly  on  each  side  of  the  heart.^*  One  twin  is  usually  weaker 
than  the  other,  and  frequently  the  mother  cares  only  for  the  stronger 
one.  Here  the  shepherd 's  tact  serves  well  in  promptly  helping  the  weak- 
ling to  its  full  share  of  food. 

A  ewe  that  refuses  her  lamb  will  usually  accept  it  if  they  are  placed 

*" Information  to  the  authors.  "Craig,  Sheep  Farming,  p.  193. 

"Ind.  Bui.  147.      '=Iowa  Cir.  6.  "Kleinheinz,  Sheep  Management,  p.  47. 


554 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


together  in  a  small  pen  out  of  sight  of  the  other  sheep  and  the  lamb 
helped  to  suckle  a  few  times.  The  stubborn  ewe  may  be  confined  in 
stanchions  so  that  she  cannot  prevent  the  lamb  sucking.  In  case  a  ewe 
loses  her  lamb,  she  may  often  be  induced  to  adopt  a  twin  by  first  sprink- 
ling some  of  her  own  milk  over  it.  Still  more  effective  is  tying  the  skin 
from  the  dead  lamb  upon  the  back  of  the  one  to  be  adopted. 

886.  Breeding  studies ;  weight  of  lambs. — The  following  table  gives  the 
average  birth  weight  and  percentage  of  increase  (the  annual  number  of 
lambs  per  100  ewes)  of  lambs  from  ewes  of  different  breeds,  as  recorded 
during  24  years  by  Kleinheinz^^  with  the  flock  at  the  Wisconsin  Station. 


Annual  increase  from  eives  and  birth  weight  of  lambs 


Southdown 
Shropshire . 
Hampshire . 
Cheviot .  .  . 
Dorset.  .  . . 
Oxford..  .. 


No.  of 
ewes 


181 
448 
96 
81 
30 
12 


Per  ct. 

154 
167 
156 
147 
163 
183 


Av.  birth  wt.  of  lamba 


Lbs. 

9.15 
9.51 
10.61 
9.45 
10.20 
10.42 


Twins 
(each) 


Lbs. 
7.70 

7.67 
8.23 
7.67 
8.46 
8.18 


Triplets 
(each) 


Lbs. 

5.50 
6.49 
7.10 
8.20 
7.50 
7.12 


Tho  the  table  shows  a  considerable  range  of  increase  for  the  several 
breeds,  data  from  many  flocks  covering  a  much  larger  number  of  ani- 
mals, would  be  necessary  to  show  definitely  any  real  difference  in  this 
regard.  These  data  are  of  interest  in  showing  the  actual  increase  ob- 
tained with  good  feed  and  excellent  care.  The  single  lambs  averaged 
somewhat  heavier  than  the  twins,  and  the  twins  larger  than  the  trip- 
lets, tho  the  difference  is  not  great. 

The  percentage  of  increase  was  highest  with  ewes  4  to  6  years  old, 
due  somewhat  to  discarding  the  poorer  breeders  as  S-yr.-oMs.  After 
the  6th  year  the  fecundity  of  the  ewes  lessened.  The  larger  the  ewe  of 
a  given  breed  the  greater  was  the  percentage  of  increase  and  the  larger 
the  lambs.    To  a  less  degree  the  size  of  the  ram  had  the  same  influence. 

The  gestation  period  tended  to  be  slightly  longer  with  large  lambs. 
The  average  birth  weight  of  the  ram  lambs  was  about  0.5  lb.  greater 
than  of  ewe  lambs.  Of  1,804  lambs  yeaned,  900  were  ewes  and  904  rams. 
As  the  records  grow,  the  more  nearly  do  the  sexes  balance. 

887.  After  lambing. — Soon  after  lambing  the  ewe  should  be  given 
water  with  the  chill  removed.  For  2  or  3  days  but  little  grain  should 
be  fed,  to  avoid  udder  troubles,  but  she  may  have  all  the  dry  roughage 
she  wishes.  Close  attention  must  be  given  for  a  few  days  to  see  that 
the  lamb  is  taking  milk  from  both  sides  of  the  udder.  All  surplus  milk 
should  be  drawn,  or  better,  a  needy  lamb  helped  to  an  extra  meal.  Caked 
udders  and  sore  teats  should  receive  prompt  treatment. 

"Wis.  Rpts.  1902,  1907,  and  information  to  the  authors. 


GENERAL  CARE  OF  SHEEP  AND  LAIVIBS  555 

"With  the  demand  for  more  milk  by  the  lamb,  the  ewe's  ration  should 
be  increased,  for  sucklings  make  the  most  economical  gains.  (114)  If 
there  is  not  sufficient  roughage  of  high  quality  for  the  entire  winter  the 
most  palatable  and  nutritious  portion  should  be  reserved  until  after  the 
lambing  period.  Legume  hay  and  succulent  feeds  are  essential  at  this 
time,  and  more  succulence  can  be  safely  fed  than  before  lambing.  The 
amount  and  character  of  the  concentrates  fed  depend  on  the  roughage, 
but  seldom  is  over  2  lbs.  per  ewe  daily  necessary. 

888.  Ewe's  milk. — In  America  the  milk  of  sheep  is  seldom  used  by 
man,  but  abroad,  and  especially  in  the  mountain  regions  of  continental 
Europe,  it  is  extensively  employed,  both  for  direct  consumption  and  for 
the  manufacture  of  cheese.  The  average  composition  of  ewe 's  milk  com- 
pared with  that  of  cow 's  milk,  is  shown  in  the  following  table : 

Composition  of  ewe's  and  cow's  milk 


No.  of 
analyses 

Water 
Per  ct. 

Casein  and 
albumin 
Per  ct. 

Fat 
Per  ct. 

Sugar 
Per  ct. 

Ash 

Per  ct. 

2,700 
705 

78.70 

87.27 

6.30 
3.39 

8.94 

3.68 

5.06 
4.94 

1.02 
0.72 

Ewe's  milk  (Sartori^^) 
Cow's  milk  (Konig") 

The  table  shows  that  ewe's  milk  is  much  richer  in  protein  (casein  and 
albumin)  and  fat,  and  higher  in  ash  than  cow's  milk.  (265)  Ewe's  milk 
has  a  peculiar,  somewhat  unpleasant  odor  and  taste,  is  thicker,  and  sours 
more  slowly  than  cow's  milk.  The  fat  content  is  extremely  variable, 
ranging  from  2  to  12  per  et.^^  The  butter  is  pale  yellow,  less  firm  than 
cow's  butter,  and  becomes  rancid  much  quicker. 

The  yield  of  milk  by  sheep  will  vary  greatly  according  to  breed  and 
feed.  Sieglin^"  states  that  the  East  Friesian  milk  sheep  in  Germany 
at  2  to  3  years  of  age  yield  from  3  to  4  quarts  of  milk  daily  for  2  months 
after  weaning  their  lambs,  and  keep  up  an  excellent  flow  during  the 
autumn  months.  These  sheep  are  prolific,  dropping  2,  3,  and  even  4 
lambs,  individuals  lambing  twice  a  year.  Three  sheep  are  estimated  to 
consume  as  much  feed  as  1  cow.  Ordinary  sheep  yield  from  100  to  150 
lbs.  of  milk  per  year,  while  the  milk  breeds  produce  from  300  to  1,400  lbs. 

889.  Milking  qualities  of  ewes, — To  determine  the  yield  and  compo- 
sition of  milk  from  various  breeds  Carlyle,  Fuller,  and  Kleinheinz-<> 
at  the  Wisconsin  Station  kept  lambs  from  their  dams  except  at  regular 
intervals  when  they  were  allowed  to  suckle.  The  milk  yielded  by  the 
ewes  was  determined  by  weighing  the  lambs  immediately  before  and 
after  placing  them  with  their  dams. 

"Jensen,  Milchkunde  und  Milchhygiene,  p.  18. 
"Chem.  Nahrungs-  und  Genussmittel,  II,  1904,  p.  602. 

"See  Staz.  Sper.  Ag.  Ital.  23,  p.  572;  Analyst,  1893,  p.  248;  Fleischmann,  Milch- 
wirtschaft,  1901,  p.  64;  Jensen,  Milchkunde  und  Milchhygiene,  1903,  p.  17. 
•*Schafer-Sieglin,  Lehrbuch  der  Milchwirtschaft,  1908,  p.  17. 
^WIs.  Rpt.  1904. 


556  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Daily  milk  yield  of  ewes  of  different  hreeds 

Composition  of  milk 
Number      Av.  daily  Solids  Total  Specific 

Breed  of  ewes      milk  yield         Fat  not  fat  solids  gravity 

Lbs.  Per  ct.       Per  ct.          Per  ct. 

Oxford 2  3.1  7.7  11.0  18.6  1.038 

Southdown 2  1.9  8.4  11.1  19.5  1.038 

Dorset 2  4.3  7.2  10.9  18.1  1.038 

Shropshire 3  2.5  5.9  10.8  16.7  1.039 

Merino 3  2.3  6.0  10.8  16.8  1.038 

Range 2  2.7  7.2  11.1  18.3  1.039 

Average,  14  ewes 2.8  7.1         10 .9         18 .2        1 .038 

The  Dorsets  gave  the  most  and  the  Southdowns  the  richest  milk.  On 
the  average  the  milk  contained  over  7  per  ct.  fat  and  nearly  11  per  ct. 
of  solids  not  fat,  its  specific  gravity  exceeding  that  of  cow's  milk. 

890.  Feed  for  100  lbs.  of  ewe's  milk. — At  the  Wisconsin  Station  Shep- 
perd-^  recorded  the  milk  yield  of  ewes  receiving  a  mixture  of  3  parts 
wheat  bran  and  1  of  linseed  meal,  with  fair-quality  clover  hay  and  sliced 
potatoes  for  roughage. 

Feed  and  water  consumed  ly  ewes  for  each  100  lbs.  of  milk  produced 

Concentrates       Clover  hay  Potatoes  Water  drunk    Dry  matter 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Single  ewe 51  61.6  38  293  105 

Group  of  2  ewes..         59  55.5  29  417  105 

Group  of  2  ewes..         72  63.0  36  404  125 

The  single  ewe  produced  100  lbs.  of  milk  while  consuming  51  lbs.  of 
concentrates,  61.6  lbs.  of  clover  hay,  and  38  lbs.  of  potatoes,  containing 
in  all  105  lbs.  of  dry  matter.  When  we  compare  these  figures  with  those 
showing  the  amount  of  dry  matter  required  by  cows  for  100  lbs.  of  milk, 
(544)  and  further  consider  that  the  milk  of  the  ewe  is  richer  and  that 
she  is  at  the  same  time  growing  a  fleece,  the  economy  of  her  production 
is  most  striking  and  suggestive. 

891.  Value  of  ewe's  milk  for  lambs. — Shepperd--  further  recorded  the 
amount  of  milk  consumed  by  lambs  and  their  gains  by  weighing  the 
lambs  before  and  after  sucking. 

Daily  gain  of  lamhs  and  gain  per  pound  of  ewe's  milk  consumed 

Milk  for  100  lbs. 
Age  Gain  per  day  gain 

Days  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lamb  No.  1 25  0.62  641 

Lamb  No.  2 28  0.47  602 

Lamb  No.  3 36  0 .44  690 

Lamb  No.  4 34  0.40  629 

Average 31  0.48  640 

The  lambs  made  an  average  daily  gain  of  nearly  0.5  lb.  and  consumed 
640  lbs.  of  milk  for  100  lbs.  gain.  Shepperd  concludes  that  the  gain  of 
lambs,  during  the  first  month  of  their  lives  at  least,  is  largely  controlled 

"Agr.  Science,  VI,  p.  397.  "Agr.  Science,  VI,  pp.  397,  405. 


GENERAL  CARE  OF  SHEEP  AND  LAMBS      557 

by  the  quantity  of  milk  they  receive,  and  consequently  that  ewes  should 
be  carefully  selected  for  their  milking  qualities. 

892.  Cow's  milk  for  lambs. — Lambs  can  be  successfully  reared  on  cow's 
milk,  tho  close  attention  is  necessary  during  the  first  month.  Warm  cow 's 
milk  with  some  cream  added  can  be  fed  from  a  nursing  bottle  or  a  tea- 
pot over  the  spout  of  which  a  rubber  "  cot "  with  an  opening  in  the  end 
has  been  placed.  At  first  the  lamb  should  be  fed  15  to  18  times  in  24 
hours,  and  later  half  a  dozen  times.  At  the  Wisconsin  Station-^  the 
senior  author  reared  4  vigorous  cross-bred  Shropshire-Merino  lambs,  10 
days  old  and  averaging  10  lbs.  in  weight  when  the  trial  began,  on  cow's 
milk  and  other  appropriate  feeding  stuffs.  For  the  first  21  days  whole 
cow's  milk  at  blood  heat  constituted  their  sole  food;  later  skim  milk, 
ground  oats,  and  green  clover  were  supplied.  During  the  last  21  days 
hay  was  fed  in  place  of  the  milk. 

Cow's  milk  and  other  feeds  required  for  100  lbs.  gain  with  lambs 

Whole  Skim  Green 

Period  milk  milk  Oats  clover  Hay 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

1st  period,  21  days 579  ...  

2d  period,  115  days 830  119  262 

3d  period,    21  days 291        1,197  176 

At  the  close  of  the  last  period,  when  167  days  old,  the  lambs  averaged 
79  lbs.  each,  showing  a  daily  gain,  including  birth  weight,  of  nearly  0.5 
lb.  each.  The  heavy  gains  which  followed  the  use  of  cow's  milk  sug- 
gest its  profitable  use  in  forcing  lambs  to  meet  the  requirements  of  spe- 
cial markets,  e.  g.,  ''Christmas  lambs." 

893.  Relative  economy  of  lambs  and  pigs. — From  the  figures  for  the 
second  period  of  the  preceding  article  and  those  in  Art.  913  the  fol- 
lowing data  are  deduced : 

Feed  required  for  100  lbs.  of  increase  by  young  pigs  and  lambs 

Feed  Piga  Lamba 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

Meal 237  119 

Skim  milk 475  830 

Green  clover 262 

Meal  equivalent 316  284 

Estimating  that  6  lbs.  of  skim  milk  equals  1  lb.  of  meal  in  feeding 
value,  according  to  the  Danish  formula,  (958)  we  have  316  lbs.  of  meal 
or  its  equivalent,  as  the  feed  required  for  100  lbs.  of  gain  with  unweaned 
pigs.  Using  the  same  ratio  for  the  skim  milk  fed  to  the  lambs  and  allow- 
ing 10  lbs.  of  green  clover  to  equal  1  lb.  of  meal,  we  have  284  lbs.  of  meal, 
or  its  equivalent,  as  the  feed  required  for  100  lbs.  of  gain  with  young 
lambs,  or  32  lbs.  less  than  that  required  by  the  pigs.  From  this  it  is 
apparent  that  lambs  make  at  least  as  economical  gains  for  feed  consumed 
as  do  pigs  of  the  same  age. 

^Wis.  Rpt.  1890. 


558  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

894.  The  young  lamb. — When  about  2  weeks  old  the  lusty  young  lamb 
will  be  found  nibbling  forage  at  the  feed  trough  beside  its  dam,  and  the 
shepherd  should  provide  specially  for  its  wants  to  early  accustom  it  to 
take  additional  food.  This  is  best  accomplished  by  having  an  enclosure 
or  room  called  the  "lamb-creep"  adjoining  the  ewe-pen,  into  which  the 
lambs  find  their  way,  while  the  mothers  are  prevented  from  entering 
because  of  the  limited  size  of  the  openings.  In  this  space,  accessible  to 
the  lambs  only,  should  be  placed  a  low,  flat-bottomed  trough,  with  an  ob- 
struction lengthwise  over  the  top  to  prevent  the  lambs  from  jumping  into 
it.  In  the  trough  should  be  sprinkled  a  little  meal  especially  palatable 
to  the  lamb,  such  as  ground  oats,  bran,  corn  meal  or  cracked  corn,  oil 
meal,  soybean  meal — one  or  all — varying  the  mixture  to  suit  the  chang- 
ing tastes  of  the  young  things.  At  first  they  will  take  but  little,  but  soon 
they  become  regular  attendants  at  the  trough  thru  habit  impelled  by 
appetite.  There  should  be  no  more  feed  in  the  trough  at  any  time  than 
will  be  quickly  consumed,  and  any  left  over  must  be  removed  and  the 
trough  thoroly  cleaned  before  the  next  allowance  is  given.  Fine  alfalfa 
or  second-crop  clover  hay  should  be  provided,  and  roots,  cabbage,  or 
good  silage  will  be  appreciated.  All  feed  should  be  fresh,  with  no 
smell  of  the  stable — that  which  is  left  over  can  be  given  to  the  pigs. 
Lambs  will  drink  a  good  deal  of  water,  and  this  also  must  be  fresh  and 
clean.  Ram  lambs  not  intended  for  breeding  should  be  castrated  when 
1  to  2  weeks  old,  and  all  lambs  should  be  docked,  the  ew^es  when  8  to 
14  days  old  and  the  rams  5  to  7  days  after  castration. 

895.  Turning  to  pasture. — ^With  the  springing  of  the  grass,  ewes  and 
lambs  should  be  turned  to  pasture  for  a  short  time  during  the  warm 
part  of  the  day.  It  is  best  to  accomplish  the  change  gradually  and 
while  the  grass  is  short.  After  a  few  hours  spent  in  the  sunshine,  nib- 
bling at  the  grass,  the  ewes  and  lambs  should  be  returned  to  shelter, 
where  a  full  feed  awaits  them.  "When  the  grass  has  become  ample  and 
nutritious,  stable  feeding  may  be  dropped  for  ewes,  or  both  ewes  and 
lambs,  according  to  the  plan  followed.  With  good  pasture,  breeding 
ewes  need  no  grain.  Indeed,  we  may  look  forward  to  the  pasture  sea- 
son as  marking  the  time  to  "draw  the  grain  from  their  systems,"  as 
it  is  termed  by  shepherds.  In  some  instances  pasture  so  stimulates  the 
milk  flow  of  ewes  that  an  over-supply  of  rich  milk  causes  digestive  de- 
rangement and  sudden  death  with  young  lambs.  The  shepherd  should 
forestall  such  trouble  by  removing  the  ewes  from  the  pasture  after  a  few 
hours  grazing  each  day,  and  by  giving  hay  or  other  dry  feeds,  thereby 
reducing  the  milk  flow. 

It  is  usually  best  to  feed  the  lambs  concentrates  in  addition  to  what 
they  get  from  dams  and  pasture.  To  this  end,  at  some  convenient  point 
in  the  pasture  let  there  be  a  "lamb-creep,"  and  in  a  space  accessible  by 
way  of  the  creep  a  trough  for  feeding  grain.  Whenever  the  lamb  passes 
thru  the  creep  it  should  find  something  in  this  trough  to  tempt  the  appe- 
tite— oats,   bran,  pea   meal,   and  corn  meal  constituting  the   leading 


GENERAL  CAEE  OF  SHEEP  AND  LAMBS      559 

articles.  Williams  of  the  Arizona  Station-*  reports  good  results  from 
feeding  a  mixture  of  4  parts  of  corn  meal,  1  of  bran,  and  1  of  cottonseed 
meal  to  lambs  running  with  their  dams  on  alfalfa  pasture.  Grain  never 
gives  such  large  returns  as  when  fed  to  thrifty  young  animals,  and  the 
growing  lamb  is  no  exception. 

896.  At  weaning  time. — Lambs  of  the  mutton  breeds,  more  or  less 
helpless  at  birth,  are  lusty  at  4  months  of  age,  and  will  be  found  graz- 
ing regularly  beside  their  dams  in  pasture  when  not  at  rest  or  eating 
grain  within  the  lamb-creep.  At  this  time  they  should  generally  be 
weaned,  for  their  owti  good  as  well  as  to  allow  their  dams  a  rest  before 
another  breeding  season.  Wing-^  states  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  wean 
lambs  of  the  mutton  breeds  before  they  go  to  market  if  they  have  been 
well  fed,  for  they  will  reach  a  weight  of  75  to  85  lbs.  while  suckling 
their  mothers.  If  possible,  advantage  should  be  taken  of  a  cool  spell 
in  summer  to  wean  the  lambs.  Lambs  weaned  during  excessively  hot 
weather  may  receive  a  serious  setback  because  of  the  heat  and  fretting 
for  their  mothers.  The  lambs  should  be  so  far  separated  from  their 
dams  that  neither  can  hear  the  bleating  of  the  other.  For  a  few  days 
the  ewes  should  be  held  on  short  pasture  or  kept  on  dry  feed  in  the 
yard.  The  udders  must  be  examined,  and  if  necessary,  as  is  often  the 
case  with  the  best  mothers,  they  should  be  drained  of  milk  a  few  times 
lest  inflammation  arise.  The  lambs  should  be  put  on  the  best  pasture 
and  given  a  liberal  supply  of  grain.  New  clover  seeding  is  especially 
relished,  while  young  second-crop  clover  is  also  satisfactory.  An  es- 
pecially choice  bite  may  always  be  provided  for  the  lambs  at  this  im- 
portant time  by  a  little  forethought  on  the  part  of  the  shepherd. 

897.  After  weaning. — Fresh,  nutritious  pasture  should  be  provided  for 
the  lambs  after  weaning.  Besides  clover,  rape  is  especially  suitable. 
Other  forage  crops  may  also  be  emploj^ed  in  sections  where  they  thrive. 
Lambs  that  are  to  be  marketed  early  or  those  being  fitted  for  shows  will 
utilize  a  grain  allowance  with  profit.  For  those  to  be  fattened  in  winter 
or  for  the  ewe  lambs  to  be  retained  in  the  flock  grain  may  not  be  necessary 
when  grazing  is  good.  Ram  lambs  require  grain  during  the  fall  to  secure 
proper  development,  whether  they  are  to  be  sold  as  lambs  or  retained 
till  yearlings.  Naturally  the  concentrate  allowance  for  the  lambs  des- 
tined for  the  breeding  flock  should  supply  a  greater  proportion  of  pro- 
tein than  is  necessary  for  those  being  finished  for  market. 

898.  The  stomach  worm. — In  the  territory  east  of  the  Mississippi  river 
the  stomach  worm,  Strong ylus  contortus,  is  a  serious  menace  to  sheep 
raising,  lambs  being  especially  susceptible  to  attack.  The  eggs  of  the 
parasite  pass  in  the  droppings  of  the  sheep  and  are  scattered  about  the 
pastures,  where  they  soon  hatch.  Sheep  become  infested  only  by  swallow- 
ing the  worms  while  grazing.  Fields  on  which  no  sheep,  cattle,  or  goats 
have  grazed  for  a  year,  and  those  that  have  been  freshly  plowed  and 
cultivated  since  sheep  grazed  thereon,    are  practically  free  from  infes- 

=* Information  to  the  authors.  =°  Sheep  Farming  in  America,  p.  149. 


560  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

tation.  Old  bluegrass  pastures  are  especially  to  be  avoided.  It  is  also 
dangerous  to  allow  sheep  to  drink  from  stagnant  pools.  During  warm 
weather,  otherwise  clean  pastures  may  become  infested  in  from  3  to  14 
days  by  grazing  sheep  thereon. 

To  remove  the  worms  from  the  intestinal  tract  of  sheep,  various 
drenches  are  recommended,  the  one  most  commonly  used  being  1  table- 
spoonful  of  gasoline,  thoroly  mixed  with  5  to  6  ounces  of  fresh  cow's 
milk,  with  a  tablespoonful  of  raw  linseed  oil  added.  The  above  dose, 
suitable  for  a  lamb  of  average  size,  should  be  increased  for  older  sheep. 
The  treatment  should  be  repeated  each  day  for  3  days.  With  weak 
lambs  the  doses  may  be  given  on  alternate  days. 

Tho  remedies  are  of  value,  prevention  of  infestation  has  proved  more 
successful.  Kleinheinz-*'  of  the  Wisconsin  Station  recommends  the  fol- 
lowing system  of  handling  sheep  and  lambs:  In  the  northern  United 
States  worm-free  and  infested  sheep  may  graze  together  in  a  clean  field 
at  any  time  from  the  last  of  September  until  May  with  little  danger. 
From  June  to  September  change  to  fresh,  clean  pasture  every  2  or  3 
weeks.  Annual  pastures,  as  rape,  clover  seeding,  etc.,  are  well  adapted  to 
this  system.  This  effective  method  requires  several  separate,  clean  pasture 
lots.  In  the  warmer  sections  the  sheep  should  be  changed  to  clean  pas- 
ture earlier  in  the  spring  and  more  frequently  during  the  summer.  Thor- 
oly treating  the  ewes  with  some  vermifuge  will  remove  most  of  the  worms, 
and  aid  in  preventing  infestation.  Farmers  often  make  the  serious  mis- 
take of  allowing  the  lambs  to  remain  with  their  dams  after  weaning. 
Instead,  they  should  at  once  be  placed  on  fresh,  clean  pasture  on  which 
no  sheep  have  previously  grazed  that  season.  Nothing  is  better  than 
turning  the  lambs  into  a  field  of  well-matured  rape  connecting  with  a 
fresh  grass  pasture.  Well-fed,  thrifty  sheep  and  lambs  can  much  better 
resist  parasites  than  those  getting  poor  feed  and  care. 

II.  Hints  on  Fattening  Sheep 

899.  Hints  on  sheep  feeding. — Sheep  feeders  do  not  begin  operations 
at  an  early  hour  in  winter,  preferring  not  to  disturb  the  animals  until 
after  daybreak.  Usually  grain  is  first  given,  followed  by  hay  and  water. 
The  trough  in  which  grain  is  fed  should  be  kept  clean  at  all  times,  and 
there  should  be  ample  space,  so  that  each  animal  may  get  its  share  of 
grain.  As  has  been  previously  pointed  out  in  this  chapter,  regularity 
and  quiet  are  of  especial  importance  with  fattening  sheep.  Faville  of 
the  Wyoming  Station"  reports  that  during  a  certain  2-week  period  of 
a  feeding  trial  160  lambs  fed  by  McLay,  a  most  experienced  shepherd, 
made  a  total  gain  of  475  lbs.  During  the  next  2  weeks  McLay  was  ab- 
sent. Tho  his  place  was  taken  by  a  man  who  followed  the  "letter  of 
the  law"  the  lambs  lost  85  lbs.  in  the  2  weeks,  several  going  off  feed. 
The  regular  shepherd  then  returned  and  in  the  next  2  weeks  the  lambs 
gained  508  lbs. 

*»Sheep  Management,  p.  111.  ''^Wyo.  Bui.  89. 


GENERAL  CARE  OF  SHEEP  AND  LAMBS      561 

Nowhere  does  the  skill  of  the  feeder  show  more  plainly  than  in  getting 
sheep  to  full  grain  feed  without  getting  a  single  one  off  feed.  Western 
sheep  may  not  be  able  at  first  to  take  over  0.1  lb.  of  grain  per  day. 
If  so,  2  months  or  10  weeks  may  be  required  in  getting  the  flock  to  full 
feed.  English  mutton  sheep  take  grain  more  readily,  and  in  some  cases 
no  more  than  3  or  4  weeks  need  intervene  between  placing  the  lambs  on 
feed  and  full  feeding.  In  no  ease  should  this  operation  be  hurried,  for 
it  means  waste  of  feed  and  injury  if  not  loss  of  some  of  the  animals. 

In  all  cases  before  sheep  are  admitted  to  the  fattening  pens  they  should 
be  examined  by  an  experienced  shepherd,  and  if  any  evidence  of  skin 
disease  or  vermin  is  found  the  flock  should  be  dipped  in  the  most  thoro 
manner.  In  the  West  scab  and  in  the  East  lice  and  ticks  are  common 
troubles.  To  attempt  to  fatten  sheep  afflicted  with  any  of  these  pests 
is  to  court  disaster.  Ticky  sheep  show  increased  irritability  and  rest- 
lessness as  soon  as  fattening  begins. 

900.  Length  of  feeding;  period. — The  feeding  period  with  sheep  and 
lambs  which  have  never  received  grain  while  on  pasture  should  last 
from  12  to  14  weeks,  according  to  their  condition  in  the  beginning  and 
the  rapidity  with  which  they  gain.  The  tables  in  the  preceding  chapter 
show  that  lambs  increase  in  weight  at  least  a  quarter  of  a  pound  per 
day  when  gaining  normally.  For  a  feeding  period  of  100  days  the 
gains  should  run  from  25  to  30  lbs.  per  head.  This  weight,  mostly 
fat,  added  to  the  carcass  of  a  lamb  weighing  originally  60  to  80  lbs., 
brings  it  to  the  size  desired  by  the  market.  Formerly  the  market  called 
for  a  large  lamb,  but  now  the  demand  is  for  plump  ones  weighing  from 
80  to  90  lbs.,  or  even  less  if  they  are  from  the  western  ranges.    As  soon 

,as  lambs  are  ripe,  or  when  the  backs  and  the  region  about  the  tail  seem 
well  covered  with  fat,  they  should  be  sold,  for  further  gains  cannot 
be  made  at  a  profit.  Ripe  lambs  fed  a  heavy  grain  ration  at  the  North 
Dakota  Station-^  gained  only  0.8  lb.  each  in  4  weeks,  returning  a  heavy 
loss  instead  of  profit. 

901.  Rations  for  fattening  lambs;  cost  of  gains. — From  the  many  trials 
reviewed  in  the  preceding  chapter  the  feeder  can  readily  determine  the 
best  combination  of  feeds  to  employ  under  his  local  conditions.  The 
tables  showing  the  amount  of  feed  required  for  100  lbs.  gain  will  en- 
able him  to  compute  the  approximate  cost  of  gains  with  feeds  at  market 
prices.  It  should  be  remembered  that  the  results  presented  were  se- 
cured with  thrifty  lambs,  fed  by  skilled  feeders  and  under  good  con- 
ditions. The  feed  required  for  a  given  gain  will  therefore  often  exceed 
the  amount  stated.  Comparing  the  cost  of  gains,  it  will  be  found  that 
lambs  give  better  returns  for  the  feed  supplied  than  do  steers.  The 
gains  of  mature  sheep  will  cost  from  25  to  30  per  ct.  more  than  those 
of  lambs. 

902.  Proportion  of  concentrates. — Thruout  the  corn  belt  and  the  east- 
ern states  lambs  are  commonly  fed  all  the  grain  they  will  clean  up  after 
being  brought  to  full  feed.    On  the  other  hand,  in  the  West,  where  hay 

»»N.  D.  Bui.  28. 


562  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

is  cheap  compared  with  grain,  the  allowance  of  grain  is  often  restricted. 
At  the  Illinois  Station-^  Coffey  conducted  the  following  trials  lasting  90 
and  98  days,  respectively,  with  lots  each  of  20  western  lambs,  to  determine 
the  effect  of  feeding  various  proportions  of  shelled  corn  and  alfalfa  hay : 

Feeding  various  proportions  of  shelled  corn  and  alfalfa  hay  to  lamhs 


Initial 

Daily 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Average  ration 

weight 

It. 

Corn 

Hay 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

First  trial 

Lot      I,  Com, 

1.2  lbs. 

Alfalfa  hay,  1.2  lbs. 

69 

0.30 

412 

408 

Lot    II,  Com, 

1 .0  lb. 

AKaKa  hay,  1 .4  lbs. 

69 

0.27 

389 

527 

Lot  III,  Com, 

0.7  1b. 

Alfalfa  hay,  1 .7  lbs. 

69 

0.22 

327 

791 

Lot  IV,  Com, 

0.5  1b. 

AKalfahay,  1.9  lbs. 

69 

0.20 

266 

918 

Second  trial 

Lot      I,  Com, 

1 .4  lbs. 

Alfalfa  hay,  1 .2  lbs. 

65 

0.33 

411 

353 

Lot    II,  Com, 

l.llbs. 

Alfalfa  hay,  1 .5  lbs. 

65 

0.32 

356 

466 

Lot  III,  Com, 

0.9  1b. 

Alfalfa  hay,  1.8  lbs. 

65 

0.29 

299 

606 

In  each  trial  the  rate  of  gain  increased  with  the  amount  of  corn  fed, 
tho  the  difference  was  not  great  between  Lots  I  and  II  in  each  trial. 
Coffey  concludes  that  except  with  very  high-priced  corn  and  cheap  hay, 
the  cost  of  gains  is  usually  less  and  the  profit  greater  when  the  lambs 
are  full  fed  on  corn. 

At  the  New  Mexico  Station"**  Simpson  found  that  when  lambs  were 
fed  allowances  of  corn  ranging  from  0.25  lb.  to  0.90  lb.  per  head  daily 
with  alfalfa  hay,  the  lambs  fed  the  heavier  allowances  of  grain  made 
more  rapid  gains  and  reached  a  better  finish.  On  a  market  which  paid 
a  premium  for  well-fattened  lambs  the  heavier  corn  allowances  would 
have  been  the  more  profitable.  Simpson  states  that  the  time  required 
to  finish  the  average  lambs  is  about  as  follows:  With  a  heavy  corn 
allowance,  70  to  80  days;  with  a  medium  corn  allowance,  90  to  100 
days;  with  a  light  corn  allowance,  100  to  110  days;  with  alfalfa  alone, 
110  to  120  days.  On  alfalfa  alone  lambs  can  hardly  be  brought  to  the 
same  finish  as  on  grain,  hence  many  western  feeders  use  hay  alone  dur- 
ing the  first  of  the  fattening  period  and  then  add  grain  to  finish  the 
lambs  and  harden  the  flesh. 

903.  Fattening  lambs  in  the  fall. — Finishing  lambs  for  market  in  the 
fall  is  the  common  practice  with  farmers  who  raise  their  own  lambs  and 
many  who  rely  on  buying  feeder  lambs  from  the  western  ranges.  Until 
cold  weather  sets  in  the  lambs  may  be  grazed  on  rape  or  other  pasture, 
being  fed  grain  in  addition.  Thrifty  lambs  placed  on  feed  in  the  fall 
should  be  ready  for  sale  in  December  or  early  in  January,  a  season  when 
there  is  usually  a  scarcity  of  good  lambs  on  the  market,  since  the  grass- 
fed  lambs  have  been  marketed  and  those  in  winter  feed  lots  are  not  yet 
finished. 

In  some  sections  train  loads  of  lambs  are  annually  distributed  in  Au- 
gust among  the  farmers  of  a  neighborhood  and  by  them  given  the  run 
of  the  stubble  fields  from  which  the  small  grain  has  been  harvested. 

»I11.  Bui.  167.  ="N.  Mex.  Bui.  79. 


GENERAL  CARE  OF  SHEEP  AND  LAMBS      563 

Often  rape  has  been  so^vn  on  the  fields  to  increase  the  herbage,  the  seed- 
ing not  taking  place  until  the  small  grain  is  well  above  ground,  lest  the 
rape  grow  so  large  as  to  injure  the  grain  crop.  The  stubble  fields  well 
cleaned,  the  lambs  are  shifted  to  the  fields  of  standing  corn,  where  they 
feed  on  the  lower  leaves  of  the  corn  and  on  rape  or  turnips  sown  at  the 
last  cultivation  of  the  corn,  finally  eating  more  or  less  of  the  corn  on 
the  ears. 

904.  Fattening  lambs  in  the  western  states. — Thruout  the  western  states, 
especially  in  Colorado,  large  numbers  of  lambs  and  older  sheep  are  fat- 
tened annually.  Alfalfa  hay  is  the  chief  roughage,  with  wet  sugar  beet 
pulp  in  the  vicinity  of  beet  sugar  factories.  In  Colorado  corn  is  the  chief 
grain  fed,  while  farther  north  and  west  larger  use  is  made  of  the  small 
grains,  especially  barley.  The  whole  western  range  is  drawn  on  for 
feeders,  and  the  small  fine-wool  type  of  earlier  times  has  been  largely 
replaced  by  the  cross-bred  lamb  of  better  mutton  quality.  Formerly 
many  mature  wethers  were  fed ;  but  now  mostly  lambs  are  fattened. 

In  large  feeding  plants  the  corral,  or  enclosure,  is  commonly  divided 
into  2  rows  of  lots  with  a  lane  between,  each  lot  accommodating  from 
400  to  500  lambs.  No  shelter  is  provided,  but  windbreaks  are  desirable. 
The  hay  is  usually  fed  in  the  lanes,  12  to  14  feet  wide,  extending  be- 
tween the  lots.  The  low  fences  bordering  the  lanes  have  a  7  or  8  inch 
space  between  the  first  and  second  boards,  thru  which  the  lambs  feed  on 
the  hay.  About  1  running  foot  of  lane  fencing  and  feed  troughs  is  al- 
lowed each  sheep.  The  hay  from  the  stacks  is  hauled  down  the  lanes  and 
piled  along  the  fences,  being  pushed  up  to  them  2  or  3  times  a  day  as  it 
is  eaten  avv-ay. 

All  lots  are  provided  with  flat-bottomed  troughs  for  feeding  grain. 
There  is  an  extra  or  vacant  lot  at  one  end  of  each  row  of  lots,  likewise 
provided  with  troughs.  At  feeding  time  grain  is  placed  in  the  troughs 
of  this  extra  lot  and  the  lambs  from  the  adjoining  lot  are  turned  in.  As 
soon  as  a  lot  is  vacated,  grain  is  put  in  the  troughs  of  this  lot,  and  the 
lambs  enter  from  the  next  lot,  and  so  on.  At  the  next  meal  feeding 
begins  by  using  the  vacant  lot  at  the  other  end  of  the  row,  reversing 
the  process.  After  a  week  or  more  of  preliminary  hay  feeding,  corn 
feeding  is  begun.  At  first  only  a  very  little  corn  is  sprinkled  in  the 
troughs,  but  as  the  lambs  get  used  to  it  the  amount  is  gradually  increased 
until  after  about  2  months  the  lambs  are  on  full  feed,  which  is  from  2 
to  3  bushels  of  corn  per  100  head  daily.  The  feeding  yards  are  usually 
located  on  streams  or  ditches  which  supply  running  water.  Those  on 
high  ground  have  watering  troughs  into  which  the  water  is  pumped. 
Salt  is  liberally  furnished  in  troughs. 

Most  of  the  Colorado  lambs  are  marketed  unshorn.  If  feeding  con- 
tinues until  late  in  the  spring  the  lambs  are  usually  shorn  6  weeks  be- 
fore shipping.  They  will  then  gain  enough  more  to  make  up  the  weight 
of  the  wool  removed,  will  pack  more  closely  in  the  car,  and  shrink  less 
in  shipping.    Gains  of  from  15  to  30  lbs.  per  head  are  secured  by  this 


564  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

method  of  fattening.  "With  favorable  markets  and  low-priced  feed  enor- 
mous profits  are  made,  but  sometimes  heavy  losses  occur.  Under  this 
system  often  little  or  no  use  is  made  of  the  manure  produced.  As  has 
been  mentioned  in  the  preceding  chapter  (860),  large  numbers  of  lambs 
are  fattened  on  field  peas  in  certain  districts  of  the  West,  especially  the 
San  Luis  Valley  in  Colorado. 

905.  Feeding  small  bands. — Fattening  great  numbers  of  lambs  at  a 
single  point  reached  its  zenith  years  ago  when  corn  and  wheat  screen- 
ings ruled  low  in  price,  and  the  large  operator  suffered  little  compe- 
tition from  the  ranchman  and  farmer  in  finishing  range  lambs  for  the 
market.  Now  conditions  have  changed.  The  price  of  feed  has  increased, 
and  the  fattening  of  range  lambs  in  smaller  bands  has  rapidly  developed 
in  the  western  states,  in  the  corn  belt,  and  farther  eastward.  Most  for- 
tunately for  a  conservative  agriculture,  the  large  operator,  who  often 
receives  no  benefit  from  the  great  accumulation  of  rich  manure  in  the 
feed  lot,  cannot  compete  with  the  farmer  who  fattens  one  or  more  car- 
loads of  lambs  and  uses  the  manure  for  enriching  his  land.  Prudent 
farmers  rightly  hold  that  enough  fertility  is  returned  to  their  land  thru 
the  feed  lot  to  pay  the  entire  labor  cost  of  feeding.  As  sheep  and  lamb 
fattening  on  range  and  farm  increases,  the  gradual  decline  of  the  old 
feed  lot  is  assured. 

906.  Fattening  lambs  in  the  com  belt. — Tho  many  extensive  feeders 
in  the  corn  belt  each  annually  fatten  thousands  of  lambs,  for  the  rea- 
sons mentioned  in  the  preceding  paragraph  the  tendency  is  toward  feed- 
ing small  bands.  In  the  corn  belt,  shelter  is  required  to  protect  the 
lambs  from  the  winter  storms.  While  too  much  exercise  decreases  the 
gain,  the  lambs  are  commonly  allowed  the  freedom  of  small  yards.  In 
the  western  states  the  allowance  of  grain  is  often  limited,  so  that  the 
lambs  will  consume  more  hay,  but  in  the  corn  belt  they  are  commonly 
brought  to  full  feed  as  soon  as  can  be  done  with  safety. 

907.  Fattening  in  the  East. — In  the  eastern  states  an  intensive  sys- 
tem of  feeding  has  been  developed,  in  which  the  lambs  are  kept  in  pens 
in  a  barn  or  shed,  never  being  turned  out  for  exercise.  The  grain  troughs 
are  protected  by  vertical  slats  in  such  a  manner  that  there  is  just  room 
for  a  lamb  to  feed  in  each  opening,  and  a  single  space  is  provided  for 
each  lamb.  The  lambs  are  brought  to  full  feed  as  rapidly  as  possible 
and  are  given  as  much  grain  as  they  will  clean  up  until  ready  for  mar- 
ket. With  this  heavy  feeding  and  the  small  amount  of  exercise  care  must 
be  taken  to  keep  the  lambs  quiet  and  a  feeding  space  must  be  closed  up 
whenever  a  lamb  is  removed  from  the  pen,  for  excitement  or  overeating 
will  cause  heavy  losses  from  apoplexy. 

III.  Hot  House  and  Spring  Lambs  ;  Goats 
During  recent  years  an  increasing  demand  has  developed  for  winter, 
or  ' '  hot  house ' '  lambs.    The  term  ' '  hot  house ' '  lambs  does  not  mean  that 
they  are  reared  in  artificially  heated  quarters,  but  has  been  applied  be- 


GENERAL  CARE  OF  SHEEP  AND  LAMBS      565 

cause  the  lambs  are  produced  at  an  unusual  season  and  are  hence  com- 
parable to  the  out-of-season  products  of  hot  houses.  The  greatest  obstacles 
to  success  in  this  specialty  are  getting  the  ewes  to  breed  sufficiently  early, 
and  producing  carcasses  which  meet  the  exactions  of  the  epicure.  The 
demand  for  winter  lambs  prevails  from  the  last  of  December  to  Easter, 
the  price  usually  being  the  best  between  New  Year's  and  the  first  of 
April.  The  condition  of  the  carcasses  of  such  lambs  is  more  important 
than  their  size.  They  must  be  fat  and  present  a  well-developed  leg  of 
mutton  with  plenty  of  tender,  juicy  lean  meat  and  a  thick  caul  to  spread 
over  the  exposed  flesh  of  the  carcass  when  on  exhibition.  Winter  lambs 
should  weigh  alive  from  45  to  60  lbs.  Large  but  lean  and  bony  ones 
present  a  staggy  appearance  and  bring  unsatisfactory  prices.  Early  in 
the  season  small  lambs  top  the  market,  but  later  the  heavier  ones  are 
in  demand. 

908.  Breeding  for  winter  lambs. — The  ewes  best  suited  for  winter  lamb 
production  are  pure-breds  or  grades  of  the  Dorset,  Tunis,  and  Merino 
or  Rambouillet  breeds,  for  the  other  breeds  can  not  usually  be  depended 
on  to  breed  sufficiently  early.^^  However,  Hampshires,  Shropshires,  and 
Southdowns  are  occasionally  used  with  success. 

At  the  Minnesota  Station,^^  in  trials  covering  6  years,  Shaw  found 
that  the  breeding  habit  of  common  grade  ewes  which  usually  drop  their 
lambs  in  the  spring  may  be  so  changed  by  2  or  3  generations  of 
judicious  crossing  and  the  selection  of  the  early  yeaned  lambs  for  breed- 
ers that  they  will  drop  lambs  in  fall  and  early  winter.  This  change  can 
be  hastened  and  more  permanently  fixed  by  mating  the  ewes  with  pure- 
bred Dorset  rams.  Where  the  ewes  have  the  early  breeding  habit  well 
fixed,  superior  lambs  may  be  obtained  by  using  dark-faced  rams,  such 
as  Shropshire  and  Southdown.  Shaw  further  found  that  ewes  which 
have  suckled  winter  lambs  breed  more  readily  before  being  turned  to 
grass  than  subsequently,  especially  when  fed  a  stimulating  grain  ration 
while  still  in  the  shed.  At  the  New  York  (Cornell)  Station^^  Dorset 
ewes  bred  earlier,  stood  forced  feeding  better,  and  were  less  affected  by 
unfavorable  weather  than  Shropshire  ewes,  and  their  lambs  made  more 
rapid  gains.  Miller  and  Wing^*  advise  using  a  young  ram,  well  fed  dur- 
ing service  but  not  too  fat,  turning  him  with  the  ewes  not  earlier  than 
the  middle  of  March  nor  later  than  the  middle  of  May.  The  ewes  should 
be  in  good  condition  and  so  fed  as  to  be  gaining  in  flesh.  Even  with 
favorable  conditions,  all  the  ewes  will  not  breed  at  the  desired  time,  and 
to  secure  400  winter  lambs  about  500  ewes  are  necessary.  Ewes  which 
fail  to  breed  are  sold  early,  and  those  breeding  late  drop  lambs  useful 
for  later  sales.  Ewes  which  are  successful  breeders  are  kept  as  long  as 
possible,  since  those  lambing  in  November  are  likely  to  breed  at  the  right 
time  the  following  year. 

909.  Care  of  the  ewe. — During  the  summer  the  ewes  need  abundant 
''Wing,  Savage,  and  Tailby,  N.  Y.  (Cornell)  Bui.  309. 

'^Minn.  Bui.  78.  ^^N.  Y.  (Cornell)  Bui.  88.  '^The  Winter  Lamb,  p.  6. 


566  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

pasture,  water,  and  shade.  Should  the  grass  become  scant,  they  should 
receive  additional  feed — rape,  pumpkins,  etc.  If  in  good  condition  it 
is  rarely  necessary  to  feed  grain  before  lambing,  and  then  only  in  small 
amount.  The  ewes  should  be  shorn  in  the  fall  or  as  early  in  winter  as 
possible  so  as  to  keep  them  cool.  At  weaning  time  the  ewes  should  be 
removed  to  the  lambing  pen  and  fed  lightly  for  a  few  days.  The  lamb- 
ing pen  should  be  warm  so  that  the  new-born  lambs  may  not  be  chilled. 
Alfalfa  and  clover  hay  with  silage  or  roots  serve  best  for  roughage, 
while  oats,  bran,  oil  cake,  and  corn  prove  suitable  concentrates.  The 
object  at  all  times  is  to  produce  the  largest  possible  flow  of  milk  to 
hasten  the  lamb's  growth.  In  trials  at  the  Ohio  Station^^  Hammond 
found  a  mixture  of  4  parts  corn  and  1  part  linseed  meal  and  an- 
other of  5  parts  corn,  2  parts  oats,  2  parts  bran,  and  1  part  linseed  meal 
of  about  equal  value  when  fed  with  alfalfa  hay  and  corn  silage  to  ewes 
raising  winter  lambs.  Corn  as  the  sole  concentrate  resulted  in  as  good 
gains  by  the  lambs,  but  the  ewes  lost  in  weight  while  others  fed  corn, 
oats,  bran,  and  linseed  meal  gained. 

910.  The  lambs. — A  creep  should  be  provided  and  the  lambs  taught  to 
eat  from  a  trough  as  soon  as  possible.  To  this  end,  a  little  sugar  may 
sometimes  be  sprinkled  on  the  grain  to  render  it  specially  palatable.  The 
lambs  begin  to  eat  freely  when  2  or  3  weeks  old,  and  are  forced  on  bran, 
cracked  corn,  linseed  meal,  ground  oats,  barley,  gluten  feed,  etc.  They 
should  be  induced  not  only  to  eat,  but  to  eat  a  large  quantity,  and  to 
keep  eating.  Alfalfa,  clover,  or  soybean  hay  is  indispensable,  while  roots 
and  silage  are  helpful.  The  feed  troughs  should  be  cleaned  each  morn- 
ing, and  the  grain  and  hay  supply  be  changed  2  or  3  times  a  day.  When 
necessary,  lambs  are  fed  new  milk  from  a  nursing  bottle  or  from  a  tea- 
pot having  a  punctured  rubber  cot  placed  on  the  spout.  Ewes  bereft 
of  their  lambs  thru  sale  are  given  one  of  a  pair  of  twin  lambs.  Thus 
forced,  the  best  lambs  weigh  from  50  to  60  lbs.  alive  at  10  to  12  weeks. 
For  the  eastern  markets  the  lambs  are  "hog  dressed,"  i.  e.,  the  feet  and 
all  the  viscera,  except  the  heart,  liver,  and  kidneys,  are  removed,  but 
the  pelt  and  frequently  the  head  left  on.  The  caul  fat  is  carefully  spread 
over  the  exposed  parts,  and  the  carcass  sewed  up  in  muslin  after  thoroly 
cooling.  To  be  profitable,  winter  lambs  must  sell  for  not  less  than  $5 
per  head,  and  the  best  ones  sometimes  bring  as  much  as  $12.  This  spe- 
cialty can  be  conducted  with  profit  only  by  experts  who  have  gained 
their  experience  thru  patient  and  discreet  effort,  and  who  have  nearby 
markets  that  will  pay  the  high  prices  such  products  must  command. 

911.  Spring  lambs. — A  less  intensive  system  than  the  preceding  is  the 
production  of  spring  lambs.  These  should  be  dropped  from  January  to 
March  and  are  usually  marketed  in  May  and  June,  weighing  65  to  90 
lbs.,  at  a  time  of  the  year  when  there  is  a  good  demand  for  lambs.  Rais- 
ing spring  lambs  is  especially  profitable  in  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  Vir- 
ginia, and  states  to  the  southward,  for  here  the  ewes  may  be  largely 

'"Ohio  Bui.  270. 


aENERAL  CARE  OF  SHEEP  AND  LAMBS      567 

maintained  on  pasture  thruout  the  year,  greatly  lowering  the  feed  bill. 
Quereau^®  writes  that  in  the  Cumberland  plateau  ewes  are  pastured  in 
summer  and  allowed  to  run  on  the  fields  after  the  crops  are  removed. 
Winter  crops,  such  as  oats,  barley,  wheat,  vetch,  and  crimson  clover, 
are  planted  for  winter  and  spring  pasture.  The  sheep  receive  little  if 
any  grain,  but  during  periods  of  bad  weather  are  run  under  a  shed  and 
fed  hay  or  other  roughage. 

912.  Goats. — The  raising  of  Angora  goats  for  their  mohair  has  be- 
come an  industry  of  considerable  importance  in  certain  districts  of  the 
United  States,  especially  Texas,  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  Oregon,  and 
California.  According  to  the  census  of  1910  there  were  over  a  million 
goats  in  Texas  and  about  half  a  million  in  New  Mexico.  In  the  west- 
ern states  the  goats  graze  upon  rough  land,  utilizing  browse  which  even 
sheep  would  refuse.  In  the  cut-over  districts  of  the  North,  Angora  goats 
are  useful  in  clearing  land  of  brush  at  a  low  expense. 

In  Europe  the  milch  goat  is  of  importance  as  a  milk  producing  ani- 
mal, there  being  over  3,000,000  milch  goats  in  Germany  alone.^^  By 
their  habits  of  life  they  are  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  peas- 
ants, or  poorer  classes,  of  these  countries,  and  have  hence  been  ap- 
propriately termed  "the  poor  man's  cow."  While  the  quality  of  the 
milk  may  be  injured  if  the  goat  is  maintained  largely  on  weeds,  kitchen 
waste,  and  other  refuse,  yet  they  can  utilize  much  feed  which  would 
otherwise  be  wasted  about  the  household.  As  with  cows,  the  milk  yield 
of  goats  varies  widely.  A  good  milch  goat  should  continue  to  produce 
for  8  to  10  months,  and  yield  2  quarts  of  milk  or  more  daily.  The  milch 
goat  produces  somewhat  more  milk,  based  upon  body  weight,  than  the 
cow,  often  yielding  10  times  her  body  weight  annually,  and  also  requires 
less  feed  to  produce  100  lbs.  of  milk,  tho  the  milk  is  higher  in  fat  than 
average  cow 's  milk.  The  milch  goat  has  not  yet  attained  any  importance 
in  this  country,  but  it  should  have  a  place  in  supplying  fresh,  pure  milk 
for  households  in  our  cities.  The  general  principles  of  feeding  and  care 
which  have  been  presented  for  sheep  also  apply  to  goats. 

'«Tenn.  Bui.  84. 

="■  Thompson,  Angora  Goat  Raising  and  Milch  Goats,  p.  177. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

GENERAL  PROBLEMS   IN  SWINE  HUSBANDRY 

Because  of  the  economy  with  which  the  pig  converts  its  food  into  edible 
flesh,  this  animal  steadily  increases  in  importance  as  our  population  be- 
comes more  dense.  (132-3)  Practically  every  farmer  should  raise  and 
fatten  pigs,  for  family  consumption  if  not  for  the  market,  in  order  to 
profitably  conserve  valuable  nutritive  material  that  would  otherwise  be 
wasted.  We  should  dismiss  the  idea  that  profitable  hog  raising  belongs 
to  the  corn  belt  only.  Denmark  raises  no  corn,  yet  produces  more  pork 
of  the  highest  quality  than  any  other  equal  area  in  the  world.  The  south- 
ern states  still  buy  vast  quantities  of  pork  from  the  North  despite  the 
fact  that  their  experiment  stations  have  demonstrated  that  it  can  be  pro- 
duced at  lower  cost  in  the  South.  Pigs  produce  a  pound  of  gain  from 
4  to  5  lbs.  of  dry  matter  while  fattening  cattle  require  from  10  to  12 
lbs.  The  pig  yields  from  75  to  80  per  ct.  of  his  live  weight  as  dressed 
carcass;  the  steer  only  55  to  65  per  ct.  (717,  726)  Pigs  will  profitably 
utilize  many  by-products  of  the  farm  otherAvise  lost,  such  as  dairy  by- 
products and  kitchen  and  garden  waste,  as  well  as  grains  that  cannot 
otherwise  be  profitably  disposed  of.  No  other  line  of  stock  farming  can 
so  quickly  be  brought  to  profitable  production  with  limited  capital  in- 
vested in  stock  and  equipment  as  can  the  making  of  meat  from  the  pig. 
In  many  cases  the  grower  should  not  only  fatten  his  pigs  but  also  slaugh- 
ter them  and  market  the  cured  products,  obtaining  increased  profits  even 
tho  the  undertaking  be  a  small  one. 

In  this  book  we  have  generally  used  the  word  ' '  pig ' '  rather  than  ' '  hog, ' ' 
thereby  following  the  usage  of  English  farmers,  for  we  regard  the  pig 
as  the  young,  and  the  hog  as  the  really  mature  animal  among  swine. 
In  modern  pork  production  swine  are  usually  mere  pigs  in  age  when 
they  are  finished  for  the  market  and  therefore  such  usage  of  the  word  is 
reasonable. 

913.  Rate  and  economy  of  gains  by  pigs. — The  economy  with  which 
pigs  of  different  weights  convert  feed  into  meat  is  shown  in  the  follow- 
ing table  summarizing  the  data  from  over  500  feeding  trials  with  more 
than  2,200  pigs  at  many  American  experiment  stations.  In  this  table 
6  lbs.  of  skim  milk  or  12  lbs.  of  whey  are  rated  as  equal  to  1  lb.  of  con- 
centrates. 

The  table  shows  that  pigs  weighing  under  50  lbs.  consumed  on  the 
average  2.2  lbs.  of  feed  daily,  while  300-lb.  pigs  consumed  7.5  lbs.  daily. 
Based  on  weight,  the  50-lb.  pigs  consumed  6.0  lbs.  of  feed  per  100  lbs. 
of  body  weight,  while  300-lb.  pigs  consumed  only  2.4  lbs.  per  100  lbs.    In 

568 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  SWINE  HUSBANDRY 


569 


other  words,  young  pigs  consume  far  more  feed  for  their  weight  than 
do  large  ones.  The  average  gain  per  day  started  at  0.8  lb.  for  pigs 
under  50  lbs.  each,  and  gradually  increased  until  those  weighing  250 
lbs.  showed  a  daily  gain  of  1.5  lbs.  The  last  column  shows  that  pigs 
weighing  less  than  50  lbs.  each  gained  100  lbs.  for  every  293  lbs.  of 
feed  or  feed  equivalent  consumed,  and  that  the  quantity  of  feed  required 
for  100  lbs.  gain  steadily  increased  as  the  pigs  became  larger,  until  at 
300  lbs.  weight  it  required  535  lbs.  of  feed  to  make  100  lbs.  of  gain.  The 
great  economy  of  young,  growing  pigs  over  older  and  more  mature  ones 
for  making  gain  from  a  given  quantity  of  feed  is  plainly  brought  out  by 
the  table.  (114)  When  we  compare  the  amounts  of  feed  required  for 
100  lbs.  gain  by  pigs  of  the  different  weights  with  the  amounts  required 
by  beef  cattle  and  sheep,  the  superiority  of  the  pig  as  a  meat  producer 
is  most  striking. 


Relation  of  weight  of  pigs  to  feed  consumed  and  rate  of  gain 

No.  of 

Av.  feed 

Feed  eaten  daily 

Wt.  of  pigs 

animals 

eaten  per 

per  100  lbs. 

Av.  gam 

Feed  for 

fed 

day 

live  weight 

per  day 

Lb3. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

15  to    50 

38 

174 

2.2 

6.0 

0.8 

293 

50  to  100 

78 

417 

3.4 

4.3 

0.8 

400 

100  to  150 

128 

495 

4.8 

3.8 

1.1 

437 

150  to  200 

174 

489 

5.9 

3.5 

1.2 

482 

200  to  250 

226 

300 

6.6 

2.9 

1.3 

498 

250  to  300 

271 

223 

7.4 

2.7 

1.5 

511 

300  to  350 

320 

105 

7.5 

2.4 

1.4 

535 

In  trials  by  the  senior  author  at  the  Wisconsin  Station,^  5  sows  and 
litters  were  fed  70  days  on  corn  meal,  wheat  middlings,  and  sour  skim 
milk.  The  unweaned  pigs  were  also  given  all  of  the  same  food  they 
would  consume  at  a  separate  trough.  At  10  weeks  the  pigs  were  weaned, 
and  the  feeding  continued  for  7  weeks  with  the  sows  and  weaned  pigs 
separately.  While  suckling  their  pigs,  1  sow  lost  and  2  gained  in  weight. 
The  table  shows  the  feed  required  for  100  lbs.  of  net  gain  with  sows  and 
pigs  before  and  after  weaning : 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain  hy  sows  and  pigs  before  and  after  weaning 

Meal 
Meal  Milk    equivalent 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

By  SOWS  and  pigs  10  weeks  before  weaning 237  475         316 

By  pigs  only,  7  weeks  after  weaning 288  576         384 

By  sows  only,  7  weeks  after  weaning 710  1,420        947 

It  is  shown  that  237  lbs.  of  grain,  together  with  475  lbs.  of  separator 
skim  milk,  produced  100  lbs.  of  combined  net  gain  with  sows  and  their 
unweaned  pigs.  Reckoning  6  lbs.  of  skim  milk  equal  to  1  of  the  mixed 
meal,  it  is  shown  that  316  lbs.  of  meal  equivalent  produced  100  lbs.  net 
gain  with  sows  and  their  unweaned  pigs.  For  the  7  weeks  following 
weaning  the  pigs  required  384  lbs.  of  meal  equivalent,  or  22  per  ct.  more 

^Wis.  Rpt.  1897. 


570 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


feed,  for  100  lbs.  of  gain  than  before  weaning.  It  thus  appears  that 
young,  unweaned  pigs  are  fed  more  economically  thru  the  sow  than  after 
weaning.  The  table  shows  that,  after  their  pigs  were  weaned,  the  sows 
required  the  surprisingly  large  amount  of  947  lbs.  of  meal  equivalent  to 
make  good  each  100  lbs.  of  flesh  lost  while  suckling  their  pigs.  The 
prudent  stockman  always  feeds  both  sows  and  pigs  liberally  before  wean- 
ing, realizing  that  the  sows  should  not  be  allowed  to  grow  thin  thru 
scant  feeding. 

914.  Gain  of  young  pigs. — To  show  the  rate  of  gain  by  3'oung  pigs 
before  and  after  weaning,  the  following  table  is  taken  from  a  study  by 
the  senior  author  at  the  Wisconsin  Station,^*  the  data  covering  70  days 
before  and  49  days  after  weaning : 

Weight  of  a  Utter  of  pigs  at  hirth  and  gains  hefore  and  after  weaning 

Before  -weaning 


Days 
from 
birth 

Wt. 
of 
sow 

Weight   of  pigs 

Date 

No.  1 

No.  2 

No.  3 

No.  4 

No.  5 

No.  6 

No.  7   1    No.  8 

May  24 

Lbs. 
332 

'  290 

285 
277 
278 
280 
293 
280 
278 
268 
261 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

May  25 .  .  . 
May  31 .  .  . 
June  7 .  .  .  . 
June  14.  .. 
June21.  .. 
June  28 ...  . 

July  5 

July  12 

July  19 

July  26 

August  2 .  .  . 

0 

7 
14 
21 
28 
35 
42 
49 
56 
63 
70 

3.6 
7.1 
10.7 
19.0 
19.4 
24.2 
28.0 
32.5 
40.5 
47.0 
50.5 

3.2 
5.1 
7.7 
11.5 
14.5 
16.4 
18.7 
19.0 
22.5 
24.5 
25.0 

3.3 
5.9 
9.9 
13.5 
17.4 
22.2 
25.5 
30.0 
37.0 
44.0 
50.0 

3.2 
6.4 
9.4 
13.5 
17.8 
23.1 
26.5 
32.5 
43.5 
51.0 
60.5 

3.4 
6.3 
9.5 
12.5 
15.6 
20.6 
23.5 
29.0 
38.0 
45.5 
50.0 

3.2 
5.8 
9.2 
12.5 
16.0 
20.9 
24.2 
29.5 
38.0 
45.0 
51.0 

2.8 
4.8 
7.5 
10.8 
14.1 
18.2 
22.0 
26.0 
35.5 
42.5 
47.0 

1.9 

3.0 

5.1 

7.6 

10.4 

14.4 

16.5 

21.0 

26.5 

31.0 

37.5 

Gain 

—29 

46.9 

21.8 

46.7 

57.3 

46.6 

47.8 

44.2 

35.6 

After  weaning 


August  2  .  .  . 
August  9  .  .  . 
August  16 .  . 
August  23 .  . 
September  6 
Septemberl3 
September20 

Gain 


0 
7 

14 
21 
35 
42 
49 


50.5 
53.0 
57.0 
62.5 
69.0 
77.5 
85.5 


35.0 


25.0 
25.0 
27.5 
33.5 
43.0 
48.0 
56.0 


50.0 
57.5 
63.5 
72.5 
84.0 
94.0 
104.0 


31.0      54.0 


60.5 
68.0 
75.0 
86.5 
101.0 
105.0 
114.0 


53.5 


50.0 
57.5 
61.0 
67.0 
80.0 
86.0 
92.0 


42.0 


51.0 
55.0 
59.0 
69.0 
76.0 
88.0 
93.0 


42.0 


47.5 
54.5 
61.0 
72.0 
79.0 
88.0 
93.0 


45.5 


37.5 
44.0 
50.0 
56.0 
64.0 
74.0 
82.0 


44.5 


It  will  be  seen  that  the  sow  lost  29  lbs.  in  weight  while  suckling  her 
pigs,  which  gained  from  21.8  to  57.3  lbs.  each  in  10  weeks  between  far- 
rowing and  weaning.  For  the  7  weeks  succeeding  weaning  the  individual 
gains  ranged  from  31  to  54  lbs.  It  is  possible  for  a  suckling  pig  to  weigh 
70  lbs.  when  70  days  old,  and  sometimes,  tho  rarely,  it  may  exceed  that 
high  figure. 

la  Wis.  Rpt.  1890. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  SWINE  HUSBANDRY    571 

915.  Maintenance  requirement  of  the  pig. — At  the  Wisconsin  Station^ 
Dietrich  gradually  reduced  the  feed  of  four  50-lb.  pigs  getting  corn  meal, 
wheat  middlings,  and  skim  milk  during  2  weeks  until  they  were  neither 
gaining  nor  losing  in  weight.  They  were  held  on  this  allowance  for  7 
days  to  confirm  the  figures  and  then  gradually  brought  back  to  full  feed 
again.  When  the  pigs  averaged  100  lbs.  the  process  was  repeated,  with 
the  results  shown  in  the  table: 

Daily  maintenance  requirement  of  pigs  at  different  weights 

Average  ration  Digestible  nutrients  per 

Concen-  Skim  100  lbs.  live  weight 

trates  milk  Crude  protein     Total 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.             Lbs. 

When  pig  weighed    50  lbs 0.3  1.2  0 .  12        0 .60 

When  pig  weighed  100  lbs 0.8  1.6  0 .  12        0 .70 

When  pig  weighed  150  lbs 1.6  1.6  0 .13         0 .84 

When  pig  weighed  200  lbs 2.0  ...  0 .  10        0 .72 

The  table  shows  that  a  50-lb.  pig  maintained  its  weight  on  a  ration 
of  but  0.3  lb.  of  concentrates  (corn  and  middlings)  and  1.2  lbs.  skim  milk, 
which  furnished  0.12  lb.  digestible  crude  protein  and  0.60  lb,  total  digest- 
ible nutrients  per  100  lbs.  live  weight.  The  amount  of  feed  eaten  daily 
per  pig  increased  as  the  pigs  grew  heavier,  but  there  was  no  marked 
change  in  the  requirements  per  100  lbs.  live  weight.  In  these  and  also 
in  later  experiments  at  the  Illinois  Station^  Dietrich  found  that  if  the 
ration  was  reduced  after  the  animal  was  apparently  receiving  only 
enough  feed  to  maintain  its  weight  it  would  lose  in  weight  for  a  period 
and  then  often  be  able  to  maintain  itself  on  the  reduced  ration  or  even 
gain  in  weight,  due  to  a  better  utilization  of  the  feed.  It  has  already 
been  pointed  out  that  steers  fed  scanty  rations  are  likewise  able  to  utilize 
their  feed  more  efficiently  than  when  liberally  fed.  (82) 

Dietrich  found  that  pigs,  previously  fed  scanty  rations,  may  be  main- 
tained on  0.10  lb.  digestible  crude  protein  and  0.42  to  0.57  lb.  total  digest- 
ible nutrients.  This  is  4.2  to  5.7  lbs.  total  digestible  nutrients  per  1,000 
lbs.  live  weight,  somewhat  less  than  the  amount  required  by  the  dairy 
cow  or  the  steer,  as  is  shown  in  Appendix  Table  V.  This  is  probably 
due  to  the  fact,  previously  pointed  out  (91),  that  maintenance  require- 
ments depend  upon  body  surface,  and  since  the  pig  is  built  more  com- 
pactly than  the  steer  or  cow,  he  has  less  body  surface  per  100  lbs.  live 
weight. 

916.  Utilization  of  feed  by  the  pig. — In  the  trial  reported  in  the  pre- 
ceding article,  after  each  maintenance  period  the  pigs  were  gradually 
returned  to  full  feed,  which  was  continued  until  the  next  maintenance 
period.  The  following  table  shows  the  gains  made  during  these  inter- 
mediate periods,  together  with  the  percentage  of  the  feed  which  was 
required  for  maintenance  and  used  for  making  gain. 

»Wis.  Rpt.  1899.  «I11.  Bui.  163. 


572  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Use  made  hy  the  pig  of  the  feed  consumed 

Av.  daily       Percentage  of  food  used 
gain         For  maintenance    For  gain 
Lbs.  Per  ct.  Per  ct. 

When  pig  weighed    50  lbs 0 .93  18  82 

When  pig  weighed  100  lbs 1.66  25  75 

When  pig  weighed  150  lbs 1.85  27  73 

When  pig  weighed  200  lbs 1 .22  36  64 

The  table  shows  that  the  50-lb.  pig,  when  gaining  nearly  1  lb.  a  day, 
used  only  18  per  ct.  of  its  feed  for  the  support  of  the  body,  leaving  82 
per  ct,  of  all  it  consumed  for  gain  in  body  weight.  As  the  pig  increases 
in  weight,  as  has  already  been  pointed  out,  it  consumes  less  feed  per 
100  lbs.  live  weight,  and  hence  after  the  maintenance  requirements  are 
met  has  a  smaller  percentage  of  its  feed  left  for  gain.  (913) 

917.  Maintenance  of  the  sow. — At  the  Wisconsin  Station*  Davies  re- 
corded the  feed  eaten  by  a  394-lb.  Berkshire  sow  and  her  7  suckling 
pigs  for  10  weeks  between  farrowing  and  weaning,  obtaining  the  fol- 
lowing results : 

Feed  required  to  maintain  the  hrood  sow 

Concen-  Skim 
trates  milk 
Lbs.  Lbs. 

Feed  (H  corn,  H  wheat  middUngs)  consumed  by  sow 660       1,381 

Calculated  amount  needed  to  maintain  sow  alone 242  484 

Feed  eaten  by  sow  that  went  to  nourish  her  pigs 418  897 

Additional  feed  given  to  pigs 100  313 

Total 518        1,210 

Feed  given  sow  and  pigs  for  100  lbs.  gain  by  pigs 146  339 

Feed  required  to  maintain  sow  1  day 3.5  6.9 

Davies  estimates  that  concentrates  equivalent  to  1  per  ct.  of  the  weight 
of  the  sow  supported  her  for  1  day,  and  that  about  one-third  of  what 
she  ate  went  for  the  support  of  her  own  body,  while  two-thirds  was  used 
in  elaborating  milk  for  her  young.  It  required  but  146  lbs.  of  grain  and 
336  lbs.  of  skim  milk  fed  to  sow  and  pigs  for  100  lbs.  of  gain  by  the 
pigs — an  exceedingly  small  allowance. 

Faville  of  the  Wyoming  Station^  found  that  brood  sows  weighing  314 
lbs.  at  the  beginning  of  the  trial  and  376  lbs.  at  the  close  made  average 
daily  gains  of  0.4  lb.  on  a  daily  allowance  of  4.6  lbs.  of  concentrates 
(2  parts  corn  and  1  part  mill  feed).  This  ration  supplied  only  57  per 
ct.  of  the  nutrients  called  for  by  the  Wolff-Lehmann  standard. 

918.  Nutrient  requirements  of  swine. — Since  pigs  are  now  commonly 
fattened  for  market  before  maturity,  they  are  growing  rapidly  as  well 
as  storing  fat  in  their  bodies.  Consequently  their  ration  should  supply 
ample  protein  and  mineral  matter  for  normal  growth.    The  requirements 

*Wis.  Rpt.  1904.  "Wyo.  Bui.  96. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  SWINE  HUSBANDRY  573 

of  pigs  of  various  ages,  as  shown  in  studies  by  the  junior  author  of  the 
numerous  trials  at  American  experiment  stations,  are  set  forth  in  the 
Modified  Wolff-Lehmann  standards.  (Appendix  Table  V) 

The  other  farm  animals  eat  large  quantities  of  hay,  which  is  relatively 
high  in  mineral  matter,  including  calcium  (lime),  compared  with  the 
cereal  grains.  Except  when  on  pasture,  pigs,  on  the  other  hand,  are  fed 
chiefly  on  the  cereal  grains,  not  being  fitted  to  utilize  much  dry  rough- 
age. Since  all  the  cereals,  especially  corn,  of  which  pigs  are  unusually 
fond,  are  low  in  calcium,  there  is  much  greater  danger  than  with  other 
animals  that  they  will  not  obtain  sufficient  calcium  for  normal  growth 
of  skeleton  and  body  tissues.  When  rations  are  fed  which  do  not  con- 
tain ample  calcium  it  should  be  supplied  in  the  form  of  ground  lime- 
stone, bone  ash,  or  ground  rock  phosphate.  When  the  ration  furnishes 
sufficient  protein  to  meet  the  standards,  it  will  also  supply  sufficient  phos- 
phorus for  rapid  growth,  since  the  common  feeds  which  are  rich  in  pro- 
tein are  likewise  high  in  phosphorus.  (119) 

919.  Effect  of  adding  calcium  to  the  ration. — The  trials  reviewed  in  a 
preceding  chapter  (135-7)  show  clearly  that  when  pigs  are  fed  corn  alone 
they  develop  weak  skeletons  and  fail  to  make  normal  growth.  This  is 
both  because  corn  is  low  in  protein  and  because  it  is  low  in  mineral 
matter,  especially  calcium.  To  determine  the  effect  upon  the  strength 
of  the  skeleton  of  adding  various  supplements  to  corn,  during  each  of 
2  years  Burnett  fed  4  lots,  each  of  four  79-lb.  pigs,  the  rations  shown  in 
the  table  for  137  days  at  the  Nebraska  Station.*^  The  breaking  strength 
of  the  right  and  left  femur,  tibia,  humerus,  radius,  and  ulna  of  the  legs 
of  each  pig  was  determined  at  the  close  of  the  trial.  During  the  first 
5  weeks  of  the  first  trial  and  the  first  12  weeks  of  the  second  all  lots 
were  on  alfalfa  pasture. 

Ground  hone  and  tankage  as  supplements  to  corn 

Concen-    Av.  breaking 

Daily  trates  for      strength  of 

Average  ration                                                                   gain  100  lbs.  gain       bones 

Lbs.  Lbs.               Lbs. 

Lot  I,      Corn,  5.0  lbs 1.0  511             303 

Lot  II,    Ground  bone,  0.5  lb.     Corn,  4.5  lbs 1.0  507            575 

Lot  III,  Shorts,  1.3  lbs.               Corn,  3.7  lbs 1.0  491             354 

Lot  IV,  Tankage,  0.5  lb.            Com,  4.5  lbs 1.1  456            497 

Due  to  the  alfalfa  pasture  during  the  first  part  of  the  trial,  the  lot 
on  corn  alone  made  satisfactory  gains.  However,  Lot  II,  receiving 
ground  bone  in  addition  to  corn,  had  much  stronger  bones.  The  skele- 
ton was  also  greatly  strengthened  by  the  addition  of  tankage,  which  con- 
tains considerable  calcium,  and  to  a  small  degree  by  the  addition  of 
shorts.  As  shown  later  (1013),  it  is  important  that  the  calcium  supply 
in  the  ration  of  the  brood  sow  be  ample. 

920.  Grinding  grain. — At  the  Wisconsin  Station^  during  each  of  10 
consecutive  winters  the  senior  author,  at  first  alone  and  later  with  Otis, 

•Nebr.  Bui.  107.  ^Wis.  Rpt.  1906. 


574  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

fed  ground  corn,  in  comparison  with  shelled  corn,  to  fattening  pigs 
averaging  175  lbs.  in  weight  at  the  beginning  of  the  trials,  during  per- 
iods ranging  from  63  to  98  days  each.  Iowa  No.  3,  year-old  shelled 
corn  was  used,  part  of  which  was  ground  in  a  buhrstone  mill  to  the 
usual  fineness,  while  part  was  fed  unground,  as  shelled  corn.  Since 
pigs  do  not  thrive  on  corn  alone,  in  all  cases  the  ration  was  made  up  of 
one-third  wheat  middlings  and  two-thirds  ground  or  shelled  corn.  The 
mixed  ground  corn  and  middlings  were  fed  wet  with  a  small  quantity 
of  water,  while  the  shelled  corn  was  fed  dry  and  alone,  the  middlings 
having  first  been  fed  as  a  slop.  Salt  and  wood  ashes  were  supplied  at 
all  times  to  both  lots.  The  results  of  the  18  trials  are  summarized  in  the 
following  table : 

Summary  of  10  winters'  feeding  ground  corn  and  shelled  corn 


Total  feed  given 

Feed  for 

Whole 

Corn 

Wheat 

Total 

100  lbs. 

Feed  given 

corn 

meal 

middlings 

gain 

gain 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

140  pigs  fed  shelled  com  and 

wheat  middlings 

46,736 

22,590 

13,828 

501 

140  pigs  fed  ground  corn  and 

wheat  middlings 

50,647 

24,189 

15,891 

471 

In  11  out  of  18  trials  the  saving  from  grinding  corn  ranged  from 
2.5  to  18.5  per  ct.,  and  in  7  cases  there  was  a  loss  by  grinding,  ranging 
from  1.1  to  11.1  per  ct.  On  the  average  it  required  501  lbs.  of  whole 
corn  and  wheat  middlings  for  100  lbs.  of  gain,  and  only  471  lbs.  of 
ground  corn  and  middlings,  a  saving  of  6  per  ct.  This  means  that  with 
corn  worth  50  cts.  per  bushel  there  was  a  saving  of  3  cts.  on  each  bushel 
by  grinding,  allowing  nothing  for  labor  or  expense.  It  was  observed  that 
the  pigs  getting  ground  corn  ate  more  feed  in  a  given  time  and  gained 
more  rapidly  than  did  those  getting  shelled  corn,  which  fact  no  doubt 
explains  the  general  impression  among  farmers  that  pigs  do  better  on 
ground  corn  than  on  shelled. 

Rommel,'^^  summarizing  9  trials  at  5  stations  where  whole  or  ground 
grains — peas,  wheat,  rye,  oats,  and  barley — were  fed,  either  dry  or 
soaked,  to  fattening  pigs,  found  it  required  approximately  473  lbs.  of 
whole  grain  or  415  lbs.  of  ground  grain  to  produce  100  lbs.  of  gain — a 
saving  of  12  per  ct.  by  grinding.  We  may  then  conclude  that  it  will 
usually  pay  to  grind  the  small  grains  for  pigs. 

921.  Effect  of  preparing  corn  for  pigs. — To  study  the  benefits  of  pre- 
paring corn  for  pigs  of  various  ages.  King  conducted  trials  at  the  Indiana 
Station^  with  a  total  of  140  pigs.  Similar  lots  of  pigs  were  fed  either 
ear  corn,  shelled  corn,  or  ground  corn,  the  corn  being  supplemented  with 
tankage  and  wheat  shorts.  Some  lots  were  placed  on  experiment  when 
the  pigs  weighed  about  50  lbs.,  others  at  85  lbs.,  and  still  others  at  100 
lbs.,  at  150  to  160  lbs.,  and  at  210  to  220  lbs.,  respectively.     The  ear 

7aU.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  Anim.  Indus.,  Bui.  47. 
•Proc.  Amer.  See.  Anim.  Prod.,  1913,  pp.  22-31. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  SWINE  HUSBANDRY 


575 


Effect 

of  preparing  corn  for  pigs  of  different  weights 

No.  of 
pigs 

Initial 
weight 

Daily 
gain 

Average  ration 

Feed  for 

Preparation  of  corn 

Corn 

Shorts 

Tankage 

gain*' 

First  month 

Ear  com 

Shelled  com .  .  . 
Ground  corn. .  . 

Second  month 

Ear  com 

Shelled  com .  .  . 
Ground  corn . .  . 

Third  month 

Ear  corn 

Shelled  com .  .  . 
Ground  corn . .  . 

Fourth  month 

Ear  com 

Shelled  com .  .  . 
Ground  com . .  . 

Fifth  month 

Ear  corn 

Shelled  com .  .  . 
Ground  corn. .  . 

Sixth  month 

Ear  corn 

Shelled  corn .  .  . 
Ground  corn .  . . 

16 
16 
16 

16 
16 
16 

43 
42 
43 

51 
50 
51 

58 
58 
58 

64 
53 
64 

Lbs. 
54 

54 
54 

73 
74 
73 

108 
106 
107 

140 
139 
141 

178 
178 
182 

219 
217 
226 

Lbs. 
0.63 

0.66 
0.64 

0.89 
0.84 
0.84 

0.96 
0.92 
1.00 

1.14 
1.14 
1.23 

1.21 
1.20 
1.36 

1.44 
1.46 
1.58 

Lbs. 

1.39 
1.38 
1.38 

2.33 
2.18 
2.25 

3.35 
3.32 
3.47 

4.44 
4.51 
4.65 

5.21 

5.29 
5.56 

6.05 
6.30 
6.43 

Lbs. 

0.72 
0.72 
0.72 

0.75 
0.75 
0.75 

0.25 
0.26 
0.25 

0.01 
0.01 
0.01 

Lbs. 

0.25 
0.25 
0.25 

0.25 
0.25 
0.25 

0.27 
0.28 
0.27 

0.34 
0.34 
0.34 

0.35 
0.34 
0.35 

0.36 
0.37 
0.36 

Lbs. 

376 
357 
370 

374 
378 
388 

404 
417 
399 

422 
428 
408 

460 
468 
434 

445 
455 
431 

•  Ear  corn  reduced  to  shelled  corn  basis. 

corn  and  shelled  corn  were  fed  dry  and  the  ground  corn  was  wet  enough 
so  that  it  would  not  be  thrown  out  of  the  trough  by  the  pigs  while  eating. 
In  the  above  table  the  results  are  arranged  by  months,  starting  with 
the  pigs  weighing  54  lbs. 

The  table  shows  that  during  the  first  and  second  months  there  was 
no  appreciable  benefit  from  shelling  corn  or  from  grinding  it.  In  the 
third  month  the  pigs  fed  ground  corn  began  to  make  slightly  larger 
gains,  and  required  a  little  less  feed  for  100  lbs.  gain.  When  the  pigs 
reached  a  weight  of  140  lbs.  the  difference  became  slightly  more  marked. 
During  each  of  the  last  3  months  the  pigs  fed  ground  corn  ate  more 
feed,  made  slightly  more  rapid  gains,  and  required  less  feed  for  100 
lbs.  gain.  For  these  months  the  saving  by  grinding,  however,  was  not 
large,  amounting  to  only  4.1  per  et.  on  the  average  over  ear  corn.  Ear 
corn  gave  better  results  than  shelled  corn. 

The  slightly  more  rapid  and  more  economical  gains  of  the  older  pigs 
on  ground  corn  were  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  as  pigs  mature  and 
fatten  they  masticate  corn  less  thoroly.  This  is  shown  by  digestion  experi- 
ments conducted  by  Ev\'ard  at  the  Iowa  Station^  with  60-lb.  and  200-lb. 
pigs,  the  results  of  which  are  summarized  in  the  table : 

'Information  to  the  authors. 


576 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Percentage  of  dry  matter  digested  with  corn  fed  in  various  forms 

By  60-lb.  pigs    By  200-lb.  pig« 
Per.  ct.  Per  ct. 

Ear  com  (not  including  cob) 88 .8  85 .4 

Dry  sheUed  com 88 .0  86 .5 

Soaked  shelled  corn 87 .2  85 .4 

Dry  ground  com 87 .2  87 .2 

Soaked  ground  com 85 .9  88 .4 

The  young  pigs  digested  corn  when  fed  as  ear  corn  or  dry  shelled 
corn  fully  as  well  as  when  the  dry  ground  corn  was  fed.  With  young 
pigs  soaked  ground  corn  gave  the  poorest  results.  With  the  200-lb. 
pigs,  on  the  other  hand,  grinding  increased  the  percentage  digested. 
Other  trials  at  the  Iowa  Station"  show  that  for  older  pigs  as  large  and 
economical  gains  are  made  when  soaked  shelled  corn  is  fed  as  when 
ground  corn  is  used.  Corn  should  be  soaked  for  about  12  hours  and 
must  not  be  allowed  to  become  stale. 

From  these  trials  we  may  conclude  that  for  young  pigs  there  is  no 
appreciable  advantage  in  shelling,  grinding,  or  soaking  corn.  Pigs  weigh- 
ing 150  lbs.  or  over  may  make  slightly  more  rapid  gains  on  soaked  or 
ground  corn  and  require  somewhat  less  feed  for  100  lbs.  gain.  Whether 
this  saving,  which  will  average  4  to  6  per  ct.,  will  cover  the  cost  of  prep- 
aration must  be  decided  by  the  feeder. 

922.  Cooking  feed. — The  early  agricultural  authorities  uniformly  and 
strongly  advocated  cooking  feed  for  swine.  The  first  definite  results 
in  opposition  came  from  the  Maine  Agricultural  College^^  in  1876,  which 
reported  that  as  the  average  of  9  years  of  continuous  experimentation 
it  had  found  that  89.9  lbs.  of  raw  corn  meal  was  as  valuable  for  putting 
gains  on  fattening  pigs  as  was  100  lbs.  of  corn  meal  that  had  been  cooked. 
In  not  a  single  trial  did  a  given  weight  of  corn  meal  on  being  cooked 
by  steam  prove  as  satisfactory  as  the  same  weight  of  uncooked  meal. 
These  results  were  so  at  variance  with  popular  opinion  that  the  matter 
was  soon  tried  out  at  a  number  of  stations,  some  of  the  findings  of  which 
are  as  follows: 


Results  of 


cooked  and  uncooked  grain  to  fattening  pigs 


No.  of 
trials 

Ivindoffeed 

How  prepared 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Station  reporting 

Cooked 

Uncooked 

Wisconsin* 

Wisconsin* 

Wisconsin* 

Wisconsin* 

Ontario  CoUegef .  .  . 
Kansas  Agr.  CoUeget 
Iowa  Agr.  College  §.. 
lowaAgr.  College!. . 
OttawaO 

4 
2 
2 
3 
2 
1 

1 
1 

Ground  barley 

Ground  corn 

Whole  corn,  shorts. . .  . 

Corn  meal,  shorts 

Peas     

Steamed 
Steamed 
Steamed 
Steamed 
Steamed 
Steamed 
Not  stated 
Not  stated 

Steamed 

Lbs. 
628 

517 
564 
597 
475 
750 
538 
562 

417 

Lbs. 
589 

463 
484 
574 
360 

Whole  corn 

Shelled  com 

Ground  com 

Ground     peas,     bar- 
ley, rye 

630 
443 
445 

425 

■■  4th  An.  Rpt.    t2d  An.  Rpt. 
i"Iowa  Bui.  106. 


JRpt.  1885.     §Coburn,  Swine  in  America.     ||Rpt.  1891. 

"An.  Rpt.  Trustees  Me.  State  Col.  Agr., 


1876. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  SWINE  HUSBANDRY         577 

The  trials  above  reported,  which  are  but  a  fraction  of  all  that  have 
been  made  in  this  country,  show  that  in  most  cases  there  is  an  actual 
loss  of  food  value  by  cooking  the  various  grains  for  fattening  swine. 
Some  few  feeds,  such  as  potatoes,  are  improved  by  cooking,  but  as  a  rule 
there  is  no  gain  and  usually  a  loss  by  such  operation.  (425,  427,  429) 
From  trials  at  the  North  Platte,  Nebraska,  Substation^-  in  which  the 
value  of  stewing  alfalfa  hay  for  pigs  was  tested,  Snyder  concludes  that 
the  farmer  is  not  warranted  in  going  to  much,  if  any,  expense  in  thus 
preparing  the  hay.   (426) 

923.  Wetting  or  soaking  feed. — Ronunel,^^  studying  all  the  trials  at  the 
various  stations  in  which  feed  was  either  wet  or  soaked  with  water  be- 
fore feeding,  found  a  difference  of  only  2  per  ct.  in  favor  of  soaking  or 
wetting.  We  have  seen  in  a  preceding  article  (921)  that  it  may  be  advis- 
able to  soak  shelled  corn  for  large  pigs,  while  this  does  not  noticeably  in- 
crease its  value  for  young  animals.  Any  grain  so  hard  as  to  injure  the 
mouths  of  the  pigs  during  mastication  should  always  be  soaked  if  it  can 
not  be  ground  or  rolled.  This  is  especially  necessary  with  such  small, 
hard  grains  as  wheat  and  rye.  In  a  trial  at  the  Kansas  Station^*  Kinzer 
and  Wheeler  found  no  advantage  from  soaking  alfalfa  meal  and  ground 
corn  for  fattening  pigs.  In  trials  at  the  Indiana  Station^^  Plumb  and 
Van  Norman,  when  feeding  corn  meal  or  hominy  feed  with  shorts  to 
pigs,  found  it  made  no  difference  whether  1  or  3  lbs.  of  water  per  pound 
of  meal  was  used  to  form  the  slop.  Good  and  Smith  of  the  Kentucky 
Station^^  state  that  when  dry  ground  wheat  is  fed  to  pigs  it  often  gums 
up  in  the  mouth,  forming  a  pasty  mass  which  is  difficult  to  masticate 
and  swallow.  Feeding  the  wheat  as  a  thin  slop  largely  overcomes  this 
trouble.  In  severe  winter  weather  slop  should  be  warmed  for  pigs  housed 
in  cold  quarters. 

924.  Light  vs.  heavy  feeding. — In  experiments  at  the  Copenhagen 
(Denmark)  Station^^  with  sixty  35-lb.  pigs,  the  influence  of  intensity 
of  feeding  on  gain  was  especially  studied.  The  following  results  were 
secured  in  trials  lasting  120  and  210  days,  respectively,  the  feeds  used 
being  barley,  buttermilk,  skim  milk,  and  whey : 

Besnlts  from  feeding  heavy  and  light  rations 

^,  .,     ,.  Grain  fed        Av.  gain        Grain  for  100 

Character  of  feeding  daily  per  day  lbs.  gain 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Light 3.61  0.92  391 

Medium 4 .23  1 .07  397 

Heavy 4.51  1.12  404 

These  results  indicate  a  tendency  toward  a  poorer  utilization  of  the 
food  in  the  heavier  feeding,  tho  the  difference  is  slight. 

"Nebr.  Bui.  147. 

"U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  Anim.  Indus.,  Bui.  47. 
^<Kan.  Bui.  192.      "Ind.  Bui.  86.         "Ky.  Bui.  190. 
"Ckipenliagen  (Denmark)  Rpt.  30,  1895. 


578  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

925.  Self  feeders  for  swine. — Evvard  of  the  Iowa  Station'^  has  con- 
ducted numerous  trials  with  self  feeders  for  various  classes  of  swine. 
His  results  show  that  this  method  of  feeding  is  well  adapted  to  the  quick 
fattening  of  well-grown  shotes,  for  fattening  old  sows,  and  for  growing, 
fattening  shotes  where  it  is  desired  to  feed  them  an  unlimited  grain  al- 
lowance. The  self  feeder  should  not  be  used  when  rapid  gains  are  not 
wanted,  for  instance,  where  it  is  desired  to  force  pigs  to  make  the  maxi- 
mum use  of  pasturage  by  limiting  the  grain  allowance.  It  should  not 
be  used  for  pregnant  sows  except  early  in  pregnancy  or  unless  bulky 
feed,  of  which  ground  alfalfa  is  the  best  under  corn-belt  conditions,  is 
mixed  with  the  grain.  By  decreasing  or  increasing  the  proportion  of 
corn  the  gilts  or  sows  may  be  kept  in  the  proper  condition. 

To  compare  the  rate  and  economy  of  gains  when  pigs  were  self-fed 
and  hand-fed,  Evvard  fed  3  lots,  each  of  5  spring  pigs,  from  weaning 
until  they  weighed  250  lbs.  on  the  feeds  shown  in  the  table.  The  pigs 
were  grazed  on  alfalfa  pasture  during  the  summer  and  finished  in  the 
dry  lot. 

Self  feeder  for  pigs  on  alfalfa  pasture 

Time  to  reach       Daily      Concentrates  for 
Average  concentrate  allowance  250  lbs.  gain         100  lbs.  gain* 

Daya  Lba.  Lbs. 

Lot  I 
Ear  corn,  hand-fed,  3  .8  lbs.* 

Meat  meal,  hand-fed  ,  0.28  lb 206  1 .06  385 

Lot  II 
Ear  com,  hand-fed,  3 .6  lbs.* 

Meat  meal,  self-fed  ,  0.39  lb 206  1 .07  373 

Lot  III 

Shelled  com,  self-fed,  4 . 1  lbs. 

Meat  meal,  self-fed  ,  0.33  lb 180  1 .22  364 

*Ear  corn  reduced  to  shelled  corn  basis. 

Lot  III,  getting  shelled  corn  and  meat  meal  in  separate  feeders,  made 
the  largest  gains,  reaching  250  lbs.  in  180  days,  and  also  required  the 
least  concentrates  in  addition  to  pasture  for  100  lbs.  gain.  A  lot  of 
241-lb.  yearling  sows  self-fed  in  a  dry  lot  on  shelled  corn  gained  2.6  lbs. 
per  head  daily,  requiring  417  lbs.  of  corn  for  100  lbs.  of  gain.  Another 
lot  hand-fed  on  shelled  corn  gained  0.3  lb.  less  per  head  daily,  and 
required  436  lbs.  of  corn  for  100  lbs.  of  gain. 

The  large  gains  which  may  be  secured  with  growing  pigs  self-fed  in 
dry  lots  on  corn  and  suitable  supplements  are  shown  in  another  trial 
by  Eward  in  which  3  lots,  each  of  five  45-lb.  pigs,  were  allowed  access 
to  the  following  feeds  in  separate  self  feeders  for  162  days.  A  fourth 
lot  on  alfalfa  pasture  was  supplied  shelled  corn  in  addition  by  means 
of  a  self  feeder  and  finished  in  a  dry  lot  on  shelled  corn  and  meat  meal 
in  self  feeders  for  22  days  after  the  pasture  was  gone.  Salt  was  sup- 
plied each  lot  in  a  self  feeder,  and  in  addition  ground  limestone  and 
charcoal  were  furnished  the  pigs  in  the  dry  lots. 

I'Proc.  Amer.  Soc.  Anim.  Prod.,  1914;  Corn  Belt  Meat  Producers'  Assoc, 
Rpt.  1914. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  SWINE  HUSBANDRY    579 

Value  of  self  feeder  for-  growing,  fattening  pigs 

Concentrates 
Daily     per  100  lbs. 
Average  ration  gain  gain 

Lba.  Lbs. 

Lot  I 

Shelled  corn,  5.4  lbs. 

Oats,  0 .  10  lb.  Meat  meal,  0 .46  lb 1.5  399 

Lot  II 

Shelled  com,  6 .0  lbs.     Linseed  meal,  0 .  10  lb. 

Oats,  0 .08  lb.  Meat  meal,  0 .40  lb 1.6  417 

Lot  III 

Shelled  com,  5.6  lbs. 

Oats,  0 .04  lb.  Linseed  meal,  0 .02  lb. 

Middlings,  0 .22  lb.        Meat  meal,  0 .42  lb 1.5  418 

Lot  IV 

Shelled  com,  5 .9  lbs. 

Alfalfa  pasture  Meat  meal,  0 .07  lb.* 1.5  395 

*Meat  meal  fed  only  while  in  dry  lot. 

All  these  self -fed  pigs  made  exceedingly  large  and  economical  gains. 
The  pigs  in  Lot  II  reached  an  average  weight  of  316  lbs.  at  248  days  of 
age,  one  of  the  pigs  weighing  405  lbs.,  an  unusual  record.  Evvard  states 
that  pigs  allowed  free  access  to  corn  and  supplements,  such  as  tankage, 
linseed  meal,  and  wheat  middlings,  show  a  remarkable  ability  to  balance 
their  own  ration.  At  first  about  75  per  ct.  of  the  entire  ration  was  corn 
and  the  remainder  meat  meal  and  other  supplements.  As  the  pigs  grew 
older  they  widened  the  nutritive  ratio  of  their  ration  till  at  the  close 
about  99  per  ct.  of  the  feed  eaten  was  corn.  All  lots  showed  a  tendency 
to  eat  a  larger  proportion  of  oats  during  the  first  few  weeks  than  later, 
finally  consuming  only  an  insignificant  amount  of  this  bulky  feed  as  they 
became  well  fattened.  Evvard  points  out  that  when  pigs  are  not  sup- 
plied with  all  the  corn  they  will  eat  it  is  inadvisable  to  feed  tankage  in 
a  self  feeder,  for  because  of  hunger  they  will  eat  more  meat  meal  than 
is  needed  to  balance  their  ration, 

926.  Water  required  by  pigs. — Dietrich,^^  who  has  given  the  subject 
much  careful  study,  concludes  that  the  proper  amount  of  water  for  the 
pig  ranges  from  12  lbs.  daily  per  100  lbs.  of  animal  at  the  time  of  wean- 
ing down  to  4  lbs.  per  100  lbs.  during  the  fattening  period.  He  holds  that 
pigs  do  not  usually  drink  enough  water  in  winter,  and  that  they  should 
be  forced  to  take  more  by  giving  it,  warm  if  necessary,  in  their  slop.  He 
states  that  the  total  quantity  of  water  drunk  seems  to  be  of  greater  im- 
portance than  the  manner  in  which  it  is  administered.  On  protein-rich 
feeds  the  pig  needs  more  water  than  when  on  starchy  feeds.  (103) 

927.  Salt  and  correctives  of  mineral  nature. — Tho  pigs  require  less  salt 
than  the  other  farm  animals,  they  should  be  supplied  with  it  regularly. 
In  a  trial  by  Eward  at  the  Iowa  Station^"  pigs  allowed  free  access  to 
salt  made  better  gains  than  those  receiving  no  salt  or  others  getting 
allowances  of  one-sixty-fourth,  one-thirty-second,  or  one-sixteenth  ounce 

"Swine,  p.  156.  =" Information  to  the  authors. 


580 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


per  head  daily.  Salt  may  be  supplied  in  a  trough  or  a  small  self  feeder. 
If  pigs  have  not  had  free  access  to  salt  they  may  at  first  overeat. 

Pigs,  especially  those  kept  in  confinement,  often  show  a  strong  craving 
for  seemingly  unnatural  substances — charcoal,  ashes,  mortar,  soft  coal, 
rotten  wood,  soft  brick,  and  many  others  being  greedily  devoured  when 
offered.  Such  cravings  should  be  satisfied  by  supplying  such  materials 
as  charcoal,  air-slaked  lime  or  ground  limestone,  wood  ashes,  bone  meal 
or  ground  rock  phosphate,  and  copperas,  with  or  without  salt.  A  mix- 
ture of  correctives  may  be  placed  before  the  pigs  or  they  may  be  offered 
in  separate  compartments  of  a  covered  trough  or  of  a  self  feeder. 

928.  Proprietary  stock  foods. — At  the  Ottawa  Experimental  Farms-^ 
Grisdale  fed  groups  of  4  pigs,  ranging  in  weight  from  45  to  75  lbs.  each, 
for  90  days  to  test  the  value  of  certain  proprietary  stock  foods  when 
added  to  a  mixture  of  half  shorts  and  half  mixed  ground  grains — ^peas, 
oats,  and  barley.     The  results  of  the  trial  are  shown  below: 

Value  of  proprietary  stock  foods  in  pork  production 


Meal 

per  head 

daily 

Av. 
daily 
gain 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Cost  of 

Allowance  of  stock  food  or  supplement 

Meal 

Other  feed 

100  lbs. 
gain 

/       Meal  alone                         

Lbs. 
5.2 
4.3 

4.0 
4.9 
3.5 

4.8 

Lbs. 
1.2 
1.0 
0.9 
1.3 
1.2 
1.2 

Lbs. 
438 
432 
437 
393 
295 
421 

Lbs. 

'22 

12 

10 

309 

Pasture 

Dollars 
4.38 

//,    Anglo-Saxon  stock  food,  0 .22  lb 

///,  International  stock  food,  0.12  lb 

IV,  Herbageum,  0 .  13  lb 

6.52 
6.17 
5.15 

V,     Sour  skim  milk,  3  7  lbs 

3.42 

VI,  Clover  and  rape  pasture 

4.21 

Of  those  receiving  stock  food,  only  Lot  IV,  fed  Herbageum,  made 
larger  gains  than  Lot  I,  fed  a  straight  meal  ration.  Valuing  the  mixed 
meal  at  $1,  skim  milk  at  15  cents  per  100  lbs.,  and  the  stock  foods  at 
market  prices,  all  the  lots  receiving  stock  food  made  more  expensive 
gains  than  Lot  I.  Skim  milk  at  15  cents  per  100  lbs.  lowered  the  gain- 
cost  materially,  and  clover  and  rape  pasture  to  a  less  degree.  In  this 
trial  the  stock  food  was  added  to  a  palatable,  well-balanced  ration  of 
mixed  grains. 

In  trials  at  the  Iowa  Station--  with  International,  Iowa,  and  Standard 
stock  foods  Michaels  and  Kennedy  found  that  the  stock  foods  when 
added  to  corn  alone  had  no  beneficial  effect  on  digestion  and  that  a 
bushel  of  corn  produced  as  much  or  more  pork  when  fed  alone  as  when 
stock  foods  were  added  to  it.  (289) 

At  the  Kansas  Station-^  Kinzer  and  Wheeler  fed  International,  Pratt 's, 
and  Hercules  stock  foods  with  corn  to  170-lb.  pigs  in  comparison  with 
others  fed  corn  alone  and  still  others  fed  corn  and  tankage,  or  corn,  tank- 
age, and  wheat  shorts.  The  pigs  fed  corn  and  stock  food  made  but  slightly 
larger  gains  than  those  fed  corn  alone,  while  those  fed  corn  and  tankage, 
or  corn,  tankage,  and  shorts  gained  over  twice  as  much  as  those  fed  corn 

"Ottawa  Expt.  Farms  Rpt.  1904.  "Iowa  Bui.  113.  =»Kan.  Bui.  192. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  SWINE  HUSBANDRY    581 

alone.  The  wise  farmer  will  not  seek  to  use  stock  foods  as  a  supplement 
to  corn,  but  will  employ  such  protein-rich  feeds  as  skim  milk,  tankage, 
wheat  middlings,  and  linseed  meal. 

929.  Winter  vs.  summer  feeding. — The  Copenhagen  (Denmark)  Sta- 
tion-* has  compiled  the  results  of  199  trials  conducted  at  that  station 
with  about  2,500  pigs,  so  as  to  compare  the  relative  economy  of  gains 
by  pigs  in  summer  and  winter.  In  the  following  table,  which  summa- 
rizes the  results  of  these  trials,  all  the  skim  milk,  whey,  roots,  etc.  fed 
have  been  reduced  to  their  grain  equivalent  to  facilitate  comparison : 

Feed  required  to  fatten  Danish  pigs  in  winter  and  in  summer 

Grain  equivalent  eaten  Grain  equivalent  for 
per  day  per  head  100  lbs.  gain 

Weight  Winter  Summer  Winter  Summer 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

35  to    75  lbs.* 2.66  2.65  371  346 

75  to  115  lbs 3.96  3.92  446  397 

115  to  155  lbs 5.26  5.25  516  457 

Average 3 .96  3 .94  444  400 

♦Danish  pound  =  1.1  avoirdupois  lbs. 

It  is  shown  that  winter-fed  pigs  required  444  lbs.  feed  for  100  lbs, 
gain,  or  11  per  ct.  more  than  summer-fed  pigs.  In  Denmark  the  sum- 
mers are  cool,  and  the  winters  more  or  less  damp  but  not  excessively 
cold.  It  is  fair  to  hold  that  in  the  northern  parts  of  America  the  differ- 
ence between  winter  and  summer  feeding  is  somewhat  greater  than  the 
Danish  figures  indicate,  while  over  much  of  our  country  there  is  no  great- 
er difference  and  often  no  difference  at  all. 

930.  Shelter  and  exercise. — Even  in  the  northern  part  of  the  corn  belt 
where  the  winters  are  severe,  inexpensive  shelter  is  all  that  is  necessary 
for  swine.  The  requisites  for  healthful  winter  shelter  are  freedom  from 
dampness,  good  ventilation  without  drafts  on  the  animals,  sunlight,  rea- 
sonable warmth,  and  a  moderate  amount  of  dry  bedding.  The  quarters 
should  be  located  on  well-drained  ground  and  should  be  so  arranged  that 
they  may  be  easily  and  thoroly  cleaned  and  disinfected. 

Swine  may  be  housed  in  a  central  hog  house  with  a  number  of  pens 
or  in  small  movable  ' '  cabins ' '  or  colony  houses.  Many  use  a  combination 
of  the  2  systems,  for  in  the  northern  states  the  central  house  is  well  suited 
for  winter  shelter  and  spring  farrowing,  while  the  portable  houses  are 
particularly  useful  for  housing  pigs  on  pasture.  At  the  Ottawa  Sta- 
tion," where  the  winters  are  severe,  Grisdale  kept  lots,  each  of  4  to  7 
pigs  weighing  about  70  lbs.,  during  60  daj^s  in  winter  in  small  board 
houses,  such  as  were  used  for  summer  shelter.  Other  lots  were  kept  in 
the  well-built  piggery,  which  afforded  much  greater  protection.  The  pigs 
in  the  small  houses  gained  0.68  lb.  per  head  daily,  0.02  lb.  less  than  those 
kept  in  the  piggery,  and  required  44  per  ct.  more  feed  for  100  lbs.  gain. 

"Copenhagen  (Denmark)  Station,  Rpt.  30,  1895. 
==  Ottawa  Expt.  Farms,  Rpt.  1904. 


582  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Brood  sows  in  the  small  houses  required  only  25  per  ct.  more  feed  than 
those  in  the  warmer  quarters,  showing  that  large  animals  can  withstand 
severe  cold  better  than  small  ones.  The  health  of  the  animals  was  good 
under  both  conditions.  Shelton  of  the  Kansas  Agricultural  College^® 
found  that  during  a  winter  in  which  the  temperature  at  8  a.  m.  ranged 
from  31°  F.  to  -12°  F.  large  hogs  in  warm  quarters  required  25  per 
ct.  less  feed  than  those  in  a  yard  protected  only  by  a  high  board  fence 
on  the  north. 

Tho  somewhat  more  feed  is  required  by  pigs  wintered  in  the  small, 
colder  houses,  this  is  more  or  less  offset  by  the  low  cost  of  the  cabins 
and  by  the  ease  with  which  they  may  be  shifted  to  prevent  disease  and  par- 
asites and  to  distribute  the  droppings  of  the  animals.  In  severe  weather 
corn  stalks,  horse  manure,  or  other  litter  may  be  banked  against  the  sides 
of  the  houses.  With  liberal  bedding,  all  but  the  youngest  pigs  should 
then  be  comfortable.  When  litters  come  in  severe  weather  a  lantern 
hung  in  the  cabin  will  furnish  sufficient  warmth. 

For  breeding  stock  and  growing  pigs  ample  exercise  is  of  the  utmost 
importance.  To  enforce  exercise  animals  quartered  in  several  cabins  can 
be  fed  at  a  point,  at  some  distance  from  the  shelters,  where  there  are 
troughs  and  a  feeding  floor.  When  snow  covers  the  ground,  paths  can 
be  broken  out  with  a  snow  plow.  In  winter,  even  where  the  cold  is  severe, 
pigs  housed  in  colony  houses  and  forced  to  take  daily  exercise  thrive 
amazingly.  If  a  permanent  hog  house  is  used  abundant  exercise  should 
be  enforced  at  all  times  with  breeding  and  stock  animals. 

931.  Types  of  swine;  breed  tests. — The  principal  breeds  of  swine  are 
of  2  distinct  types,  the  lard  type,  of  which  the  Poland-China,  Berkshire, 
Chester- White,  and  Duroc-Jersey  are  the  leading  breeds,  and  the  bacon 
type,  represented  by  the  Tamworth  and  Large  Yorkshire  breeds.  The 
Hampshires,  tho  often  classed  as  bacon  hogs,  really  stand  between  the 
extreme  bacon  type  and  the  lard  type.  Lard  hogs,  which  are  the  type 
commonly  raised  in  the  United  States,  have  compact,  wide,  and  deep 
bodies.  Since  the  hams,  back,  and  shoulders  are  the  most  valuable  parts, 
the  packer  desires  a  hog  furnishing  a  maximum  of  these  cuts.  Usually 
being  well-fattened,  lard  hogs  yield  a  high  percentage  of  dressed  car- 
cass. Formerly  heavy  hogs  w^ere  in  largest  demand,  but  now  pigs  weigh- 
ing 250  lbs.  or  less  will  command  the  highest  price,  if  well  finished. 

The  true  bacon  type  is  raised  but  little  in  the  United  States,  the  do- 
mestic demand  for  bacon  being  largely  satisfied  by  the  leaner  pigs  of  the 
lard  type.  The  bacon  pig  is  raised  chiefly  in  Denmark,  Great  Britain, 
and  Canada,  where  corn  is  not  the  main  feed  for  swine.  Pigs  of  the  bacon 
breeds  are  longer  of  body  and  of  leg  than  those  of  the  lard  breeds,  have 
less  thickness  and  depth  of  body,  and  are  lighter  in  the  shoulder,  neck, 
and  jowl.  The  highest  quality  bacon  is  that  made  for  the  English  mar- 
ket under  the  name  of  ' '  Wiltshire  side, ' '  which  consists  of  the  whole  half 
of  the  dressed  pig,  less  the  head,  feet,  shoulder  blade,  neck  bone,  and 

*«Kan.  Agr.  Col.,  Rpt.  Prof.  Agr.,  1883. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  SWINE  HUSBANDRY  583 

aitch  bone.  For  this  purpose  the  pigs  should  weigh  from  160  to  200  lbs. 
and  carry  but  medium  fat,  which  should  be  uniformly  from  1  to  1.5 
inches  in  thickness  along  the  back." 

Breed  tests  have  been  conducted  at  several  stations  to  determine 
whether  there  is  any  difference  in  the  economy  of  meat  production  by 
the  different  breeds.  Of  these  the  most  extensive  were  tests  at  the  On- 
tario Agricultural  College-^  and  the  Iowa  Station,^^  in  which  pigs  of  the 
Berkshire,  Poland-China,  Duroc-Jersey,  Chester- White,  Tamworth,  and 
Yorkshire  breeds  were  compared.  A  study  of  the  results  shows  that  there 
was  no  consistent  and  uniform  difference  in  gains  or  economy  of  pro- 
duction, a  breed  which  ranked  high  in  some  of  the  tests,  being  surpassed 
by  other  breeds  in  the  rest  of  the  trials.  The  bacon  breeds  made  as  eco- 
nomical gains  as  those  of  the  lard  type.  We  may  conclude  that  there  is 
no  best  breed  of  swine  so  far  as  rate  and  economy  of  gains  are  concerned. 
There  are  far  greater  differences  betv*^een  individuals  of  the  same  breed 
than  between  the  different  breeds.  One  should  select  the  breed  which 
seems  best  adapted  to  his  conditions  and  suits  his  fancy,  and  then  be 
sure  to  secure  and  to  maintain  vigorous,  well-bred  animals  of  that  breed. 

932.  Razorbacks. — Carlyle  of  the  Wisconsin  Station''^  procured  razor- 
backs  or  semi-wild  swine,  also  called  feral  swine,  from  Texas  and  Okla- 
homa. In  one  trial  6  unmixed  descendants  from  the  original  pair  of 
razorbacks  were  fed  in  comparison  with  the  same  number  of  pigs  ob- 
tained by  crossing  razorbacks  on  improved  Berkshires  or  Poland-Chinas. 

The  razorbacks  made  slower  gains  and  required  more  feed  for  a  given 
gain  than  did  the  cross-breds.  Carlyle  reports  that  they  were  also  fickle 
in  appetite.  At  one  time  they  would  gorge  themselves,  and  then  eat 
sparingly,  only  to  follow  with  another  gorge.  They  seemed  to  thrive 
best  with  abundant  pasture  and  bulky  food.  The  second  cross  with  the 
improved  breeds  produced  pigs  of  fine  form  that  were  good  feeders. 
None  were  immune  from  hog  cholera,  the  original  pair  dying  of  that 
disease, 

933.  Spayed  and  unspayed  sows. — At  the  Utah  Station^^  Foster  and 
Merrill  secured  a  daily  gain  of  0.82  lb.  with  spayed  sows  and  0.86  lb. 
with  unspayed  sows,  no  difference  in  their  appetites  being  noticed. 

934.  Barrows  vs.  sows. — In  feeding  trials  mostly  by  the  senior  author 
at  the  Wisconsin  Station,^^  the  weights  and  gains  of  98  sows  and  an 
equal  number  of  barrows  were  as  follows : 

Av.  weight  at  beginning  of  feeding  period,  lbs 

Av.  gain  per  animal  during  feeding  period,  lbs 


Sows 

Barrows 

136 

144 

102 

107 

It  is  shown  that  the  barrows,  weighing  somewhat  more  than  the  sows, 
made  slightly  better  gains.    Data  obtained  in  feeding  1,216  pigs  at  the 

"  Day,  Productive  Swine  Husbandry,  pp.  13-14.  »  Wis.  Rpt.  1903. 

^  Ont.  Agr.  Col.,  Rpts.  1896-8.  «  Utah  Bui.  70. 

"Iowa  Bui.  48.  "Wis.  Rpts.  1897-1906. 


584  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Copenhagen  (Denmark)  Station^^  showed  practically  no  difference  be- 
tween barrows  and  sows  as  to  gain,  shrinkage,  or  quality  of  carcass. 

935.  Length  of  intestines. — Darwin^*  states  that  the  nature  of  the 
food  supplied  the  pig  by  man  has  evidently  changed  the  length  of  the 
intestines.  He  quotes  Cuvier  as  reporting  the  total  length  of  the  intes- 
tines of  the  wild  boar  to  be  9  times  the  body  length;  in  the  domestic 
boar  13.5  to  1 ;  in  the  Siam  boai- 16  to  1.  The  senior  author^^  measured 
the  intestines  of  39  fattened  hogs  and  found  that  the  large  intestine  var- 
ied from  13  to  16  ft.,  and  the  small  intestine  from  54  to  60  ft.  in  length. 
The  average  extreme  body  length  of  these  animals  was  3.5  ft.  This  makes 
the  small  intestine  alone  from  15  to  17  times  the  length  of  the  body,  and 
the  large  and  small  intestines  combined  about  21  times  the  body  length. 
From  these  figures  it  appears  that  the  intestines  of  pigs  of  the  improved 
breeds  are  longer  in  proportion  to  the  body  than  those  given  by  Cuvier. 
This  may  indicate  that  the  modern  pig  can  digest  his  food  more  thoroly 
than  his  ancestors,  and  also  that  he  can  eat  a  larger  quantity  of  food  in 
a  given  time.  (35) 

936.  Dressing  percentage. — Coburn^^  gives  the  following  concerning 
the  percentage  of  dressed  carcass  that  pigs  will  yield  on  slaughtering 
after  being  deprived  of  feed  for  12  hours. 

Yield  of  dressed  carcass  hy  pigs  of  various  weights 

Dressed  Dressed 

carcass  carcass 

Per  ct.  Per  ct. 

Live  weight,  100  lbs 72  Live  weight,  250  lbs 77 

Live  weight,  150  lbs 73  Live  weight,  300  lbs 79 

Live  weight,  200  lbs 75  Live  weight,  350-500  lbs 80-87 

It  is  shown  that  the  small,  immature,  unfinished  pig  yields  the  least 
and  the  large,  mature  fat  one  the  greatest  percentage  of  dressed  carcass. 
For  each  100  lbs.  of  live  weight  increase  over  the  first  100  lbs.  the  yield 
is  approximately  4  per  ct.  more  dressed  carcass.  The  pig  leads  all 
4-footed  farm  animals  in  the  percentage  of  available  carcass  it  yields. 

937.  Requirements  for  bacon  production. — Day"  of  the  Ontario  Agri- 
cultural College  states  that  to  produce  a  good  Wiltshire  side  of  bacon 
requires  in  the  pig  ' '  certain  definite  peculiarities  as  to  weight,  condition, 
and  conformation. ' '  The  customers  for  this  class  of  bacon  are  most  fas- 
tidious, and  bacon  M^hich  docs  not  come  up  to  the  standard  in  every  par- 
ticular is  heavily  discounted.  The  fat  should  be  clear  white  in  color,  the 
flesh  firm,  and  there  should  be  a  much  higher  percentage  of  lean  to  fat 
than  in  the  carcass  of  the  lard  hog.  (931) 

According  to  Day,  a  peculiar  feature  of  swine  is  their  tendency  to 
develop  fat.    If  the  very  best  specimens  of  the  bacon  type  are  fed  largely 
"Copenhagen  (Denmark)  Station,  Rpt.  1895. 
®^ Animals  and  Plants  under  Domestication. 
''Wis.  Rpt.  1889. 
** Swine  in  America,  p.  535. 
"Productive  Swine  Husbandry,  p.  13. 


GENERAL  PROBLEMS  IN  SWINE  HUSBANDRY         585 

on  corn,  in  a  couple  of  generations  they  will  show  a  tendency  to  become 
shorter  and  thicker  in  body.  ' '  Even  under  the  most  favorable  conditions 
there  is  a  tendency  for  the  bacon  type  to  change  gradually  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  fat  type,  unless  care  is  exercised  in  selection.  It  is  safe  to 
say,  therefore,  that  it  is  easier  to  increase  the  proportion  of  fat  in  a  hog's 
carcass  than  it  is  to  increase  the  proportion  of  lean,  and  that  the  extent 
to  which  the  lean  may  be  increased  by  the  character  of  the  feed  is  very 
limited  and  is  fixed  by  the  individuality  of  the  animal.  Further,  any 
attempt  to  increase  the  amount  of  lean  thru  feeding  must  be  started 
when  the  pig  is  very  young  in  order  to  be  successful."  (137) 

938.  Soft  pork. — In  bacon  production  a  varying  number  of  carcasses 
are  usually  rejected  by  the  packers  after  slaughter  because  they  are  too 
soft  for  the  requirements  of  the  bacon  market.  Olein,  palmitin,  and 
stearin  are  the  three  principal  fats  in  the  lard  of  the  pig.  Olein  is 
liquid  at  ordinary  temperatures,  while  the  others  are  solid.  Shutt  of  the 
Ottawa  Experimental  Farms^^  concludes  that  soft  pork  is  largely  due 
to  an  undue  proportion  of  olein  in  the  fat  of  the  carcass.  He  finds  that 
the  fat  of  firm  pork  carries  68  per  ct.  olein  or  less,  and  that  of  soft  pork 
75  per  ct.  or  more.  Pigs  fattened  exclusively  on  corn  give  a  lard  carry- 
ing as  much  as  92  per  ct.  of  olein,  while  an  oats-peas-barley  ration  pro- 
duces a  lard  with  only  67  per  ct.  olein. 

From  the  extensive  studies  of  Fjord  and  Friis  of  the  Copenhagen 
(Denmark)  Station,^®  and  those  of  Day,  Grisdale,  and  Shutt  of  the  Can- 
adian Stations,*"  we  learn  that  soft  pork  unsuited  to  the  production  of 
high  quality  bacon  is  due  on  the  part  of  the  animal  to  unthriftiness, 
lack  of  exercise,  immaturity,  and  lack  of  finish,  and  only  in  a  small  way 
to  the  breed.  Imperfect  feeding,  marketing  before  being  finished,  hold- 
ing too  long  after  finishing,  and  undue  forcing — especially  when  im- 
mature— are  other  causes.  In  general,  improper  feeding  stuffs  and  feeds 
improperly  combined  tend  to  produce  low-quality  bacon.  According  to 
Day,*^  exclusive  meal  feeding  is  one  of  the  most  common  causes  of  soft- 
ness, especially  with  pigs  not  given  exercise.  Of  the  grains  in  common 
use,  corn  has  the  greatest  tendency  to  produce  softness.  This  can  be 
modified  by  mixing  it  largely  with  other  meal,  or  by  feeding  skim  milk, 
green  feed,  and  roots,  but  its  tendency  to  produce  softness  is  so  strong 
that  it  is  undesirable  for  bacon  pigs  when  f^ rJ  in  large  amount.  While 
corn  appears  to  give  a  good  quality  of  meat  in  the  case  of  the  lard  hog, 
it  must  be  remembered  that  the  bacon  hog  is  marketed  at  lighter  weights 
and  in  thinner  condition  than  the  lard  hog,  which  may  possibly  explain 
why  corn  is  unsatisfactory  for  feeding  bacon  hogs.  It  is  possible  also 
that  the  difference  in  the  methods  of  curing  the  flesh  may  have  an  in- 
fluence.    Beans  seem  to  have  a  more  marked  effect  than  corn  in  pro- 

»*  Ottawa  Expt.  Farms,  Bui.  38. 

'* Copenhagen  (Denmark)  Rpts.  1884,  et  seq. 

**Rpts.  and  Buls.  Ont.  and  Ottawa  Expt.  Stations,  1890-96. 

"Productive  Swine  Husbandry,  pp.  133-5. 


586  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

ducing  soft  pork  and  should  not  be  used  for  finishing  bacon  hogs.  Soy- 
beans and  peanuts  also  tend  to  produce  a  soft,  oily  pork.  Barley  ranks 
first  for  producing  the  highest  grade  of  bacon,  while  oats  and  peas  fol- 
low. Skim  milk  and  whey  in  combination  with  the  cereal  grains,  in- 
cluding corn,  make  a  solid  flesh  that  is  particularly  desirable.  Rape, 
roots,  and  clover  are  helpful,  but  these  and  other  succulent  feeds  should 
be  judiciously  used.  Pigs  that  have  been  properly  fed  and  have  had  free- 
dom until  they  weigh  100  lbs.,  if  in  thin  condition,  may  be  finished  on 
almost  any  of  the  common  meal  mixtures  and  produce  fine  bacon.  They 
should  be  fed  slightly  less  than  the  full  ration. 

Kennedy  states'*^  that  the  following  rations  are  used  by  the  Danes, 
who  excel  in  the  production  of  bacon:  "Ground  barley,  cooked  pota- 
toes, and  skim  milk ;  shorts  and  skim  milk ;  2  parts  shorts,  2  parts  ground 
barley,  1  part  corn  meal,  and  skim  milk ;  2  parts  ground  barley,  1  part 
wheat  bran,  1  part  ground  rye,  and  skim  milk;  2  parts  ground  barley, 
1  part  ground  oats,  1  part  corn  meal,  and  skim  milk.  Corn  meal  is  fed 
with  care,  especially  during  warm  weather;  when  fed  in  small  quanti- 
ties with  barley,  shorts,  oats,  and  bran,  combined  with  a  liberal  allowance 
of  skim  milk,  there  are  no  bad  results.  Some  good  feeders  use  corn  meal 
to  the  extent  of  one-third  or  one-half  of  the  grain  ration  during  the  first 
3  or  4  months  and  then  omit  it  and  finish  with  oats  or  similar  feed. 
Feeders  are  sometimes  compelled  to  use  corn  on  account  of  the  low  price 
of  bacon.  Ground  rye  to  the  extent  of  about  one-third  of  the  ration 
gives  good  results,  but  rye  shorts  are  not  satisfactory  and  are  only  used 
in  small  quantities.  The  best  feeds  are  ground  barley,  crushed  oats,  and 
wheat  shorts.     Roots  are  fed  during  winter  and  soiling  crops  during 


**U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  Anim.  Indus.,  Bui.  77. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

FEEDS  FOR  SWINE 

L  Carbonaceous  Concentrates 

The  digestive  organs  of  the  pig,  with  their  contents,  comprise  but  7.5 
per  ct.  and  those  of  the  ox  over  14  per  ct.  of  the  total  weight  of  the  body. 
(35)  The  horse,  ox,  and  sheep  are  normally  herbivorous,  living  on  the 
finer  and  more  delicate  portions  of  plants  and  their  seeds,  while  the 
omnivorous  pig  feeds  not  only  on  the  tender  leaves,  stems,  roots,  and  seeds, 
but  on  animal  matter  as  well.  Because  of  the  limited  capacity  of  the 
stomach  and  the  nature  of  its  digestive  apparatus  the  pig  requires  food 
that  is  more  concentrated  and  digestible  and  less  woody  than  that  of  the 
other  large  farm  animals.  Not  only  is  the  pig  an  omnivorous  feeder,  but 
in  nature  it  lives  close  to  the  earth,  gathering  some  of  its  food  from  be- 
neath the  surface  and  swallowing  considerable  earthy  matter  in  doing  so. 
The  intelligent  swine  feeder  bears  all  such  facts  in  mind  in  feeding  his 
herd. 

939.  Indian  corn. — This  imperial  fattening  grain  is  the  common  hog 
feed  in  the  great  pork-producing  districts  of  America.  Corn  is  low  in 
protein  compared  with  its  wealth  of  carbohydrates  and  fat,  and  is  also 
deficient  in  mineral  matter.  (201)  Hence,  even  for  fattening  well-grown 
pigs,  much  larger  and  more  economical  gains  are  secured  when  this  grain 
is  properly  supplemented  by  feeds  rich  in  protein  and  mineral  matter, 
especially  calcium,  or  lime.  This  is  clearly  shown  in  the  following  table, 
which  summarizes  the  results  of  32  trials  at  various  stations,  averaging 
82  days,  in  each  of  which  one  lot  of  pigs  was  fed  corn  alone  and  another 
lot  corn  and  a  protein-rich  concentrate,  such  as  tankage,  wheat  middlings, 
linseed  meal,  pea  meal,  or  soybean  meal. 

Corn  alone  vs.  corn  and  nitrogenous  supplement  for  pigs 


Average  ration 

Lot    I,  total  of  180  pigs 

Corn,  4.8  lbs 

Initial 
weight 
Lbs. 

115 

Daily 
gain 
Lbs. 

0.9 
1.3 

Feed  for  100 

lbs.  gain 

Lbs. 

602 

Lot  II,  total  of  187  jrigs 

Corn,  4 .3  lbs.     Supplement,  1 .4  lbs 

117 

441 

Altho  most  of  these  pigs  were  well  grown  when  placed  on  trial,  aver- 
aging over  100  lbs.  in  weight,  Lot  II,  fed  corn  and  a  nitrogenous  supple- 
ment, made  over  40  per  ct.  larger  gains  and  required  27  per  ct.  less  feed 
for  100  lbs.  gain.  Had  the  pigs  been  younger  at  the  beginning  of  the 
trials  the  results  would  have  been  even  more  striking.    These  trials  show 

587 


588  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

that  no  one  can  afford  to  feed  corn  alone  to  growing,  fattening  pigs.  Corn 
alone  gives  better  results  for  fattening  old  sows,  but  even  here  the  use  of 
a  supplement  is  advisable.  For  brood  sows  it  is  highly  important  that 
feeds  rich  in  protein  and  lime  be  supplied  with  corn.  Many  recommend 
that  not  over  one-third  to  one-half  the  ration  of  the  brood  sow  should 
consist  of  corn,  but  in  the  corn  belt  good  results  have  been  secured  with 
corn  and  only  enough  nitrogenous  supplement  to  balance  the  ration,  pro- 
viding the  allowance  of  corn  w^as  so  restricted  that  the  sows  did  not  be- 
come too  fat.  (1013) 

In  the  corn  belt  most  of  the  corn  is  fed  on  the  cob,  a  commendable 
practice  since  it  involves  the  least  labor  by  the  feeder  and  is  satisfactory 
to  the  animals.  (921)  Where  early  fall  feeding  is  desirable,  corn  in  the 
roasting-ear  stage  may  be  supplied,  stalks  and  all,  but  in  limited  quantity 
at  first,  for  if  much  is  eaten  digestive  derangements  follow.  As  the  kernels 
harden,  the  corn  may  be  more  liberally  supplied.  Pigs  that  have  grazed 
on  clover,  alfalfa,  or  other  pasture  incur  the  least  risk  from  new  corn. 
Coburn^  quotes  Atkinson  as  stating  that  a  given  area  of  standing  corn 
will  go  3  times  as  far  after  it  begins  to  dent  as  it  will  if  fed  off  when  in 
the  roasting-ear  stage.  (23)  The  Virginia  Station^  found  that  pigs  fed 
new  ear  corn  made  as  good  gains  as  others  fed  old  corn. 

940.  Soft  corn. — Coburn^  states  that  soft  corn  is  considered  excellent 
for  swine  and  especially  for  young  pigs,  many  breeders  believing  they  can 
obtain  better  gains  from  soft  than  from  sound,  hard  corn.  As  soft  corn 
contains  less  starch  than  mature  corn,  it  is  advisable  to  feed  some  old  corn 
for  finishing.  Soft  corn  may  be  used  during  cold  weather  without  danger, 
but  should  not  be  carried  over  into  the  warm  season,  as  it  will  ferment 
and  thereby  become  unfit  for  use.  (205) 

941.  Corn  meal;  corn-and-cob  meal. — The  trials  reviewed  in  the  preced- 
ing chapter  (920-1)  show  that  there  is  no  appreciable  advantage  in 
grinding  corn  for  pigs  under  150  lbs.  in  weight,  and  that  for  older  pigs 
the  saving  of  corn  thru  such  preparation  is  but  slight.  The  trials  of 
Kennedy  and  Bobbins  at  the  Iowa  Station*  show  that  the  labor  involved 
in  grinding  ear  corn  to  corn-and-cob  meal  is  more  than  wasted,  the  pigs 
making  larger  and  more  economical  gains  on  the  ear  corn.  This  seems 
reasonable  for  the  pig  has  a  digestive  tract  that  can  at  best  but  poorly 
utilize  a  hard,  fibrous  material  such  as  the  corn  cob,  even  after  it  is 
ground.  Where  the  pig's  food  is  limited  in  quantity  the  cob  particles 
may  be  useful  in  distending  the  digestive  tract.  Even  in  such  cases  the 
feeder  should  supply  woody  matter  of  better  character,  such  as  clover 
and  alfalfa  hay  furnish.  (208,  921) 

942.  Hogging  down  corn. — In  the  corn  belt  many  farmers  turn  pigs 
into  fields  of  standing  corn,  in  which  rape  or  other  supplemental  crops 
have  usually  been  sown,  and  allow  them  to  do  their  own  harvesting.  This 
system,  called  ' '  hogging  down, ' '  was  compared  with  feeding  pigs  ear  corn 

*  Swine  in  America,  p.  287.  'Swine  in  America,  p.  276. 

*Va.  Bui.  167.  *Iowa  Bui.  106. 


FEEDS  FOR  SWINE  589 

in  dry  lots  by  Gaumnitz,  Wilson,  and  Bassett  in  2  trials  at  the  Minnesota 
Station^  and  by  Evvard  in  1  trial  at  the  Iowa  Station,®  with  the  results 
summarized  in  the  table.  In  the  Minnesota  trials  rape  and  in  the  Iowa 
trial  rye  was  sown  in  the  corn  field  at  the  last  cultivation  to  furnish  sup- 
plemental feed.  The  pigs  in  the  Minnesota  trials  were  also  fed  an  allow- 
ance of  shorts  and  in  the  Iowa  trial  an  allowance  of  tankage  in  addition 
to  the  corn. 

Hogging  down  corn  compared  with  feeding  corn  in  yard 


No.  of 
piga  fed 

Av.  length 
of  trial 

Daily 
gain 

Concentrates  for 
100  lbs.  gain* 

Days 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

68 
31 

53 
57 

1.4 
1.1 

488t 
546 

Lot  I,    Hogging  down  com 

Lot  II,  Fed  ear  com  in  yard 31 

*  Corn  reduced  to  basis  of  shelled  corn. 

t  Corn  consumed  by  pigs  hogging  down  crop  estimated. 

The  pigs  hogging  down  the  corn  crop  made  larger  gains  and  required 
over  10  per  ct.  less  concentrates  per  100  lbs.  gain  than  those  fed  ear  corn 
in  the  yard.  Evvard  found  that  of  194  men  in  Iowa  who  had  had  ex- 
perience with  hogging  down  corn  only  1  was  unfavorable  to  the  practice. 
Over  70  per  ct.  sowed  supplemental  crops  in  the  corn  field,  rape  being  by 
far  the  most  popular,  followed  by  rye,  and  by  pumpkins.  In  tests  at  the 
Iowa  Station^  rape  was  grown  in  the  corn  field  at  an  additional  cost  of 
only  $0.40  per  acre,  rape  and  pumpkins  at  $1.00,  rye,  soybeans,  or  cow- 
peas  at  $3.33,  field  peas  at  $3.60,  and  hairy  vetch  at  $6.00  per  acre.  Rape, 
and  rape  and  pumpkins  were  the  most  economical  supplemental  crops. 
Evvard  found  that  nearly  half  of  the  farmers  reporting  fed  some  nitrog- 
enous concentrate,  such  as  skim  milk,  tankage,  wheat  middlings,  or  lin- 
seed meal,  in  addition  to  the  corn.  Such  a  supplement  is  especially  im- 
portant when  no  supplemental  crops  have  been  grown  in  the  corn  field. 
Even  when  supplemental  crops  are  used  it  is  preferable  to  feed  a  small 
allowance  of  nitrogenous  concentrates  in  addition.  Spring  shotes,  well 
growTi  on  pasture  and  forage  crops,  are  generally  used  for  hogging  down. 
Many  turn  in  old  sows  and  little  pigs  after  the  shotes  are  removed  to 
clean  up  what  little  corn  has  been  left — a  good  practice,  for  it  enforces 
an  abundance  of  exercise.  Pigs  hogging  down  corn  pick  it  up  as  closely 
as  is  usually  done  in  husking. 

It  is  best  to  confine  the  pigs  to  limited  areas  of  the  field  by  fencing,  so 
that  they  will  clean  up  the  corn  in  20,  or  better,  14  days.  Older  hogs 
should  be  confined  to  smaller  areas  than  shotes,  for  otherwise  they  will 
knock  down  and  waste  more  corn.  Woven  wire  is  used  for  fencing,  being 
tied  to  corn  stalks  and  further  supported  by  posts  or  stakes  where  neces- 
sary. According  to  the  Minnesota  Station,^  pigs  weighing  125  lbs.  at  the 
beginning  will  clean  up  1  acre  of  corn  in  the  time  shown  in  the  follow- 
ing table : 

"Minn.  Bui.  104.  ^lowa  Bui.  143. 

'Iowa  Bui.  143.  'Minn.  Bui.  104. 


590  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Number  of  days  required  hy  pigs  to  clean  up  1  acre  of  corn 

Yield,  40  bu.     Yield,  50  bu.    Yield,  60  bu.    Yield,  70  bu. 

per  acre  per  acre  per  acre  per  acre 

Days  Days  Days  Days 

When  20  pigs  forage 15  19  23  26 

When  40  pigs  forage 8  9  11  14 

When  60  pigs  forage 5  6  8  9 

When  80  pigs  forage 4  5  6  7 

Field  feeding  of  corn  is  most  successful  when  the  weather  is  dry.  It 
is  not  judicious  to  keep  pigs  in  the  fields  after  heavy  rains,  for  they  then 
waste  corn  and  injure  the  land. 

943.  Hominy  feed. — In  5  trials  at  the  Indiana  Station,  averaging  86 
days,  Skinner  and  King^  compared  the  value  of  hominy  feed  and  corn 
meal  for  fattening  pigs,  when  fed  with  either  wheat  shorts  or  tankage, 
obtaining  the  results  shown  in  the  table : 

Hominy  feed  vs.  corn  for  fattening  pigs 

Initial  Daily  Feed  for 

Feed  given                                                              weight  gain  100  lbs.  gain 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot  I,    Hominy  feed  and  supplement 102  1 .15  427 

Lot  II,  Corn  meal  and  supplement 102  1 .03  495 

The  pigs  fed  hominy  feed  made  slightly  larger  gains  than  those  fed 
corn  meal  and  required  about  14  per  ct.  less  feed  for  100  lbs.  gain. 
Similar  results  were  secured  by  Eastwood  in  2  trials  at  the  Ohio  Sta- 
tion." (213) 

944.  Barley. — In  Europe  barley  is  the  most  esteemed  cereal  for  the 
production  of  high  quality  bacon  and  is  important  in  this  country  as  a 
feed  for  pigs  in  the  western  states.  The  values  of  barley  and  corn  when 
fed  with  wheat  middlings  have  been  compared  at  3  stations  in  6  trials 
averaging  49  days,  with  the  results  summarized  in  the  table : 

Barley  vs.  corn  for  fattening  pigs 

Initial  Daily  Feed  for 

Average  ration                                                weight  gain  100  lbs.  gain 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 
Lot  7,    total  of  32  pigs  * 

Ground  barley,  3  .4  lbs.      Middlings,  2 .8  lbs 108  1 .26  499 

Lot  II,  total  of  82  pigs  * 

Ground  corn,  3  .4  lbs.         Middlings,  2 .7  lbs 104  1 .34  452 

♦Average  of  2  trials  by  Burnett  (S.  D.  Bui.  63),  1  by  Richards  and  Shepperd  (N.  D.  Bui.  84),  and 
3  by  Smith  (Minn.  Bui.  22). 

The  pigs  fed  barley  and  middlings  made  slightly  smaller  gains  than 
those  fed  corn  and  middlings,  and  required  10  per  ct.  more  feed  for  100 
lbs.  gain.  (226)  As  barley  is  carbonaceous  in  character  and  is  also  not 
especially  palatable  to  pigs,  it  should  never  be  fed  alone,  but  with  palat- 
able protein-rich  feeds.  Barley  kernels,  being  small  and  hard,  should 
always  be  ground,  or  better,  rolled  before  feeding.   (920) 

945.  Wheat. — Commonly  wheat  of  good  quality  is  too  high  in  price 
to  feed  to  stock,  but  in  some  seasons,  as  in  1913,  when  unusually  low  in 

»Ind.  Bui.  158.  "Ohio  Bui.  268. 


FEEDS  FOR  SWINE  591 

price,  it  may  be  fed  with  economy  in  place  of  corn.  In  the  following 
table  are  summarized  the  results  of  3  trials,  averaging  110  days,  with  a 
total  of  46  pigs,  in  which  ground  wheat  and  ground  corn  were  compared 
when  fed  with  tankage,  and  of  8  trials,  averaging  99  days,  with  a  total  of 
76  pigs,  in  which  either  ground  wheat  or  ground  corn  was  fed  alone  to 
fattening  pigs: 

Wheat  vs.  corn  for  fattening  pigs 

Initial  Daily  Feed  for 

Average  ration                                               weight  gain  100  lbs.  gain 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 
Wheat  vs.  corn,  fed  with  tankage  * 

Lot  I,    Ground  wheat,  6 .2  lbs.     Tankage,  0 .64  lb 104  1 .54  440 

Lot  II,  Ground  corn,  5 .6  lbs.        Tankage,  0 .58  lb ...  .       98  1 .37  454 
Wheat  vs.  corn,  fed  alone  f 

Lot  I,    Ground  wheat,  6.3  lbs 143  1.35  472 

Lot//,  Ground  corn,  6.1  lbs 140  1.23  510 

*  Av.  of  1  trial  by  Eastwood  (Ohio  Bui.  268)  and  2  by  Weaver  (Mo.  Bui.  136). 

t  Av.  of  1  trial  by  Chilcott  (S.  D.  Bui.  38),  1  by  Georgeson,  Otis,  and  Burtis  (Kan.  Bui.  53),  1  by 
Good  (Ky.  Bui.  175),  2  bv  Weaver  (Mo.  Bui.  136),  1  at  the  Ohio  Station  (Rpt.  Kansas  Bd.  Agr.  1894),  and 
2  by  the  senior  author  (Wis.  Rpts.  1894,  1895). 

Both  when  fed  with  tankage  and  when  fed  alone,  good  quality  wheat 
produced  slightly  larger  gains  than  did  corn.  The  pigs  fed  wheat  and 
tankage  required  3  per  ct.  and  those  fed  wheat  alone  7  per  ct.  less  feed 
per  100  lbs.  gain  than  the  corn-fed  pigs.  In  trials  at  the  Missouri  Sta- 
tion,^^  Weaver  found  no  appreciable  advantage  from  mixing  wheat  and 
corn,  either  when  these  grains  were  fed  alone  or  when  fed  with  tankage. 
As  wheat,  like  corn,  is  low  in  protein,  it  should  always  be  fed  with  some 
nitrogenous  supplement.  (215) 

Wheat  should  be  ground,  or  preferably  rolled,  for  swine.  At  the  Ore- 
gon Station^-  Withycombe  found  that  grinding  wheat  to  a  meal  saved 
16  per  ct.,  and  crushing  or  rolling  22  per  ct.,  over  the  whole  grain. 
Bliss  and  Lee  at  the  Nebraska  Station^^  found  soaked  ground  wheat  worth 
13  to  25  per  ct.  more  than  soaked  whole  wheat.  At  the  North  Platte, 
Nebraska,  Substation,^*  Snyder  found  that  compared  with  whole  wheat  fed 
dry  the  value  was  increased  1  per  ct.  by  soaking,  16  per  ct.  by  grinding, 
and  19  per  ct.  by  both  grinding  and  soaking.  As  it  tends  to  form  a  sticky 
mass  in  the  pig 's  mouth  it  may  be  advisable  to  feed  ground  wheat  in  the 
form  of  a  thin  slop.  (923)  Grisdale  of  the  Ottawa  Experimental  Farms^° 
found  that  from  360  lbs.  to  400  lbs.  of  frozen  wheat  were  required  to 
produce  100  lbs.  of  gain  with  fattening  pigs — a  most  favorable  showing 
for  such  grain.  At  the  Ontario  Agricultural  College,  Day^**  found  frozen 
wheat  fully  equal  to  good  quality  barley  when  fed  with  wheat  middlings. 

946.  Oats. — At  the  Wisconsin  Station^^  the  senior  author  fed  whole  and 
ground  oats  with  corn  meal  to  115-lb.  pigs  for  60  days  with  the  following 
results : 

"Mo.  Bui.  136.  "Ottawa  Expt.  Farms,  Rpt.  1908. 

'=Ore.  Bui.  80.  "Ontario  Agr.  Col.,  Rpt.  1908. 

"Nebr.  Bui.  144.  "Wis.  Rpt.  1889. 
"Nebr.  Buls.  144,  147. 


592  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Feed  ration  gain         100  lbs.  gain 

Lb 


Whole  oats  compared  with  ground  oats 

Average      Daily  Feed  for 

ration  gain         100  lbs. 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot  I,      %  whole  oats,  H  corn  meal 3.8  0 .68  564 

Lot  II,    H  whole  oats,  ^^  corn  meal 4.0  0.82  492 

Lot  III,  Yz  ground  oats,  ^  corn  meal 4 .4  1 .03  429 

Lot  IV,  }4  ground  oats,  %  corn  meal 5.1  1 .27  402 

The  pigs  getting  whole  oats  ate  less  feed  and  gave  poorer  returns  than 
those  fed  ground  oats.  The  best  returns  were  with  a  ration  of  one-third 
ground  oats  and  two-thirds  ground  corn.  Owing  to  their  bulkiness,  oats 
should  not  be  fed  as  the  sole  grain  to  fattening  pigs.  From  trials  at  the 
Ohio  Station^^  Eastwood  concludes  that,  while  oats  may  be  used  satis- 
factorily during  the  first  part  of  the  fattening  period  when  low  in  price, 
the  proportion  of  oats  in  the  ration  should  gradually  be  decreased  and 
they  should  be  omitted  entirely  during  the  last  4  or  5  weeks. 

Grisdale  of  the  Ottawa  Experimental  Farms^^  found  that  pigs  fed 
soaked  shelled  corn  and  skim  milk  made  49  per  ct.  greater  gains  than 
those  fed  soaked  whole  oats  and  skim  milk — a  good  example  of  the  great 
waste  which  follows  the  wrong  combination  of  feeding  stuffs.  Oats  and 
corn,  or  skim  milk  and  corn,  are  proper  combinations,  while  oats  and  skim 
milk  are  not.  Again,  oats  must  be  ground  if  they  are  to  be  fed  in  quantity 
to  swine,  especially  when  the  pigs  are  young.  For  pigs  while  still  quite 
small  there  is  nothing  more  helpful  than  ground  oats  with  the  hulls  sieved 
out.  For  breeding  stock  and  for  shotes  not  being  fattened,  there  is  no 
more  useful  feed  than  whole  oats,  fed  by  scattering  thinly  on  the  ground 
or  on  a  feeding  floor.  (223) 

947.  Emmer. — In  a  trial  at  the  Nebraska  Station-^  lasting  94  days,  Bur- 
nett and  Snyder  compared  emmer  meal  with  corn  and  barley  meal  as  a 
feed  for  fattening  pigs.  In  a  second  trial  lasting  42  days,  an  allowance 
of  half  emmer  and  half  corn  meal  was  fed  against  one  of  corn  meal  only. 
In  both  trials  alfalfa  hay  was  fed  to  the  pigs  in  addition  to  the  meal : 

Emmer  meal  compared  with  corn  and  harley  meal  for  pigs 

Av.  wt.  at  Av.  daily  Grain  for 

Daily  grain  allowance                                         beginning  gain  100  lbs.  gain 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 
First  trial 

Lot      I,  Corn  meal,  4 .8  lbs 82  1 .02  470 

Lot    II,  Barley  meal,  4 .8  lbs 80  0 .81  590 

Lot  III,  Emmer  meal,  4 .8  lbs 81  0 .77  618 

Second  trial 

Lot    I,  Com  meal,  7 .2  lbs 160  1 .53  470 

Lot  II,  Corn  meal  and  emmer,  6 .6  lbs 146  1 .35  482 

In  the  first  trial  it  required  148  lbs.,  or  31  per  ct.,  more  emmer  meal 
than  corn  meal,  and  5  per  ct.  more  emmer  meal  than  barley  meal,  to 
produce  100  lbs.  of  gain.  In  the  second  trial  emmer  meal  combined  with 
corn  meal  proved  nearly  equal  to  corn  meal  alone.  For  swine  emmer 
should  always  be  ground  and  fed  with  other  feeds.  (233) 

"Ohio  Bui.  268.  "Ottawa  Expt.  Farms,  Bui.  51.  =»Nebr.  Bui.  99. 


FEEDS  FOR  SWINE  593 

948.  Rye. — Extensive  trials  by  the  Copenhagen  (Denmark)  Station^^ 
showed  that  rye  meal  ranks  a  little  below  corn  meal  and  about  equal  to 
barley  meal  as  a  feed  for  swine.  The  pork  from  rye-fed  pigs  was  satis- 
factory, especially  when  the  ground  rye  was  fed  with  other  grains,  milk, 
or  whey.  Rye  shorts  and  middlings  had  a  lower  feeding  value  than  rye 
meal  and  produced  a  poorer  quality  of  pork.  In  1  trial  pigs  fed  rye  meal 
became  sick. 

Snyder  found  at  the  North  Platte,  Nebraska,  Substation^-  that  8.6  per 
ct.  more  soaked  whole  rye  than  soaked  whole  wheat  was  required  for  100 
lbs.  gain.  (232)  Coburn-^  recommends  feeding  ground  rye  as  a  thin  slop, 
since  dry  rye  meal  forms  a  sticky  paste  in  the  pig's  throat  on  which  he 
is  liable  to  choke.  (920,  923)  Rye  may  be  hogged  down  when  mature 
by  pigs ;  but  there  is  more  waste  than  in  hogging  down  corn. 

949.  The  grain  sorghums. — Thruout  the  western  plains  states  the  seed 
of  the  grain  sorghums  is  becoming  of  great  importance  for  pork  produc- 
tion. (235-40)  These  grains  are  similar  in  composition  to  corn,  and  hence 
should  not  be  fed  alone,  but  always  with  other  feeds  rich  in  protein,  such 
as  skim  milk,  tankage,  wheat  middlings,  linseed  meal,  or  alfalfa  hay. 
As  the  seeds  are  small  and  hard  the  grain  should  be  ground.  Where  this 
is  not  possible,  it  is  best  to  feed  the  sorghum  on  the  head  rather  than  the 
threshed  grain.  This  is  showii  in  a  trial  by  Cochel  at  the  Kansas  Station^* 
in  which  lots,  each  of  ten  140-lb.  pigs,  were  fed  the  allowances  of  kafir 
shown  in  the  table  with  2.3  lbs.  of  wheat  shorts  and  0.4  lb.  tankage  per 
head  daily  for  74  days.    In  addition  all  lots  had  access  to  alfalfa  hay. 

Preparation  of  kafir  for  pigs 

Concentrates  Feed  cost 

Daily  for  100  lbs.  of  100  lbs. 

Average  allowance  of  kafir                                        gain  gain  gain 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Dollars 

Lot      I,  Ground  kafir,  4 .9  lbs 1 .40  534  6 .29 

Lot    II,  Whole  kafir,  5 .6  lbs 1 .15  718  7 .94 

Loi///,  Kafir  heads,  6.2  lbs 1.28  690  6.13 

Lot  I,  fed  ground  kafir,  made  considerably  larger  gains  than  Lot  II, 
fed  whole  kafir.  Tho  the  gains  of  Lot  III,  fed  kafir  in  the  heads,  were 
slightly  smaller  than  of  Lot  I,  with  head  kafir  at  $14,  whole  kafir  at  $20, 
and  ground  kafir  at  $22  per  ton,  they  made  the  cheapest  gains.  (920) 

950.  Kafir,  mile,  and  sorgho  vs.  corn. — To  determine  the  relative  value 
of  kafir,  milo,  and  sorgho,  compared  with  corn.  Waters,  Kinzer,  Wright, 
and  King-^  fed  10  lots  of  ten  125-lb.  pigs,  which  had  been  grown  during 
the  summer  on  alfalfa  pasture  and  a  limited  amount  of  grain,  and  carried 
thru  the  fall  on  alfalfa  hay  with  a  little  grain,  the  following  rations  at 
the  Kansas  Station : 

"Copenhagen  (Denmark)  Rpts.  1887,  1890. 

==Nebr.  Bui.  147. 

'^  Swine  in  America,  p.  347. 

"Kansas  Industrialist,  May  1,  1915. 

'^Kan.  Bul.  192. 


594  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Kafir,  milo,  and  sorgho  vs.  corn  for  vigs 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 
Initial        Daily      Concen- 
Average  ration  weight        gain         tratea       Hay 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.         Lbs. 

With  alfalfa  hay,  fed  80  days 
Loll 

Ground  corn,  6 .6  lbs.        Alfalfa  hay,  0 .6  lb ...   124         1.5        432        39 
Lot  II 

Ground  mUo,  6 .2  lbs.        Alfali'a  hay,  0 .9  lb.. ..   125         1.2        510        74 
Lot  III 

Ground  kafir,  7 .3  lbs.        Alfalfa  hay,  0 .9  lb ...   124         1.3        520        67 
Lot  IV 

Ground  sorgho,  5  .7  lbs.     Alfalfa  hay,  0 .9  lb ...   126        0.9        650       103 
With  shorts  and  tankage,  fed  60  days 
Lot  V 

Ground  corn,  4.6  lbs. 

Shorts,  2 .2  lbs.  Tankage,  0 .6  lb 125        2.0        370 

Lot  VI 

Ground  milo,  4.2  lbs. 

Shorts,  2 .0  lbs.  Tankage,  0 .5  lb ....   124        1.7        390 

Lot  VII 

Ground  kafir,  4 . 6  lbs. 

Shorts,  2 .2  lbs.  Tankage,  0 .6  lb 125         1.8        390 

Lot  VIII 

Ground  sorgho,  4.6  lbs. 

Shorts,  2 .2  lbs.  Tankage,  0 .6  lb 125         1.7         440 

In  both  trials  corn  produced  slightly  the  largest  gains  and  with  less 
feed  for  100  lbs.  of  gain.  The  difference  between  corn  and  kafir  or  milo 
was  more  marked  when  fed  with  alfalfa  hay.  When  sorgho  was  fed  con- 
siderably more  feed  was  required  for  100  lbs.  gain  than  with  kafir  or 
milo.  On  account  of  its  lack  of  palatability  sorgho  grain  is  not  particu- 
larly desirable  as  a  hog  feed.  (241) 

951.  Grain  sorghums  compared. — At  the  Kansas  Station-®  Cochel  fed  5 
lots,  each  of  ten  140-lb.  pigs,  the  allowances  of  grain  shown  in  the  table 
for  74  days  to  compare  the  value  of  kafir,  milo,  feterita,  kaoliang,  and 
com.  In  addition  the  pigs  in  each  lot  were  fed  2.3  lbs.  of  wheat  shorts 
and  0.4  lb.  of  tankage  per  head  daily  and  had  access  to  alfalfa  hay. 

Grain  sorghums  compared  with  corn  for  fattening  pigs 

Daily  Concentrates  for 

Average  allowance  of  grain                                                  gain  100  lbs.  gain 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot  I,      Ground  kafir,  4 .9  lbs 1 .40  534 

Lot  II,    Ground  milo,  4 .9  lbs 1 .43  523 

Lot  III,  Ground  feterita,  4 .9  lbs 1 .36  549 

Lot  IV,  Ground  kaoliang,  4 .9  lbs 1 .31  572 

Lot  V,     Ground  com,  4 .9  lbs 1 .46  514 

Both  kafir  and  milo  produced  practically  as  large  gains  as  corn,  and 
with  kafir  only  4  per  ct.  and  with  milo  but  2  per  ct.  more  concentrates 
were  required  for  100  lbs.  gain  than  w4th  corn.  Feterita  and  kaoliang 
were  slightly  lower  in  value  than  kafir  and  milo,  tho  producing  satis- 
factory gains.    In  a  trial  by  "Wilson  at  the  South  Dakota  Station,^^  when 

««Kansas  Industrialist,  May  1,  1915.         =^8.  D.  Bui.  157. 


FEEDS  FOR  SWINE  595 

fed  with  alfalfa  hay  27  per  ct.  more  kaoliang  was  required  for  100  lbs. 
gain  than  corn.  From  these  and  other  trials  we  may  conclude  that  when 
ground  and  fed  with  feeds  rich  in  protein,  the  value  of  milo  or  kafir 
is  but  2  to  8  per  ct.  below  that  of  corn,  while  the  other  grain  sorghums 
are  somewhat  less  valuable  than  kafir  or  milo. 

952.  Millet.— Wilson  and  Skinner  of  the  South  Dakota  Station^*  fed 
hog,  or  broom-corn,  millet  meal  against  barley  and  wheat  meal  to  lots 
of  2  pigs  each  for  84  days  with  the  results  shown  in  the  table : 

Millet  meal  compared  with  wheat  and  barley  meal 

Daily  gain  per  head      Feed  for  100 
Av.  wt.  at     1st  period,     2d  period,      lbs.  gain, 
Average  ration  beginning       56  days         28  days      both  periods 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot  I,      Millet  meal,  6 .8  lbs 116  1 .32  0 .76  595 

Lot  II,    Barley  meal,  6 .2  lbs 125  1 .34  1 .07  495 

Lot  III,  Wheat  meal,  8 .2  lbs 168  1 .75  1 .51  487 

For  the  first  8  weeks  the  pigs  fed  millet  meal  gave  substantially  as 
good  returns  as  those  fed  barley  meal,  but  during  the  next  4  weeks  they 
made  poorer  gains.  Combining  both  periods,  it  required  about  20  per 
ct.  more  millet  than  barley  to  produce  a  given  gain.  Millet  meal  should 
never  be  fed  alone,  but  always  in  combination  with  some  other  grain,  such 
as  corn  or  barley,  or,  better,  with  some  protein-rich  concentrate,  such 
as  soybeans,  linseed  meal,  heavy  wheat  middlings,  alfalfa  hay,  etc.  It 
is  not  so  useful  for  fattening  hogs  in  cold  weather  as  wheat  or  barley, 
and  produces  a  softer  pork  than  those  grains.  (243) 

953.  Buckwheat. — In  a  77-day  trial  by  Robertson  at  the  Ottawa  Sta- 
tion,^**  in  which  100-lb.  pigs  were  fed  either  ground  buckwheat  or  ground 
wheat  soaked  30  hours  before  feeding,  the  pigs  fed  buckwheat  gained  1.2 
lbs.  per  head  daily,  compared  with  0.8  lb.  for  those  fed  wheat.  However, 
for  100  lbs.  gain  the  pigs  required  over  8  per  ct.  more  buckwheat  than 
corn.  In  another  trial  R.  Robertson  of  the  Nappan,  Nova  Scotia,  Ex- 
perimental Farm^**  found  that  buckwheat,  fed  with  skim  milk  to  85-lb. 
pigs,  was  a  little  lower  in  feeding  value  than  the  same  weight  of  wheat 
middlings.  Grisdale  of  the  Ottawa  Station^^  states  that  buckwheat  pro- 
duces a  poor  quality  of  bacon.  (244) 

954.  Pigeon-grass  seed. — Western  grain  elevators  screen  great  quan- 
tities of  pigeon-grass  seed  from  wheat.  At  the  Wisconsin  Station^-  the 
senior  author  tested  its  value  as  a  food  for  swine.  Since  the  pigs  refused 
to  eat  any  large  quantity  of  the  raw  pigeon-grass  seed  meal,  it  was  cooked, 
after  which  treatment  it  was  readily  consumed.  A  ration  containing 
2  parts  cooked  pigeon-grass  seed  meal  and  1  part  corn  meal  was  found 
to  be  fully  equal  to  one  of  corn  meal  for  fattening  pigs.  A  lot  fed  1 
part  raw  pigeon-grass  seed  meal  and  2  parts  corn  meal  gave  poorer 

"S.  D.  Bui.  83.  «•  Ottawa  Expt.  Farms,  Bui.  51. 

^Ottawa  Expt.  Farms,  Rpt.  1894.  ''Wis.  Rpt.  1894. 

»» Ottawa  Expt.  Farms,  Rpt.  1901. 


596  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

returns,  tho  still  justifying  the  use  of  this  weed  seed  when  it  can  be 
had  at  low  cost  or  would  othenvise  be  wasted.  To  be  satisfactory  for 
pigs,  pigeon-grass  seed  should  be  both  ground  and  cooked. 

955.  Lamb's  quarter  or  pig  weed. — Lamb's  quarter,  Chenopodium  al- 
hum,  is  a  common  weed  in  the  wheat  fields  of  Manitoba  and  the  North 
West.  In  a  trial  at  the  Manitoba  Experimental  Farms^^  100  lbs.  of 
lamb's  quarter  seed  screened  from  wheat  was  found  to  be  equal  to  60 
lbs.  of  mixed  grain  when  constituting  one-fifth  of  the  ration  for  pigs. 

956.  Garbage. — Garbage,  or  household  waste,  may  be  fed  to  swine,  but 
care  must  be  taken  that  dishwater  containing  lye  or  washing  soda,  broken 
dishes,  etc.,  which  are  apt  to  cause  death,  be  kept  apart  from  the  ma- 
terials having  food  value.^*  As  there  is  likewise  danger  of  poisons  result- 
ing from  the  decay  of  the  garbage,  the  material  should  be  thoroly  cooked 
in  all  doubtful  cases. 

Minkler^^  reports  that  in  New  Jersey,  especially  in  the  vicinity  of  Se- 
caucus,  thousands  of  pigs  are  fattened  on  garbage  collected  from  New 
York  and  other  cities.  In  some  instances  the  garbage  is  fed  without 
sorting  or  any  treatment  except  partial  drying.  At  other  plants  the 
grease  is  extracted  and  skimmed  off  in  rendering  vats,  and  the  residue 
carefully  sorted.  In  some  cases  it  is  run  thru  steam  digesters,  concen- 
trated, and  put  on  the  market  as  garbage  tankage,  which  is  used  chiefly 
as  a  fertilizer.  In  other  cases,  the  residue  remaining  after  the  grease 
is  removed  is  thinned  with  water,  elevated  to  storage  tanks,  and  from 
thence  carried  by  troughs  to  feeding  pens.  Here  pigs  are  fed  garbage, 
swill,  and  stale  bread  as  the  sole  ration.  Large  gains  are  not  secured, 
but  all  the  income  from  the  pigs  is  often  profit,  the  grease  paying  for 
the  expense  of  collecting  and  treating  the  garbage  and  for  all  labor. 

In  a  trial  with  200-lb.  pigs,  Minkler  secured  satisfactory  gains  with 
such  mixtures  as  corn  meal  4  parts,  molasses  2  parts,  and  garbage  tank- 
age 9  parts;  corn  meal  4  parts,  skim  milk  18  parts,  and  garbage  tank- 
age 9  parts;  and  corn  meal  4  parts,  molasses  2  parts,  skim  milk  18  parts, 
and  garbage  tankage  9  parts.  The  garbage  tankage  was  of  about  the 
same  consistency  as  molasses.  At  first  the  pigs  refused  any  feed  con- 
taining the  garbage  tankage,  but  were  gradually  accustomed  to  it.  The 
flesh  of  the  pigs  fed  garbage  tankage  was  firm  and  of  good  color. 


II.  Nitrogenous  Concentrates 

957.  Dairy  by-products. — Skim  milk  and  buttermilk  are  ideal  feeds  for 
swine,  especially  brood  sows  and  growing  pigs.  Rich  in  digestible  pro- 
tein and  carrying  much  mineral  matter,  they  should  never  be  fed  alone 
but  always  in  combination  with  such  starchy  feeds  as  corn,  barley,  wheat, 
kafir,  milo,  emmer,  and  millet.  This  combination  stands  unexcelled  for 
producing  economical  growth  and  for  fattening.  Indeed,  where  skim 
milk  or  buttermilk  is  used  as  a  supplement  to  corn  or  other  cereals, 

*»Ottawa  Expt.  Farms,  Rpt.  1902.     "N.  Y.  (Cornell)  Bui.  141.    '^N.  J.  Cir.  40. 


FEEDS  FOR  SWINE  597 

the  gains  will  usually  be  slightly  larger  than  with  any  other  supplement. 
(118)  For  example,  Skinner  and  CoeheP'^  obtained  the  following  results 
in  a  60-day  trial  with  114-lb.  pigs  in  which  skim  milk,  tankage,  wheat 
middlings,  linseed  meal,  and  soybean  meal  were  fed  as  supplements  to 
corn  meal,  about  the  same  amount  of  protein  being  fed  each  lot : 

Skim  milk  compared  with  other  nitrogenous  supplements  for  pigs 

Daily  Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Average  ration                                        gain  Com  Supplement 

Lbs,  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot  I,      Skim  milk,  9 .0  lbs.             Corn,  6  .0  lbs 2 .02  297  445 

Lot  II,    Tankage,  0 .44  lb.               Corn,  6  .6  lbs 1 .83  359  24 

Lo<///,  Middlings,  3.6  lbs.             Corn,  3.6  lbs 1.97  181  180 

Lot  IV,  Linseed  meal,  0 .73  lb.       Corn,  5  .8  lbs 1 .75  333  42 

Lot  V,     Soybean  meal,  0 .84  lb.      Com,  5  .8  lbs 1 .82  321  46 

Large  and  economical  gains  were  made  by  all  lots,  but  skim  milk 
slightly  excelled  the  other  supplements.  Dairy  by-products  are  so  use- 
ful for  pigs  that  the  breeder  of  pure-bred  swine  should  in  many  cases 
keep  a  dairy  in  order  to  have  the  by-products  for  the  sows  and  their 
young.  (266-8) 

It  has  been  emphasized  before  that  skim  milk,  buttermilk,  or  whey 
should  always  be  pasteurized  at  the  creamery  or  cheese  factory  before 
being  returned  to  the  farm,  in  order  to  prevent  the  spread  of  tuber- 
culosis and  other  diseases.  Swine  are  especially  susceptible  to  tuber- 
culosis and  may  contract  the  disease  not  only  from  infected  milk,  but, 
as  Kennedy  and  Dinsmore  found  at  the  Iowa  Station,^^  by  following 
tuberculous  cattle  to  work  over  the  droppings.  (269) 

958.  Skim  milk. — That  skim  milk  should  not  be  fed  alone  is  shown  in 
an  86-day  trial  by  Beach  and  Garrigus  at  the  Connecticut  (Storrs)  Sta- 
tion.^^  Pigs  averaging  25  lbs.  in  weight,  fed  skim  milk  alone,  gained  only 
0.72  lb.  per  head  daily  and  required  2,739  lbs.  of  milk  for  100  lbs.  of 
gain.  Others  which  were  fed  3.2  lbs.  of  grain  and  12.9  lbs.  of  skim  milk 
per  head  daily  gained  1.38  lbs.  and  required  only  233  lbs.  grain  and 
935  lbs.  skim  milk  for  100  lbs.  gain. 

The  value  of  skim  milk  when  fed  with  corn  or  the  other  cereals  has 
been  determined  at  several  stations.  The  following  table  summarizes 
the  results  secured  in  some  of  these  trials: 

Grain  value  of  skim  milk  for  pigs 

Milk  required 

to  equal  100 

lbs.  of  grain 

Lbs. 

Fjord,  Copenhagen  (Denmark)  Station,  Rpt.  1887 600 

Grisdale,  Ottawa  (Canada)  Expt.  Farms,  Bui.  33 604 

Linfield,  Utah  Bui.  94 495 

Soule  and  Fain,  Tenn.,  Bui.  Vol.  XVI,  No.  3 476 

The  senior  author,  Wis.  Rpt.  1895 475 

"Ind.  Bui.  137.  «nowa  Bui.  107.  "^Conn.  (Storrs)  Bui.  39. 


598  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

It  is  shown  that  when  properly  combined  with  concentrates,  from  475 
to  600  lbs.  of  separator  skim  milk  has  a  feeding  value  equal  to  100  lbs. 
of  corn  or  other  grain. 

Clinton  of  the  New  York  (Cornell)  Station'®  recommends  that,  in 
starting  pigs  on  a  ration  containing  a  large  quantity  of  skim  milk,  care 
be  exercised  lest  at  first  the  pigs  be  overfed. 

Cooke  of  the  Vermont  Station'''^  found  that  pigs  fed  sour  skim  milk 
were  more  thrifty  than  those  getting  sweet  skim  milk.  According  to  Day*^ 
sweet  milk  is  better  for  very  young  pigs.  (266) 

959.  Proper  proportion  of  skim  milk  to  grain. — To  determine  the  proper 
proportion  of  skim  milk  to  feed  with  meal  to  pigs,  the  senior  author  con- 
ducted 19  feeding  trials  at  the  Wisconsin  Station*^  in  which  a  total  of 
88  pigs,  usually  weighing  100  lbs.  or  over,  were  fed  varying  amounts  of 
skim  milk  with  corn  meal.  In  the  following  table  the  results  are  arranged 
in  groups  according  to  the  amount  of  skim  milk  fed  per  pound  of  corn 
meal.  The  last  column  shows  the  amount  of  skim  milk  required  to  save 
100  lbs.  of  corn  meal,  assuming  that  500  lbs.  of  corn  meal  fed  alone  would 
have  produced  100  lbs.  of  gain. 

SJdjfi  milk  and  corn  meal  required  for  100  lbs.  of  gain  by  pigs 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain  Milk  to  replace 

Proportion  of  milk  to  corn  meal                                              Corn  Milk  100  lbs.  corn 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

1  lb.  com  meal  with  1  to  3  lbs.  milk 321               585  327 

1  lb.  com  meal  with  3  to  5  lbs.  milk 265  1,048  446 

1  lb.  com  meal  with  5  to  7  lbs.  milk 250  1,434  574 

lib.  com  meal  with  7  to  9  lbs.  milk 207  1,616  552 

The  table  brings  out  plainly  the  important  fact  that  skim  milk  has 
the  highest  value  when  not  over  3  lbs.  of  milk  are  fed  with  each  pound, 
of  corn  meal  to  pigs  weighing  100  lbs.  or  over.  The  nutritive  ratio  of  a 
ration  of  1  part  corn  and  3  parts  skim  milk  is  1 : 5.2,  which  is  slightly 
too  wide  for  pigs  just  after  weaning.  For  pigs  of  this  age  4  or  6  parts 
of  skim  milk  to  1  part  of  corn  should  be  ample.  Larger  allowances  of 
skim  milk  may  be  fed  than  here  stated  with  entirely  satisfactory  gains 
when  a  surplus  is  at  hand,  but  the  milk  will  not  then  have  as  high  a 
value  as  when  only  sufficient  is  given  to  balance  the  ration  properly. 

960.  Money  value  of  skim  milk. — The  feeder  desirous  of  knowing  the 
money  value  of  skim  milk  compared  with  corn  at  varying  prices  will  gain 
help  from  the  following  table,  derived  from  the  previous  study : 

Money  value  of  100  lbs.  of  skim  milk 

When  1  lb.  of  corn  meal  is  fed 

With  1  to  3  With  7  to  9  Average 

lbs.  of  milk  lbs.  of  milk  of  all  trials 

Cents  Cents  Cents 

Com  at  $16  per  ton  or  44  .8  cents  per  bushel 24  15  17 

Com  at  $18  per  ton  or  50  .4  cents  per  bushel 28  16  19 

Corn  at  $20  per  ton  or  56  .0  cents  per  bushel 31  18  21 

Corn  at  $30  per  ton  or  84  .0  cents  per  bushel 46  27  32 

*°N.  Y.  (Cornell)  Bui.  199.  "Productive  Swine  Husbandry,  p.  210. 

"Vt.  Rot.  1891.  ^'Wis.  Rpt.  1895. 


FEEDS  FOR  SWINE  599 

The  table  shows  that  when  corn  is  worth  $16  per  ton,  or  44.8  cents  per 
bu.  of  56  lbs.,  separator  skim  milk  has  a  value  of  24  cents  per  100  lbs., 
provided  not  over  3  lbs.  of  skim  milk  is  fed  with  each  pound  of  corn. 
Should  the  feeder  give  as  much  as  7  to  9  lbs.  of  skim  milk  with  each 
pound  of  corn,  then  the  milk  is  worth  but  15  cents  per  100  lbs. 

The  above  measures  in  a  general  way  the  value  of  skim  milk  when 
combined  with  corn  for  fattening  pigs.  Those  familiar  with  this  feed- 
ing stuff  and  its  worth  for  bone  and  muscle  building  know  that  in  many 
cases,  especially  for  young  pigs  and  brood  sows,  its  value  is  much  higher 
than  stated. 

A  rule  by  Hoard  for  finding  the  money  value  of  skim  milk  when  fed 
to  fattening  pigs  is  in  substance : 

To  find  the  value  of  100  lbs.  of  skim  milk  when  fed  alone,  multiply  the  market 
price  of  Uve  hogs  in  cents  per  pound  by  5 ;  if  fed  in  combination  with  corn  or 
barley,  multiply  by  6. 

According  to  this  rule,  when  live  hogs  are  worth  5  cents  per  pound,  each 
100  lbs.  of  milk  is  worth  25  cents  when  fed  alone,  and  30  cents  when  fed 
with  corn  or  barley  meal. 

The  Gurler  rule  proposed  many  years  ago  is : 

The  value  of  100  lbs.  of  skim  milk  when  fed  along  with  corn  to  fattening  hogs 
is  half  the  market  price  of  corn  per  bushel. 

By  this  rule,  when  corn  is  worth  50  cents  per  bushel,  skim  milk  is 
worth  25  cents  per  100  lbs.  for  fattening  hogs,  if  combined  with  corn  or 
some  other  suitable  grain. 

961.  Whole  milk. — On  account  of  the  high  value  of  butter  fat  for 
human  food  it  is  not  profitable  to  feed  whole  milk  to  pigs.  Scheven*^^ 
found  that  when  whole  cow's  milk  was  fed  to  12-weeks-old  pigs,  from 
900  to  1,620  lbs.  was  required  to  produce  100  lbs.  of  gain,  the  average 
being  1,253  lbs.  Linfield  concludes  from  a  trial  at  the  Utah  Station** 
that  whole  milk  is  worth  only  about  twice  as  much  as  skim  milk  for  pigs. 
This  shows  that  ordinarily  one  cannot  afford  to  feed  whole  cow's  milk 
to  pigs.  (265)  Beach  of  the  Connecticut  (Storrs)  Station*^  has  shown 
that  cow's  milk  rich  in  fat  is  far  from  satisfactory  as  a  feed  for  young 
pigs.  (117) 

962.  Buttermilk. — The  value  of  buttermilk  and  skim  milk  has  been 
compared  by  Goessmann  in  a  125-day  trial  at  the  Massachusetts  Station*" 
and  by  Wilson  in  two  62-day  trials  at  the  South  Dakota  Station*^  with 
the  results  shown  in  the  table : 

Buttermilk  vs.  skim  milk  for  pigs 

Initial        Daily  Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Average  ration  weight         gain  Corn  Milk 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot  I,    Buttermilk,  17.  libs.     Corn,  4.1  lbs.  .  .     77         1.67  249  1,026 

Lot  II,  Skim  milk,  17 .2  lbs.      Com,  4 .0  lbs .  .  .     77         1 .67  246  1,036 

^Martiny,  Die  Milch.  **Conn.  (Storrs)  Bui.  31.  "S.  D.  Bui.  136. 

"Utah  Bui.  94.  "Mass.  Rpt.  1884. 


600  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

The  pigs  in  Lot  I,  fed  buttermilk  and  corn,  made  just  as  large  and 
economical  gains  as  those  in  Lot  II,  fed  skim  milk  and  corn.  These  trials 
support  the  general  experience  that  where  no  water  has  been  added 
buttermilk  is  fully  equal  to  skim  milk  for  pig  feeding.  (267) 

963.  Whey. — In  pig-feeding  trials  by  Day  at  the  Ontario  Agricul- 
tural College*^  and  by  the  senior  author  at  the  Wisconsin  Station*®  whey 
fed  in  combination  with  meal  of  the  mixed  grains  gave  the  following 
returns : 

481  lbs.  of  mixed  grain  when  fed  alone  produced  100  lbs.  of  gain. 
303  lbs.  of  mixed  grain  with  1,398  lbs.  of  whey  produced  100  lbs.  gain. 

Since  1,398  lbs.  of  whey  saved  178  lbs.  of  grain,  785  lbs.  of  whey  was 
equal  to  100  lbs.  of  grain.  The  whey  used  in  the  Wisconsin  trials  was 
richer  in  fat  than  the  average.  Fjord  of  the  Copenhagen  (Denmark) 
Station^"  estimates  that  for  swine  feeding  in  Denmark,  where  the  whey 
is  poorer  than  with  us,  1,200  lbs.  is  equal  to  100  lbs.  of  mixed  grain. 
From  the  above  we  may  conclude  that,  when  properly  combined  with 
corn  and  barley  meal,  1,000  lbs.  of  ordinary  whey  is  worth  100  lbs.  of 
corn  meal  for  fattening  swine.  Accordingly,  whey  is  worth  about  half 
as  much  as  skim  milk  for  pig  feeding. 

Day,^^  after  studying  the  relative  merits  of  sweet  and  sour  whey  and 
taking  into  consideration  the  health  of  the  animals,  their  gains,  and  the 
quality  of  their  flesh,  states  that  the  first  slight  fermentation  which 
whey  undergoes  does  not  seriously  detract  from  its  value  for  pig  feed- 
ing. Day^-  further  found  that  ordinary  whey  was  worth  from  25  to 
30  per  ct.  more  than  separated  whey.  (268) 

964.  Tankage;  meat  meal. — The  value  of  tankage  or  meat  meal  as  a 
supplement  to  corn  or  other  carbonaceous  concentrates  has  been  demon- 
strated in  trials  at  many  stations  and  by  experience  on  many  farms. 
Rich  in  protein  which  is  well-balanced  in  composition  (118)  and  like- 
wise high  in  calcium  and  phosphorus,  tankage  is  excelled  only  by  skim 
milk  or  buttermilk  in  producing  thrifty  gi'owth  and  large  gains.  Since 
tankage  or  meat  meal  for  stock  feeding  is  thoroly  cooked  under  pressure 
at  a  high  temperature,  there  is  no  danger  from  spreading  disease  by  its 
use.  (270)  To  illustrate  the  value  of  tankage  as  shown  in  the  trials  at 
the  various  stations  there  are  given  in  the  following  table  the  results  of 
2  trials  of  127  and  100  days,  respectively,  in  which  various  proportions 
of  tankage  were  fed  as  supplements  to  corn,  and  1  trial  of  56  days  in 
which  different  amounts  of  tankage  were  used  as  supplements  to  corn  for 
pigs  running  on  alfalfa  pasture : 

"Ontario  Agr.  Col.,  Rpt.  1896.  "Ontario  Agr.  Col.,  Rpt.  1897. 

"Wis.  Rpt.  1891.  ''-Ontario  Agr.  Col.,  Rpt.  1909. 

■^Copenhagen  (Denmark)  Station,  Rpt.  1887. 


FEEDS  FOR  SWINE  601 

Tankage  or  meat  meal  as  supplement  to  corn 

Supple-  Feed  for 

ment  Initial  Daily  100  lbs. 

Average  ration                                                               fed  weight  gain  gain 

Per  ct.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 
Indiana  Station,  12  pigs,  fed  127  days  * 

Lot  I,      Corn  meal,  3 .5  lbs 0  64  0.7  520 

Lot  II,    Tankage,  0 .4  lb.     Corn  meal,  3 .9  lbs 9  66  1.2  370 

Lot  III,  Tankage,  0 .7  lb.     Corn  meal,  3  .9  lbs 17  65  1 .2  378 

Iowa  Station,  48  pigs,  fed  100  days  f 

Lot  I,      Corn  meal,  6 .5  lbs 0  135  1.2  557 

Lot  II,    Meat  meal,  0  .8  lb.     Corn  meal,  7 .6  lbs. .  .       9  137  1.9  451 

Lot  III,  Meat  meal,  0 .9  lb.     Corn  meal,  7  .3  lbs. .  .     11  140  1.7  457 

Lot  IV,  Meat  meal,  1 .0  lb.     Corn  meal,  6 .7  lbs. . .     13  136  1 .8  436 
Nebraska  Station,  30  pigs,  fed  56  days  f 

Lot  I,      Soaked  corn,  5.2  lbs 0  145  1.3  416 

Lot  II,    Tankage,  0.3  lb.     Soaked  com,  5.3  lbs.  .  .       5  144  1.5  371 

Lot  III,  Tankage,  0 .6  lb.     Soaked  corn,  5  .0  lbs. .  .     10  144  1.5  366 

•Plumb  and  VanNorman  (Ind.  Bui.  90).  fKennedy  and  Robbing  (Iowa  BuL  91). 

JBurnett  (Nebr.  Bui.  94). 

In  the  Indiana  trial  the  ration  containing  9  per  et.  tankage  produced 
slightly  more  economical  gains  than  the  one  containing  17  per  ct.  In 
this  trial  100  lbs.  of  tankage,  when  forming  9  per  ct.  of  the  ration, 
replaced  555  lbs.  of  corn.  In  the  Iowa  trial,  with  older  pigs,  the  ration 
containing  9  per  ct.  meat  meal  produced  the  largest  gains,  100  lbs.  of 
the  meat  meal  replacing  359  lbs.  of  corn.  In  the  Nebraska  trial,  with 
pigs  on  alfalfa  pasture,  5  per  ct.  of  tankage  produced  as  large  gains  as 
10  per  ct.,  due  to  the  fact  that  the  protein-rich  alfalfa  largely  balanced 
the  corn  allowance.  From  these  and  other  trials  we  may  conclude  that 
when  high  grade  tankage,  carrying  55  per  ct.  of  protein  or  over,  is  fed  as 
the  sole  supplement  to  corn  to  pigs  over  100  lbs.  in  weight,  not  over  9 
to  10  per  ct.  is  needed  to  balance  the  ration.  With  mature  pigs  the 
proportion  of  tankage  may  be  reduced  even  lower.  With  young  pigs 
soon  after  weaning  it  is  advisable  to  feed  as  high  as  20  per  ct.  of  tank- 
age, or  better,  feed  9  to  10  per  ct.  of  tankage  and  add  suflficient  lin- 
seed meal,  wheat  middlings,  etc.,  to  provide  the  proper  amount  of  pro- 
tein for  animals  of  this  age.  (Appendix  Table  V)  Where  a  lower  grade 
of  tankage  is  fed  the  amount  supplied  should  be  correspondingly  in- 
creased. For  pigs  fed  corn  on  such  protein-rich  pasture  as  alfalfa, 
clover,  soybean,  cowpea,  or  rape,  5  per  ct.  of  high  grade  tankage  is 
usually  sufficient  to  balance  the  ration.  (985) 

965.  Tankage  as  sole  supplement  vs.  tankage  and  shorts. — To  determine 
the  effectiveness  of  tankage  as  the  sole  supplement  to  corn,  compared 
with  both  tankage  and  wheat  shorts.  Waters,  Kinzer,  Wheeler,  Wright, 
and  King^^  conducted  4  trials,  averaging  62  days,  at  the  Kansas  Station 
with  a  total  of  sixty-three  145-lb.  pigs,  obtaining  the  results  shown  in 
the  table : 

»^Kan.  Bui.  192. 


602  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Tankage  alone  vs.  tankage  and  sJiorts  as  supplements  to  corn 

Average  ration 


Daily 

Feed  for 

Feed  cost  of 

gain 

100  lbs.  gain 

100  lbs.  gain* 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Dollars 

1.44 

485 

5.20 

Lot  I,    Tankage,  0 .70  lb.     Com,  6 .3  lbs .  .  . 
Lot  II,  Tankage,  0.52  1b. 

Shorts,  2.03  lbs.       Corn,  4.9  lbs 1.60  460  5.11 

*Corn  at  $19,  shorts  at  $24,  and  tankage  at  $41  to  $45  per  ton. 

In  each  of  the  3  trials  Lot  II,  fed  both  tankage  and  shorts  to  supple- 
ment the  corn,  made  slightly  the  most  rapid  gains,  and,  with  feeds  at 
the  prices  stated,  the  cheapest  gains  in  all  but  1  of  the  trials.  It  seems 
probable  that  these  results  are  due  to  the  greater  variety  of  proteins 
furnished  when  both  tankage  and  shorts  are  fed  as  supplements  to  corn. 

966.  Tankage  vs.  linseed  meal. — At  the  Indiana  Station^*  Skinner  and 
Cochel,  in  3  trials  averaging  57  days,  compared  tankage  and  linseed  meal 
as  supplements  to  corn  meal  with  a  total  of  43  pigs,  averaging  164  lbs. 
in  weight.  Since  tankage  contains  almost  twice  as  much  digestible  crude 
protein  as  linseed  meal,  only  half  as  much  of  the  former  w^as  fed. 

Tankage  compared  with  linseed  meal  as  supplements  to  corn 

Daily  Total  Feed  for  100 

Average  ration                                                          gain  gain  lbs.  gain 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot  I,    Com,  6 .0  lbs.     Tankage,  0 .3  lb 1.6                94  381 

Lot  II,  Com,  5 .5  lbs.    Linseed  meal,  0 .6  lb 1.5                89  394 

The  table  shows  that  when  fed  with  corn  0.3  lb.  tankage  produced 
slightly  larger  and  more  economical  gains  for  feed  consumed  than  twice 
as  much  linseed  meal. 

967.  Tankage  for  pigs  following  corn-fed  steers. — At  the  Ohio  Sta- 
tion^^  Carmichael  placed  one  108-lb.  pig  wdth  each  2  steers  fattening 
on  a  ration  composed  mostly  of  corn.  The  corn  voided  by  the  steers 
was  ample  for  the  pigs,  not  all  being  consumed.  Half  of  the  pigs  were 
each  given  one-third  of  a  pound  of  tankage  daily.  The  pigs  on  drop- 
pings alone  gained  1  lb.  each  daily,  and  those  getting  tankage  in  addition, 
1.5  lbs.  For  each  100  lbs.  of  tankage  fed,  the  pigs  made  162  lbs.  of 
extra  gain. 

968.  Blood  meal  vs.  skim  milk. — In  experiments  at  the  Virginia  Sta- 
tion^*^  Quick  and  Spencer  found  blood  meal  and  skim  milk  about  equal 
in  value  as  supplements  to  corn,  when  fed  on  the  basis  of  equal  pounds 
of  protein.  Blood  meal  at  $3  per  100  lbs.  was  as  valuable  as  skim  milk 
at  25  cents  per  100  lbs.  It  was  found  necessary  to  mix  blood  meal  with 
about  its  own  weight  of  wheat  middlings  for  the  pigs  to  relish  it.  Day" 
states  that  since  blood  meal  is  a  highly  concentrated  feed  it  must  be 
fed  in  small  amount  and  with  care  to  avoid  injurious  results.  (271) 

969.  Wheat  middlings,  or  shorts. — ^Wheat  middlings,  or  shorts,  are  one 
of  the  most  popular  nitrogenous  supplements  for  pigs.  They  are  rich 
in  protein  and  phosphorus,  but  are  relatively  low  in  calcium.     Hence 

«*Ind.  Bui.  126.     ^=01ilo  Cir.  73.    °»Va.  Bui.  176.    "Ontario  Agr.  Col.,  Rpt.  1905. 


FEEDS  FOR  SWINE  603 

when  middlings  are  used  as  the  sole  supplement  to  corn  for  pigs  in  dry 
lots,  it  is  important  to  supply  additional  calcium  in  the  form  of  ground 
limestone,  slaked  lime,  etc.  (927)  That  it  is  not  economical  to  feed  mid- 
dlings alone  to  swine  is  shown  in  a  trial  by  the  senior  author^^  with 
3  lots,  each  of  3  pigs,  fed  the  following  rations  for  6  weeks : 

Wheat  middlings  alone  vs.  middlings  and  corn 

Daily  Total  Feed  for 

Average  ration                                                 gain  gain  100  lbs.  gain 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot  I,      Corn  meal,  4 .4  lbs 0.8  35  537 

Lot  II,    Wheat  middlings,  4 .0  lbs 0.8  32  522 

Lot  III,  Corn  meal  and  middlings,  3  .8  lbs 0.9  36  439 

While  the  pigs  fed  either  corn  meal  or  wheat  middlings  alone  required 
over  500  lbs.  of  feed  for  100  lbs.  of  gain,  those  in  Lot  III,  fed  equal  parts 
of  middlings  and  corn,  consumed  only  439  lbs.  of  feed  per  100  lbs.  of 
gain.  As  has  been  pointed  out  (965),  when  both  middlings  and  tank- 
age are  fed  as  supplements  to  corn,  larger  gains  are  generally  secured 
than  with  either  middlings  or  tankage  as  the  sole  supplement.  In  a  trial 
by  Carroll  at  the  Utah  Station^^  with  2  lots,  each  of  6  pigs  fed  84  days, 
adding  1  part  of  tankage  to  the  already  fairly  well-balanced  mixture 
of  6  parts  wheat  shorts  and  5  parts  barley  did  not  increase  the  gains 
sufficiently  to  prove  profitable.  Middlings  are  often  useful  for  mixing 
with  other  feeds  as  they  make  a  fine  textured,  palatable  slop.  (220) 

970.  Wheat  shorts  vs.  tankage. — To  compare  the  value  of  wheat  shorts 
and  high-grade  tankage  as  supplements  to  corn,  Erf  and  Wheeler  fed  2 
lots,  each  of  ten  128-lb.  pigs,  the  following  rations  for  45  days  at  the 
Kansas  Station  :^^ 

Wheat  shorts  vs.  tankage  as  supplements  to  corn 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 
Daily  Supple-       Feed  cost  of 

Average  ration  gain  Corn        ment         100  lbs.  gain 

Lbs.  Lbs.         Lbs.  Dollars 

Lot  I,    Shorts,  2.40  lbs.        Corn  meal,  4.79  lbs.     1.5  319        160  4.95 

Loi  77,  Tankage,  1.16  lbs.     Corn  meal,  5.82  lbs.     1.6  364         73  4.92 

While  the  pigs  fed  tankage  made  slightly  the  larger  gains,  the  feed 
cost  of  100  lbs.  gain  was  about  the  same  for  both  the  lots,  with  corn  at 
$19,  shorts  at  $24,  and  tankage  at  $40  per  ton. 

971.  Red  dog  flour. — At  the  Virginia  Station*^^  54-lb.  pigs  were  fed 
soaked  red  dog  flour  and  corn  meal,  equal  parts,  for  58  days.  They 
gained  1.3  lbs.  daily,  requiring  but  390  lbs.  of  the  mixture  for  100  lbs. 
of  gain,  while  on  the  same  feed  given  dry  490  lbs.  were  required.  The 
high  value  of  red  dog  flour  when  properly  fed  is  here  shown.  This  feed 
serves  its  highest  purpose  with  quite  young  pigs,  which  need  a  highly 
digestible,  palatable  feed,  containing  little  fiber.   (219) 

'''Wis.  Rpt.  1885.  ^'Kan.  Bui.  192. 

"Information  to  the  authors.  »Va.  Bui.  167. 


604  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

972.  Wheat  bran;  wheat  mixed  feed. — Bran  is  too  bulky  a  feed  to  be 
fed  in  any  large  amount  to  fattening  pigs,  for  which  middlings  or  shorts 
are  far  preferable.  Where  clover  or  alfalfa  hay,  roots,  or  other  cheaper 
bulky  feeds  are  not  available,  a  limited  amount  of  wheat  bran  is  help- 
ful in  adding  nutriment  and  volume  to  the  otherwise  meager  ration 
usually  given  brood  sows  and  shotes  not  being  fed  for  gain.  At  the 
Maine  Station*'-  Jordan  found  wheat  middlings  twice  as  valuable  as 
wheat  bran  for  fattening  pigs,  and  at  the  Copenhagen  (Denmark)  Sta- 
tion**^  bran  gave  unsatisfactory  results  when  fed  alone  to  pigs.   (218) 

At  the  Kentucky  Station*'*  Good  obtained  satisfactory  results  with  a 
good  grade  of  wheat  mixed  feed  (shipstuff)  which  contained  all  the  mid- 
dlings, when  fed  with  an  equal  weight  of  corn  meal  to  fattening  pigs. 
(221) 

973.  Linseed  meal. — The  value  of  this  feed  compared  with  tankage  as 
a  supplement  to  carbonaceous  feeds  has  already  been  discussed.  (966) 
The  value  of  linseed  meal  compared  with  other  protein-rich  concen- 
trates is  further  shown  in  a  trial  by  Forbes  at  the  Missouri  Station*^ 
in  which  6  lots,  each  of  5  pigs  averaging  93  lbs.,  were  fed  for  90  days 
on  corn  meal  supplemented  with  the  feeds  shown  in  the  table : 

Linseed  meal  compared  with  other  nitrogenous  concentrates 

Average         Daily        Feed  for  _ 
Supplement  fed  with  each  100  lbs.  of  corn  ration  gain       100  lbs.  gain 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot     I,  Linseed  meal,  20  lbs 6.4  1.4  445 

Lot    //,  Wheat  middlings,  100  lbs 5.2  1.0  502 

Lot  III,  Wheat  middlings,  50  lbs 5 .0  1 .0  518 

Lot  IV,  Linseed  meal,  10  lbs.     Germ  oil  meal,  10  lbs.  ...  5.5  1 .2  476 

Lot    V,  Linseed  meal,  10  lbs.     Gluten  meal,  10  lbs 5.6  1.2  483 

Lot  VI,  Linseed  meal,  10  lbs.     Gluten  feed,  10  lbs 5  .9  1 .3  452 

Lot  I,  fed  linseed  meal  as  the  sole  supplement  to  corn  meal,  made  the 
largest  and  most  economical  gains.  The  lots  fed  middlings  and  corn 
required  from  13  to  16  per  ct.  more  concentrates  for  100  lbs.  gain  than 
those  fed  linseed  meal  and  corn.  When  germ  oil  meal,  gluten  meal,  or 
gluten  feed  was  substituted  for  half  the  linseed  meal,  the  rate  of  gain 
was  lowered  and  the  amount  of  grain  required  for  100  lbs.  gain  in- 
creased. Gluten  feed  proved  slightly  more  valuable  than  gluten  meal 
or  germ  oil  meal.  Forbes  writes  that  the  pork  from  pigs  fed  linseed 
meal  was  characterized  by  hard,  white  fat.  As  large  an  allowance  of 
linseed  meal  as  is  necessary  to  balance  a  ration  of  corn  or  other  cereals 
is  often  rather  unpalatable  to  pigs.  Hence  many  feeders  prefer  to  feed 
less  linseed  meal  and  a  small  allowance  of  other  supplements,  such  as 
skim  milk,  tankage,  or  middlings.  A  small  allowance  of  linseed  meal  is 
often  highly  beneficial,  especially  with  brood  sows  before  farrowing,  on 
account  of  its  slightly  laxative  effect.  Because  of  its  mucilaginous  nature 
linseed  meal  makes  a  slop  of  uniform,  creamy  consistency.  (254) 

"Me.  Rpt.  1889.  "*Ky.  Bui.  175. 

"Copenhagen  (Denmark)  Station,  Rpt.  1892.  "Mo.  Bui.  67. 


FEEDS  FOR  SWINE  605 

974.  Cottonseed  meal. — As  now  prepared,  cottonseed  meal  is  poisonous 

to  swine.  All  the  various  proposed  ways  for  safely  feeding  this  meal 
have  failed  under  careful  and  continued  tests.  Pigs  thrive  at  first  on 
the  meal,  but  usually  in  from  4  to  6  weeks  some  die — not  all,  as  a  rule, — 
but  so  many  that  all  possible  profits  from  the  use  of  this  feed  are  lost. 
A  few  feeders  continue  to  use  the  meal,  experience  enabling  them  to  avoid 
most  of  the  losses.  If  cottonseed  meal  is  not  fed  continuously  for  over 
40  days  and  does  not  form  over  one-fourth  of  the  ration,  and  if  the  pigs 
are  freely  supplied  with  green  forage  or  grazed  on  pasture,  the  risk 
from  this  feed  is  slight.  It  is  considered  safe  to  have  pigs  follow  steers 
which  are  being  fed  cottonseed  meal,  for  the  meal  does  not  seem  to  be 
poisonous  after  passing  thru  the  cattle.  Care  should  always  be  taken 
that  the  steers  do  not  throw  so  much  meal  out  of  the  feed  boxes  that  the 
pigs  may  be  poisoned  by  eating  such  waste  meal.  (249) 

975.  Field  peas. — These  leguminous  seeds,  rich  in  protein,  are  well 
suited  to  supplement  corn  and  the  other  carbonaceous  grains.  "While 
trials®^  have  shown  that  peas  alone  produce  fair  gains,  larger  and  much 
cheaper  gains  are  secured  when  only  sufficient  of  this  rich  feed  is  used 
to  balance  the  ration  properly.  According  to  Grisdale,®^  pigs  fed  solely 
on  pea  meal  in  dry  lots  do  not  thrive. 

CottrelP^  reports  that  in  the  San  Luis  valley,  Colorado,  field  peas  are 
grown  on  irrigated  land  and  the  vines  allowed  to  mature  and  cure  on 
the  ground.  Pigs  are  then  turned  into  the  fields  to  fatten  on  the  peas 
alone,  an  acre  of  good  peas  producing  about  400  lbs.  of  gain.  Sometimes 
the  unthreshed  vines,  after  being  stacked,  are  fed  to  pigs  in  yards,  an 
acre  of  good  peas  producing  from  600  to  800  lbs.  of  gain.  Pork  from 
pigs  so  fattened  is  firm,  sweet,  and  tender,  with  a  delicious  flavor.  Cot- 
trell  recommends  feeding  barley,  wheat,  potatoes,  or  roots  once  a  day 
to  pigs  foraging  on  peas.  (261) 

976.  Cull  beans. — Cull  table  beans  are  satisfactory  for  swine  when 
thoroly  cooked  and  fed  with  carbonaceous  feeds.  At  the  Michigan  Sta- 
tion^'' in  3  trials  of  from  56  to  70  days  with  26  pigs,  averaging  160  lbs., 
Shaw  and  Anderson  found  that  pigs  fed  equal  parts  of  cooked  cull  beans 
and  corn  meal  made  average  gains  of  1.5  lbs.  per  head  daily,  requiring 
406  lbs.  of  feed  for  100  lbs.  of  gain.  Pigs  fed  beans  alone  made  daily 
gains  of  only  1.1  lbs.  and  required  421  lbs.  of  beans  for  100  lbs.  gain. 
Salt  should  always  be  added  to  the  water  in  which  the  beans  are  cooked. 
When  beans  are  fed  alone  or  in  excess  they  produce  a  soft  pork  lacking 
in  quality.  (263) 

977.  Soybeans. — Soybeans,  rich  in  protein,  are  a  valuable  supplement 
for  corn  or  other  grains.  In  the  following  table  are  summarized  the 
results  of  5  trials,  averaging  70  days,  in  which  soybeans  have  been  com- 
pared with  tankage  as  a  supplement  to  corn. 

•"Wis.  Rpt.  1902;  S.  D.  Bui.  38.  •'Colo.  Bui.  146. 

•^Ottawa  Expt.  Farms,  Bui.  51.  «»Mich.  Bui.  243. 


606 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Soybeans  vs.  tankage  as  supplements  to  corn 

Initial  Daily  Feed  for 

Average  ration                                                               weight  gain  100  lbs.  gain 

Lb3.  Lbs.  Lbs. 
Lot  I,    total  of  37  pigs  * 

Soybeans,  0.90  1b.     Corn,  4.7  lbs 110  1.37  409 

Lot  II,  total  of  33  pigs  * 

Tankage,  0.63  1b.      Com.S.llbs 109  1.46  382 

'Average  of  1  trial  by  Erf  and  Wheeler  (Kan.  Bui.  192),  2  by  Good  (Ky.  BuL  175),  1  by  Skinner 
(Ind.  Bui.  108),  and  1  by  Skinner  and  Cochel  (Ind.  BuL  137). 

Lot  I,  fed  soybeans  and  corn,  made  entirely  satisfactory  gains,  only 
slightly  smaller  than  Lot  II,  fed  tankage  and  corn.  In  these  trials  0.90 
lb.  of  soybeans  per  head  daily  was  nearly  as  effective  in  supplementing 
the  corn  allowance  as  was  0.63  lb.  of  tankage. 

In  each  of  2  trials  by  Skinner  and  CocheF"  at  the  Indiana  Station 
pigs  fed  soybeans  and  corn  made  slightly  larger  gains  and  required 
slightly  less  feed  for  100  lbs.  gain  than  others  fed  linseed  meal  and 
corn.  When  fed  in  too  large  amount  soybeans  produce  soft  pork,  dark 
and  dull  in  color.  At  the  Wisconsin  Station^^  Humphrey  found  that 
when  1  part  of  soybeans  and  2  parts  of  corn  were  fed  to  pigs  receiving 
skim  milk,  soybeans  were  worth  10  per  ct.  more  than  wheat  middlings, 
so  far  as  gains  were  concerned.  However,  when  this  proportion  of  soy- 
beans was  fed  the  pork  was  less  firm  and  the  grain  of  the  meat  and  the 
distribution  of  fat  and  lean  less  satisfactory  than  with  pigs  fed  mid- 
dlings, corn,  and  milk.    Soybeans  are  commonly  ground  for  pigs.  (256) 

978.  Cowpeas. — In  the  South  cowpeas  are  of  great  importance  in  eco- 
nomical pork  production.  The  seed  may  be  used  as  a  supplement  to  corn 
or  other  carbonaceous  feeds,  or  the  pigs  may  be  turned  into  the  field  to 
harvest  the  crop  when  the  pods  are  well  matured.  (990)  The  following 
table  presents  the  results  of  3  trials  in  which  the  value  of  cowpeas  and 
corn  for  pigs  has  been  compared : 

Cowpeas  for  fattening  pigs 


Average  ration 

Initial 
weight 

Daily 
gain 

Feed  for  100 
Ids.  gain 

Duggar,  Ala.  Bui.  82 
Lot  /,      Corn,  2  5  lbs 

Lbs. 
58 

60 
62 

63 
67 

156 
160 

Lbs. 

0.5 
0.6 
0.6 

0.7 
0.9 

1.4 
1.1 

Lbs. 
487 

Lot  II,    Cowpeas,  2  8  lbs 

481 

Lot  III,  Corn,  1  4  lbs.     Cowpeas,  1  4  lbs 

433 

Duggar,  Ala.  Bui.  143 
Lot  I,      Com,  3  5  lbs     .           

478 

Lot  II,    Com,  1  7  lbs.     Cowpeas,  1  9  lbs 

395 

Newman  and  Pickett,  S.  C.  Bui.  52 
Lot  I,      Com,  9  2  lbs                              

602 

Lot  II,    Ground  cowpeas,  6 .7  lbs 

491 

In  the  Alabama  trials  cowpeas  and  corn  were  practically  equal  in  feed- 
ing value  when  fed  separately,  but  a  mixture  of  both  proved  more  satis- 
factory than  either  alone,  as  would  be  expected  from  the  composition  of 

"Ind.  Buls.  126,  137.  "Wis.  Rpt.  1905. 


FEEDS  FOR  SWINE  607 

these  feeds.    The  South  Carolina  test  was  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  cow- 
peas.  (262) 

979.  Peanut. — This  leguminous  plant  is  of  great  and  increasing  im- 
portance in  the  South  for  the  feeding  of  swine.  Pigs  are  commonly- 
turned  into  the  fields  to  do  their  own  harvesting,  as  is  pointed  out 
later(1005),  or  the  peanut  cake  or  meal  resulting  from  the  manufacture 
of  peanut  oil  may  be  used  as  supplements  to  carbonaceous  feeds.  If 
pigs  are  fattened  on  peanuts  alone  soft  pork  is  produced,  but  this  may 
be  overcome  by  feeding  them  corn  for  the  last  part  of  the  finishing 
period.  (258) 

980.  Rice  by-products. — To  compare  the  value  of  rice  meal  and  corn 
meal,  Lindsey  divided  a  litter  of  six  10-weeks-old  pigs  into  2  lots  and 
fed  them  for  92  days  at  the  Massachusetts  Station."^-  The  pigs  in  one 
lot  were  fed  3.1  lbs.  of  rice  meal  and  13.0  lbs.  of  skim  milk  and  those  in 
the  other  an  equal  weight  of  corn  meal  with  the  same  amount  of  skim 
milk.  The  2  lots  made  the  same  gains,  showing  that  rice  meal  was  equal 
to  corn  meal.  At  the  South  Carolina  Station^^  Conner  found  rice  meal 
slightly  superior  to  corn  meal  when  fed  with  skim  milk. 

Dvorachek  fed  8  lots,  each  of  five  140-lb.  pigs,  the  rations  shown  in 
the  table  for  63  days  at  the  Arkansas  Station,'*  to  determine  the  value 
of  rice  bran  and  rice  polish  compared  with  corn  chop : 

Rice  hran  and  rice  polish  vs.  corn  for  pigs 

Daily    Feed  for  100 
Average  ration  gain        lbs.  gain 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot        /,  Com,  6.2  lbs 1.30  476 

Lot       II,  Rice  bran,  6 .2  lbs 1 .46  423 

Lot     III,  Rice  polish,  5 .8  lbs 1 .63  358 

Lot     IV,  Corn,  2 . 1  lbs.  Rice  bran,  2 . 1  lbs. 

Rice  poUsh,  2.1  lbs 1 .72  363 

Lot        V,  Rice  bran,  3  . 1  lbs.     Rice  polish,  3  . 1  lbs 1 .40  404 

Lot      VI,  Rice  bran,  4 . 1  lbs.    Rice  pohsh,  2 . 1  lbs 1 .66  369 

Lot    VII,  Rice  bran,  1 .9  lbs.     Rice  polish,  3 .9  lbs 1 .49  390 

Lot  VIII,  Rice  bran,  1 .6  lbs.     Rice  polish,  4 .6  lbs 1 .72  358 

This  table  shows  the  high  value  of  rice  bran  and  rice  polish  for  pigs. 
Lot  IV,  fed  equal  parts  corn  chop,  rice  bran,  and  rice  polish,  and  Lot 
VIII,  fed  1  part  rice  bran  and  3  parts  rice  polish,  made  the  largest  gains, 
and  Lots  III  and  VIII  required  the  smallest  amount  of  feed  for  100  lbs. 
of  gain.  Dvorachek  concludes  that  100  lbs.  of  rice  polish  is  equal  to  133 
lbs.  of  corn,  and  that  100  lbs.  of  rice  bran  is  equal  to  112  lbs.  of  corn. 
Duggar  secured  similar  results  at  the  Alabama  Station,"  finding  127 
lbs.  of  rice  polish  equal  to  100  lbs.  of  corn  meal.  (234) 

981.  Miscellaneous  nitrogenous  concentrates. — Dried  distillers'  grains 
are  not  relished  by  pigs  when  fed  as  the  sole  concentrate  allowance,  and, 
moreover,  are  too  bulky  a  feed  to  be  supplied  in  large  amounts  to  fatten- 
ing pigs.     However,  they  give  good  results  when  fed  as  a  supplement 

"Mass.  Rpt.  1897.  "Information  to  the  authors. 

"S.  C.  Bui.  55.  ^"Ala.  Bui.  122. 


608  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

to  corn  or  the  other  cereals,  as  is  shown  in  a  trial  by  Good  and  Smith 
at  the  Kentucky  Station/*^  Four  lots  of  10  to  15  pigs  each,  averaging 
69  lbs.,  were  fed  as  shown  in  the  table  for  73  days,  all  lots  except  Lot 
IV  running  on  rape  and  oats  or  rape  pasture : 

Dried  distillers'  grains  for  fattening  pigs 

Concentrates 

Average  ration                                                                        Daily  for  100  Iba. 

gain  gain 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot      I,  Dried  distillers'  grains,  1 .7  lbs.     Pasture 0.46  368 

Lot    II,  Corn  meal,  3  .2  lbs.     Pasture 0 .93  344 

Lot  III,  Corn   meal,  2  .6  lbs. 

Dried  distillers'  grains,  0 .511b.     Pasture 1 .03  300 

Lot  IV,  Corn  meal,  3 .3  lbs.     Dried  distillers'  grains,  0 .66  lb.       0 .88  444 

When  fed  as  the  sole  concentrate  to  pigs  on  pasture,  dried  distillers' 
grains  were  much  inferior  to  corn.  However,  a  mixture  of  1  part  dis- 
tillers' grains  and  5  parts  corn  produced  larger  and  more  economical 
gains  than  corn  alone.  Lot  I  could  not  be  induced  to  eat  more  than  1.7 
lbs.  of  distillers'  grains  per  head  daily.  Lots  II  and  III,  however,  would 
have  eaten  even  larger  allowances  of  concentrates  than  shown  in  the 
table  but  were  restricted  so  as  to  make  more  use  of  the  pasture.  (282) 

Distillery  slop  may  be  fed  to  pigs  with  good  results,  when  concen- 
trates such  as  corn  and  the  other  cereals  are  supplied  in  addition,  as  the 
slop  is  too  watery  to  be  fed  alone. 

Gluten  meal  and  gluten  feed,  as  has  been  shown  before  (973),  give 
satisfactory  results  when  fed  with  corn  and  some  other  supplement,  such 
as  linseed  meal.  It  is  not  advisable,  however,  to  use  these  corn  by- 
products as  the  sole  supplement  to  corn  for  pigs  in  the  dry  lot,  for  the 
pigs  would  then  receive  only  corn  protein,  which,  as  we  have  seen  (201), 
is  somewhat  unbalanced  in  composition.  Watson  at  the  New  York  ( Cor- 
nell) Station"  found  a  mixture  of  1  part  gluten  meal  and  4  parts  corn 
meal  7  per  ct.  more  valuable  than  wheat  meal  when  both  were  fed  with 
skim  milk.  (210-1) 


III.  Forage  Crops,  Pasture,  and  Other  Succulent  Feed;  Hay 

982.  Value  of  forage  crops  and  pasture. — Thru  the  use  of  suitable  forage 
and  pasture  crops,  pork  may  be  produced  at  a  much  lower  cost  than 
where  pigs  are  maintained  in  dry  lots  on  expensive  concentrates  alone. 
Spring  pigs  will  thrive  amazingly  on  good  pasture  supplemented  by  a 
limited  allowance  of  concentrates  and  if  not  finished  by  the  close  of  the 
pasture  season  will  be  in  condition  to  make  most  economical  gains  in 
the  dry  lot.  Not  only  do  pigs  at  pasture  make  cheaper  gains,  but  the 
succulent  feed  and  the  exercise  they  obtain  are  important  aids  in  keep- 
ing them  thrifty  and  in  good  health.  When  pigs  are  fed  in  dry  lots  it 
is  difficult  to  save  the  manure  unless  they  are  confined  closely,  and  thus 

•"Ky.  Bui.  190.  "N.  Y.  (Cornell)  Bui.  89. 


FEEDS  FOR  SWINE  609 

often  much  fertility  is  wasted.  With  pigs  at  pasture  the  manure  is  uni- 
formly distributed  on  the  fields.  By  the  use  of  forage  crops  thruout  the 
growing  season  and  legume  hay  during  the  winter  the  cost  of  maintain- 
ing brood  sows  may  be  materially  reduced.  Tho  pasturage  is  of  prime 
value  for  pigs  in  all  sections  of  the  country,  it  is  especially  important  in 
the  southern  states,  where,  by  a  well-selected  rotation  of  pastures,  green 
feed  may  be  furnished  thruout  nearly  the  entire  year. 

As  Evvard  of  the  Iowa  Station'^^  writes:  An  ideal  forage  for  hogs 
should  show:  1.  adaptability  to  local  soil  and  climate;  2.  palatability ; 

3.  a  heavy  yield  of  digestible  nutrients,  being  high  in  protein  and  min- 
eral matter,  especially  calcium  and  phosphorus,  and  low  in  crude  fiber; 

4,  succulence;  5.  long  pasturing  season;  6.  ability  to  endure  grazing; 
7.  permanency;  8.  reasonable  cost  and  ease  of  seeding;  9.  capability  of 
furnishing  quick  pasture  at  any  time  during  the  growing  season.  ' '  These 
essentials  are  not  found  in  any  single  forage,  but  alfalfa,  the  clovers, 
and  rape  have  most  of  them."  (109) 

983.  Amount  of  grain  to  feed  on  pasture. — Owing  to  the  high  price  of 
concentrates  it  is  important  to  determine  the  minimum  amount  which 
should  be  fed  to  pigs  on  pasture  for  satisfactory  results.  It  is  never 
profitable  to  force  young  pigs  to  subsist  on  pasture  alone.  At  the  Utah,''^ 
New  Mexico,^"  Mississippi,*^  and  Oklahoma^-  Stations  alfalfa  pasture 
proved  little  more  than  a  maintenance  ration  for  growing  pigs.  At  the 
Kentucky  Station*^  Good  found  that  63-lb.  pigs  did  not  maintain  their 
weight  on  good  rye  pasture,  and  82-lb.  pigs  barely  held  their  own  on 
mixed  clover  and  bluegrass  pasture.  Good  states  that  full-grown  brood 
sows,  in  thin  condition  and  not  suckling  pigs,  will  take  on  flesh  when 
grazing  good  pasture  without  grain.  Snyder  reports  that  during  a 
trial  of  70  days  at  the  North  Platte,  Nebraska,  Substation**  mature  hogs, 
thin  in  flesh,  gained  about  0.5  lb.  daily  on  alfalfa  pasture  without  grain. 

At  the  Utah  Station*^  a  series  of  trials  extending  over  12  years  was 
conducted,  chiefly  by  Linfield,  to  determine  the  most  profitable  amount 
of  grain  to  feed  to  pigs  on  pasture,  which  was  principally  alfalfa.  The 
results  of  the  trials,  which  were  with  pigs  weighing  60  to  75  lbs.  at  the 
start,  are  summarized  in  the  following  table : 

Amount  of  grain  to  feed  pigs  on  pasture 

No.  of         Daily        Grain  for  100 
pigs  gain  lbs.  gain 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

Full  grain  ration,  in  pens 74  0.9  484 

Full  grain  ration,  on  pasture 20  1.2  413 

Three-fourths  grain  ration,  on  pasture 17  1 .0  383 

One-half  grain  ration,  on  pasture 16  0.7  304 

One-fourth  grain  ration,  on  pasture 10  0.5  247 

Pasture  only 19  0.2 

Green  alfalfa  only,  in  pens 2  —0.3 

™Iowa  Bui.  136.        ^N.  M.  Bui.  90.  «'Okla.  Rpt.  1899.       *^Nebr.  Bui.  99. 

"Utah  Bui.  94.         «Miss.  Rpt.  1905.       *'Ky.  Bui.  175.  ''Utah  Bui.  94. 


610  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

"We  learn  that  the  pigs  on  a  full  grain  ration  in  pens  gained  0.9  lb. 
each  daily  and  required  484  lbs.  of  grain  for  100  lbs.  of  gain,  while 
those  getting  a  full  grain  ration  on  pasture  gained  1.2  lbs.  each  daily, 
pasturage  effecting  a  saving  of  about  15  per  ct.  in  the  grain  required 
to  produce  100  lbs.  gain.  The  pastured  pigs  getting  a  limited  grain 
ration  ate  less  grain  for  each  100  lbs.  of  gain  than  when  fed  a  full  grain 
ration,  but  also  made  smaller  daily  gains,  the  fattening  period  being 
thereby  lengthened.  If  the  full  grain  ration  on  pasture  would  have 
fattened  pigs  in  100  days,  the  quarter  grain  ration  would  have  required 
245  days. 

Linfield  states®*'  that  pigs  fed  a  limited  grain  ration  on  pasture,  when 
later  put  on  full  feed,  made  rapid  gains  at  slightly  less  cost  than  those 
fed  a  full  ration  from  the  start.  Hence,  for  growing  pigs  to  be  fattened 
later,  a  restricted  grain  ration  on  pasture  is  economical. 

984.  Alfalfa  pasture. — ^Wherever  it  thrives  alfalfa  is  the  best  per- 
manent pasture  crop  for  pigs,  since  there  is  no  danger  from  bloat,  as  with 
cattle  and  sheep.  (340)  Alfalfa  provides  pasturage  during  a  longer 
season  than  almost  any  other  single  crop,  starting  early  in  the  spring 
and  remaining  green  and  succulent  in  late  summer  when  bluegrass  has 
dried  up  and  even  clover  is  often  somewhat  hard  and  woody.  Since 
heavy  pasturing  of  alfalfa  is  injurious  to  the  stand,  the  number  of  pigs 
should  be  restricted  and  the  plants  allowed  to  grow  up,  being  cut  for 
hay  2  or  3  times  a  year.  In  tests  at  the  Iowa  Station  by  Evvard  and 
Kennedy®"  in  which  pigs  were  fed  corn  and  tankage  on  alfalfa  pasture 
the  alfalfa  produced  623  to  865  lbs.  of  pork  per  acre,  after  deducting 
the  gains  to  be  credited  to  the  concentrates  fed,  and  without  crediting 
the  alfalfa  with  the  hay  cut  from  the  pasture.  In  one  trial  an  acre  of 
alfalfa  carried  an  average  of  over  16  spring  pigs  for  180  days,  producing 
1.05  lbs.  of  gain  per  head  daily.  With  corn  at  $0.50  per  bushel  and 
tankage  at  $50  per  ton,  the  concentrates  fed  cost  only  $2.88  per  100  lbs. 
of  gain. 

The  most  profitable  amount  of  grain  to  feed  pigs  on  alfalfa  pasture 
will  depend  on  the  age  of  the  pigs,  the  abundance  of  forage,  and  the 
relative  cost  of  concentrates  and  pasture.  At  the  North  Platte,  Ne- 
braska, Substation®®  Snyder  grazed  3  lots  of  47-lb.  pigs  on  alfalfa  pasture 
during  each  of  2  summers.  One  lot  received  a  light,  the  second  a 
medium,  and  the  third  a  full  allowance  of  shelled  corn.  The  combined 
results  of  the  trials,  lasting  98  and  119  days,  respectively,  are  averaged 
below : 

Light,  medium,  and  heavy  corn  feeding  on  alfalfa  pasture 

Daily    Corn  for  100 
Daily  allowance  of  corn  gain         lbs.  gain 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot     7,  Shelled  corn,  0.5  1b 0.4        128 

Lot    II,  Shelled  corn,  1.1  lbs 0.5         221 

Lot  III,  SheUed  corn,  2.6  lbs 0.8        331 

»«Utah  Bui.  94.  "Iowa  Bui.  136.  ^Nebr.  Bui.  99. 


FEEDS  FOR  SWINE  611 

It  is  shown  that  Lot  I,  fed  a  light  grain  allowance  on  alfalfa  pasture, 
required  only  39  per  ct.  as  much  grain  for  100  lbs.  gain  as  Lot  III,  fed 
a  full  corn  allowance.  Lot  III,  however,  made  twice  as  rapid  gains  as 
Lot  I.  Snyder  concludes  that  a  light  grain  allowance  on  alfalfa  pasture 
is  not  economical  for  growing  pigs  unless  alfalfa  is  abundant,  grain 
high  in  price,  and  market  conditions  warrant  holding  the  pigs.  It  is 
usually  more  profitable  to  feed  2  lbs.  or  more  of  corn  per  100  lbs.  of  pigs 
than  to  feed  a  lighter  ration.  From  trials  at  the  New  Mexico  Station^** 
Foster  and  Simpson  conclude  that  in  their  section,  where  concentrates 
are  high  in  price,  pigs  with  abundant  alfalfa  pasture  make  the  most 
economical  gains  when  fed  only  about  1  lb.  of  grain  daily  per  100  lbs. 
live  weight. 

985.  Feeding  a  supplement  with  com  on  alfalfa  pasture. — Pigs  fed  corn 
alone  on  alfalfa  pasture  make  fairly  satisfactory  gains,  since  the  alfalfa 
goes  far  toward  balancing  the  corn  allowance.  More  rapid  gains  are, 
however,  secured  when  some  nitrogenous  concentrate  is  fed  in  addition. 
This  is  shown  in  the  following  table  which  summarizes  the  results  of  3 
trials,  averaging  71  days,  by  Waters,  Kinzer,  Wright,  and  King''"  at  the 
Kansas  Station  in  which  one  lot  of  pigs  was  given  a  full  allowance  of 
ground  corn  on  alfalfa  pasture  while  another  lot  was  fed  a  mixture  of 
62  per  ct.  corn,  30  per  ct.  wheat  shorts,  and  8  per  ct.  tankage  in  addition 
to  the  pasture : 

Feeding  supplement  in  addition  to  corn  and  alfalfa  pasture 

Average  ration 


Initial 

weight 

Lbs. 

Daily 
gain 
Lbs. 

Concentrates 

for  100  lbs. 

gain 

Lbs. 

81 
80 

0.85 
1.49 

439 
358 

Lot    I,  Corn,  3  .8  lbs.     Pasture 

Lot  II,  Corn,  shorts,  and  tankage,  5 .4  lbs.     Pasture. 

The  pigs  fed  shorts  and  tankage  consumed  more  feed  than  those  fed 
only  corn  in  addition  to  alfalfa  pasture,  made  much  larger  gains,  and 
required  18  per  ct.  less  concentrates  for  100  lbs.  gain.  Since  the  ration 
is  partly  balanced  by  the  alfalfa,  not  as  much  additional  supplement  is 
required  as  with  corn  in  the  dry  lot.  For  pigs  over  100  lbs.  in  weight, 
fed  corn  on  alfalfa  pasture,  5  per  ct.  of  high  grade  tankage  or  other 
concentrates  furnishing  an  equivalent  amount  of  digestible  protein,  will 
produce  about  as  large  and  usually  more  economical  gains  than  a  larger 
proportion.  (964) 

986.  Clover  pasture. — In  the  northern  and  central  states  red  clover  is 
one  of  the  most  valuable  pasture  crops  for  pigs.  Carmichael  and  East- 
wood rank  4  forage  crops  tested  at  the  Ohio  Station^^  as  follows,  in  the 
order  of  their  efficiency :  red  clover,  rape,  soybeans,  bluegrass.  In  Mis- 
souri, Mumford  and  Weaver"^  found  it  inferior  only  to  alfalfa,  and  in 
Iowa,  Eward^^  found  it  surpassed  only  by  alfalfa  and  rape.     Since 

»» N.  M.  Bui.  90.  "  Ohio  Bui.  242.  ^  Iowa  Bui.  136. 

•"Kan.  Bui.  192.  "Mo.  Bui.  110. 


612  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

early  pasturing  may  kill  clover,  pigs  should  not  be  turned  on  until  it 
has  made  a  good  growth.  Clover  does  not  furnish  as  constant  a  supply 
of  succulent  feed  as  does  alfalfa,  tending  to  become  woody  late  in  the 
summer,  but  clipping  will  aid  in  inducing  a  new  growth.  (348)  On  soils 
too  wet  or  too  acid  for  red  clover,  alsike  clover  may  be  grown.  (350) 
Especially  in  the  southeastern  states  crimson  clover,  sown  as  a  winter 
annual,  furnishes  valuable  spring  pasture  for  pigs.  (353) 

987.  Sweet  clover. — On  soils  not  well  adapted  to  alfalfa  or  red  clover, 
sweet  clover  may  often  be  used  to  advantage  as  a  pasture  for  pigs.  The 
first  year's  growth  is  best  suited  to  pigs,  as  it  is  less  coarse  and  woody. 
To  encourage  the  growth  of  new  shoots  the  crop  should  be  pastured 
reasonably  close  and  the  tall  growth  clipped  with  a  mower.  (352) 

988.  Field  peas  for  pasture. — In  the  northern  states  field  peas,  sown 
either  alone  or  with  oats  or  oats  and  rape,  are  a  most  satisfactory  summer 
forage  crop  for  pigs.  The  extensive  use  of  field  peas  in  certain  valleys 
of  the  West  has  already  been  mentioned.  (975)  At  the  Wyoming  Sta- 
tion,^* Faville  found  that  an  acre  of  fair  field  pea  pasture  grazed  by 
fattening  pigs  saved  2,344  lbs.  of  mixed  grain.  Ashby  and  Monroe 
report  that  at  the  Washington  Station^^  an  acre  of  oats  and  peas  grazed 
by  pigs  netted  $39.90  after  paying  for  supplemental  feeds  and  the  cost 
of  producing  the  crop.  They  state  that  pigs  should  be  turned  in  when 
the  earliest  pods  are  ripe  and  should  not  be  allowed  to  graze  over  the 
whole  field,  but  should  be  confined  to  small  plots  by  temporary  fences 
or  hurdles.  (355) 

989.  Soybean  pasture. — In  the  North  the  soybean  is  surpassed  by 
alfalfa,  clover,  rape,  and  field  peas,  except  perhaps  on  light,  sandy  soil 
where  the  soybean  may  produce  a  larger  crop.  In  the  South,  however, 
the  soybean  is  one  of  the  best  allies  of  the  pork  producer.  The  high 
value  of  this  legume  is  shown  in  the  following  table  which  summarizes 
the  results  of  3  trials  by  Gray,  Ridgeway,  and  Eudaly,  at  the  Alabama 
Station."*^  In  these  trials  lots  each  of  four  to  five  45-lb.  pigs,  carrying 
some  improved  blood,  but  no  better  than  the  average  pigs  of  the  district, 
were  fed  as  indicated  for  periods  of  42  to  81  days : 

Value  of  soyheans  for  southern  pork  production 

Daily 

Average  ration  gain 

Lbs. 

Lot  I,  Corn  meal,  0.75  lb.  Soybean  pasture  1 .10 
Lot  II,  Corn  meal,  1 .39  lbs.  Soybean  pasture  1 .01 
Lot  III,  Corn  meal,  2 .33  lbs.     Soybean  pasture  1 .33 

Lot  IV,  Corn  meal,  2 .28  lbs 0 .38 

♦Corn,  $0 .  70  per  bu.  and  soybean  pasture  $S  per  acre. 

The  table  shows  that  where  soybean  pasture  was  used  pork  was  made 
for  less  than  half  of  what  it  cost  when  corn  was  used  alone.  During  the 
first  few  weeks  of  the  grazing  period,  when  the  pigs  ate  no  part  of  the 

»*Wyo.  Rpt.  1913.  '^Wash.  Pop.  Bui.  63.  ""Ala.  Bui.  154. 


Feed  for  100 

Feed  cost 

lbs.  gain 

of  100  lbs. 

Corn      Pasture 

gain* 

Lbs.         Acres 

Dollars 

68       0.218 

2.59 

138       0.204 

3.36 

175      0.123 

3.17 

609       

7.61 

FEEDS  FOR  SWINE  613 

plants  except  the  leaves,  as  the  beans  were  not  yet  formed,  good  gains 
were  made  when  the  pasture  was  supplemented  by  corn.  During  the  last 
few  weeks  the  animals  ate  nothing  but  the  beans  which  had  fallen  from 
the  plants.  Excellent  gains  were  made  during  this  time.  The  amount 
of  corn  to  feed  on  soybean  pasture  will  depend  on  the  amount  of  corn 
on  hand  to  dispose  of,  the  amount  of  available  pasture,  and  the  length 
of  time  in  which  the  animals  should  be  fattened.  When  prices  are  low 
it  may  be  wise  to  simply  carry  the  hogs  along  on  pasture  plus  a  light 
grain  ration  or  no  grain  ration  at  all  until  the  prices  advance.  Since 
a  large  allowance  of  soybeans  tends  to  produce  soft  pork,  the  greater  the 
amount  of  corn  which  is  fed  the  harder  the  meat  will  be  at  the  end  of 
the  grazing  period.  Soybeans  are  often  grown  with  corn  and  the  com- 
bined crop  hogged  down.  (358) 

990.  Cowpea  pasture. — Especially  on  poorer  soils  in  the  southern  states 
the  cowpea  is  an  important  forage  crop  for  swine,  as  it  flourishes  where 
other  legumes  vnll  not  produce  good  crops.  In  a  60-day  trial  by  Gray, 
Summers,  and  Shook®^  in  Alabama  with  3  lots,  each  of  five  53-lb.  pigs, 
the  following  results  were  secured: 

Cowpea  pasture  for  fattening  pigs 

Daily      ^^^d  for  100  lbs.  gain 
Average  ration  gain      Concentrates  Pasture 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Acres 

Lot     I,  Com,  2 .62  lbs.     Tankage,  0 .29  lb 0 .54  540 

Lot    II,  Com,  1 .39  lbs. 

Tankage,  0 .  16  lb.     Cowpea  pasture 0 .  97  159  0 .  78 

Lot  III,  Com,  1 .56  lbs.         Cowpea  pasture 0 .90  173  0 .83 

The  pigs  on  cowpea  pasture  gained  nearly  twice  as  fast  as  those  fed 
corn  and  tankage  without  pasturage.  The  pigs  were  grazed  on  a  good 
crop  of  co-«T)eas  from  August  12  to  September  16,  but  from  this  date 
to  November  5  they  were  grazed  on  a  field  in  which  there  was  only  half 
a  normal  crop,  hence  the  large  area  of  pasture  required  per  100  lbs.  of 
gain.  On  land  suited  to  soj'beans  they  excel  cowpeas  for  pigs  on  account 
of  the  larger  production  of  seed.  Like  soybeans,  cowpeas  and  corn  are 
frequently  hogged  down.  (357) 

991,  Velvet  bean  pasture. — To  determine  the  value  of  velvet  bean 
pasture  for  pigs.  Gray,  Summers,  and  Shook^^  turned  a  lot  of  five  62-lb. 
grade  pigs  into  a  field  where  velvet  beans  had  been  grown  with  corn, 
but  the  corn  crop  already  removed.  In  addition  the  pigs  were  given  a 
half  ration  of  corn  meal  9  parts,  and  tankage  1  part,  while  another  lot 
was  fed  corn  and  tankage  in  a  dry  lot.  During  72  days  the  pigs  foraging 
the  velvet  beans  gained  1.23  lbs.  per  head  daily,  requiring  0.38  acre  of 
beans  and  only  170  lbs.  of  concentrates  for  100  lbs.  gain.  The  pigs  in 
the  dry  lot  gained  but  0.84  lb.  and  consumed  400  lbs.  concentrates  for 
100  lbs.  gain.  An  acre  of  velvet  beans,  raised  in  a  corn  field,  thus  re- 
placed over  600  lbs.  of  concentrates.    Velvet  beans  in  the  pod  may  also 

•'Ala.  Bui.  168.  »'Ala.  Bui.  168. 


614  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

be  fed  to  pigs  as  a  supplement  to  corn  or  other  grain.    The  pigs  will  not 
eat  the  pods,  but  become  expert  in  shelling  out  the  beans."®  (361) 

992.  Rape  pasture. — Over  the  greater  part  of  the  northern  United 
States  rape  is  unsurpassed  as  an  annual  forage  crop  for  swine.  As  it 
may  be  sown  both  early  and  late  in  the  season,  forage  may  be  provided 
at  any  desired  time.  The  best  yields  are  usually  obtained  with  spring 
seeding  and  if  the  crop  is  not  pastured  too  closely  growth  will  continue 
until  fall.  According  to  Evvard  of  the  Iowa  Station,""  the  pigs  should 
not  be  turned  on  the  rape  till  it  is  10  to  14  inches  high  and  when  it  is 
pastured  down  to  4  or  5  leaves  to  the  plant  the  animals  should  be  trans- 
ferred to  another  plot  to  give  the  crop  a  chance  to  recuperate.  The 
value  of  rape  pasture  for  pigs  is  well  shown  in  the  following  summary 
of  6  trials,  lasting  80  to  190  days,  in  which  one  lot  of  spring  pigs  was 
pastured  on  rape  and  another  on  alfalfa,  both  being  fed  concentrates  in 
addition : 

Rape  vs.  alfalfa  pasture  for  pigs 

Concentrates 
Daily    for  100  lbs. 
Average  ration  gain  gain 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot    I,*  Concentrates,  3  .7  lbs.     Rape  pasture 1 .08        340 

Lot  II  *  Concentrates,  3  .8  lbs.     Alfalfa  pasture 1 .  12        344 

♦Average  of  3  trials  bv  Evvard  (Iowa  Bui.  136,  Proc.  Am.  Soc.  Anim.  Prod.  1913),  1  by  Otis  (Kan. 
Bui.  99),  and  2  by  Waters,  Kinzer,  Wheeler,  and  Iving  (Kan.  Bui.  192). 

The  pigs  on  rape  pasture  made  practically  as  large  gains  as  those  on 
alfalfa  pasture  and  required  even  less  concentrates  for  100  lbs.  gain. 
Where  alfalfa  thrives  it  surpasses  rape,  not  because  it  results  in  larger 
gain,  but  because  it  will  usually  carry  more  pigs  per  acre  and  does  not 
need  to  be  reseeded  each  year.  In  2  of  the  Kansas  trials  an  acre  of 
alfalfa  pasture  carried  twice  as  many  pigs  thruout  the  season  as  did 
an  acre  of  rape.  In  2  of  the  Iowa  trials,  however,  rape  produced  more 
pork  per  acre  than  did  alfalfa.  Evvard"^  finds  that  the  portion  of  the 
rape  plant  eaten  by  pigs  is  nearly  as  rich  in  protein,  on  the  dry  matter 
basis,  as  is  alfalfa,  and  that  pigs  fed  corn  on  rape  pasture  do  not  need 
the  addition  of  more  than  5  per  ct.  of  tankage,  or  an  equivalent  amount 
of  other  supplement,  to  the  corn  allowance.  Pigs  with  light  colored  skin 
or  thin  hair  may  be  blistered  by  running  in  rape  when  the  dew  is  on, 
but  this  may  be  obviated  by  keeping  them  off  the  fields  at  such  times. 

Rape  is  often  grown  in  combination  with  oats  or  oats  and  field  peas 
for  pig  pasture.  From  trials  at  the  Missouri  Station^°^  Mumford  and 
"Weaver  rank  rape  and  oats  next  to  alfalfa  and  red  clover  among  several 
forage  crops  tested.  At  the  Wisconsin  Station"^  Carlyle  found  rape 
fully  equal  to  red  clover  pasture,  an  acre  of  rape  grazed  by  pigs  4  to 
10  months  old  replacing  2,436  lbs.  of  mixed  corn  meal  and  wheat  shorts. 
At  the  Oregon  Station^"*  an  acre  of  rape  pasture  with  no  grain  pro- 

^'Scott,  Fla.  Bui.  113.  "^lowa  Bui.  136.  ^"^Wls.  Rpt.  1901. 

""Iowa  Bui.  136.  '"Mo.  Bui.  110.  "'Ore.  Bui.  89. 


FEEDS  FOR  SWINE  615 

duced  154  lbs.  of  gain  with.  pigs.  Grisdale  of  the  Ottawa  Experimental 
Farms^°^  pastured  60  pigs  that  finally  reached  an  average  weight  of  185 
lbs.  each,  on  1.5  acres  of  rape,  feeding  in  addition  thereto  about  500  lbs. 
of  grain  to  each  pig.  Rape  is  an  excellent  winter  forage  crop  for  the 
South.  In  2  trials  at  the  Alabama  Station^°''  Gray,  Summers,  and  Shook 
found  that  pigs,  weighing  from  45  to  60  lbs.,  fed  a  half  allowance  of 
corn  and  either  shorts  or  tankage  on  rape  pasture  for  116  to  147  days 
during  the  winter,  made  an  average  daily  gain  of  0.70  lb.  and  required 
0.14  acre  of  rape  and  only  273  lbs.  of  concentrates  for  100  lbs.  of  gain, 
(381) 

993.  Grasses  and  cereals  for  pasture. — Among  the  permanent  grasses 
bluegrass  provides  the  best  pasture  thruout  the  northern  states.  As  blue- 
grass  makes  little  growth  during  the  summer,  other  crops  should  be  pro- 
vided for  this  season,  the  bluegrass  being  relied  on  for  grazing  in  spring 
and  early  summer  and  in  early  fall.  With  pigs  fed  corn  on  bluegrass, 
a  somewhat  larger  allowance  of  nitrogenous  supplement  is  needed  than 
on  legume  or  rape  pasture,  tho  very  young  bluegrass  is  fairly  rich  in 
protein.  (310-11)  In  the  South,  Bermuda  grass  furnishes  the  best  per- 
manent grass  pasture  for  pigs.   (320) 

For  fall  and  early  spring  pasture  in  the  North  and  for  pasture  from 
late  fall  thruout  the  winter  and  spring  in  the  South,  the  cereals  are 
unexcelled.  Good  of  the  Kentucky  Station^^^  has  found  that  green  rye, 
wheat,  or  oats  when  5  to  8  inches  high  are  even  richer  than  alfalfa, 
clover,  soybeans,  or  cowpeas  in  protein.  Hence  the  cereals  at  this  stage 
are  really  nitrogenous  pastures,  and  go  far  toward  supplementing  corn. 
Good  conducted  3  trials,  averaging  117  days,  to  determine  the  value  of 
giving  a  small  allowance  of  tankage  or  soybeans  to  49-lb.  pigs  fed  corn 
on  rye  pasture  during  the  winter  and  spring,  securing  the  results  shown 
in  the  table : 

Feeding  supplement  with  corn  to  pigs  on  rye  pasture 

Concentratea 
Daily     for  100  lbs. 
Average  concentrate  allowance  gain  gain 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot    7,  Com,  3.0  lbs 0.74         397 

Lot  II,  Corn,  2 .8  lbs.     Supplement,  0 .39  lb 0 .92         345 

The  pigs  fed  a  small  amount  of  supplement  with  the  corn  made  larger 
and  more  economical  gains  than  those  fed  only  corn  on  the  rye  pasture. 
During  the  periods  when  the  pasture  is  covered  by  snow  it  is  especially 
advantageous  to  feed  a  supplement  with  the  corn.  In  the  southern  states, 
winter  rj'e  or  oats  will  furnish  most  satisfactory  pasture  for  pigs  thruout 
the  entire  winter,  greatly  decreasing  the  cost  of  maintaining  brood  sows 
and  raising  fall  pigs.  (318) 

994.  Hogging  down  ripe  grain. — Ripe  grain,usually  rye,  bald  barley, 
or  wheat,  is  frequently  hogged  down,  the  pigs  being  turned  into  the  field 

i<^ Ottawa  Expt.  Farms,  Bui.  51.  ^'''Ala.  Bui.  168.  ^°'Ky.  Bui.  175. 


616  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

when  the  crop  is  nearly  ripe.  This  practice  is  especially  common  in  the 
grain  districts  of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  where  the  summers  are  dry. 
Hunter  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture^^^  reports  that 
in  eastern  Washington  109  pigs  having  access  to  an  acre  of  pasture 
hogged  down  7.2  acres  of  standing  wheat,  and  gave  a  net  return  of 
$15.73  per  acre.  The  net  return  from  wheat  alongside,  harvested  and 
threshed,  was  only  $8.04  per  acre.  In  5  trials  by  Mumford  and  Weaver 
at  the  Missouri  Station"**  ripe  rye  hogged  down  produced  an  average 
of  212  lbs.  of  pork  per  acre,  after  deducting  the  additional  grain  fed. 
In  a  trial  by  Evvard  at  the  Iowa  Station""  1  crop  of  rye  yielding  41 
bushels  per  acre  was  worth  only  $18.56  an  acre  when  hogged  down  by 
pigs  fed  meat  meal  in  addition,  the  pigs  making  poor  gains.  Later  when 
hogging  down  corn  the  same  pigs  made  most  satisfactory  gains.  It  seems 
doubtful  whether  it  is  usually  profitable  to  hog  down  the  small  grains 
in  the  humid  districts,  when  labor  can  be  secured  to  harvest  the  crop. 
As  we  have  seen  (942),  hogging  down  corn  is  a  most  successful  practice, 

995.  Gleaning  stubble  fields. — Especially  on  the  grain  farms  of  the 
West  stubble  fields  are  an  important  factor  in  economical  pork  produc- 
tion. Where  the  grain  is  harvested  by  means  of  a  header  a  consider- 
able amount  is  left  ungarnered  and  was  formerly  wasted.  Now  many 
farmers  are  hog  fencing  their  fields  and  turning  pigs  on  the  stubble  to 
glean  the  scattered  heads  of  grain.  Gains  made  on  such  waste  are  almost 
clear  profit. 

996.  Sorghum;  Japanese  cane. — Sorghum  is  too  high  in  fiber  to  excel 
as  a  pasture  for  young  pigs,  tho  it.  is  useful  in  the  South  for  providing 
succulence  when  other  crops  are  not  available.  For  older  pigs  it  gives 
somewhat  better  results,^"  supplied  in  addition  to  a  fair  allowance  of 
grain.  (309) 

Scott  found  at  the  Florida  Station"-  that  Japanese  cane  fed  alone 
would  not  maintain  young  pigs.  As  succulence  with  grain  this  forage 
should  have  about  the  same  value  as  sorghum.  (323) 

997.  Soilage. — It  is  not  ordinarily  profitable  to  cut  and  haul  green 
crops  to  pigs,  for  they  can  better  do  their  own  harvesting.  To  deter- 
mine the  value  of  soilage  as  a  supplement  to  corn.  Waters  fed  4  lots, 
each  of  six  48-lb.  pigs,  the  rations  shown  in  the  table  for  102  days  at 
the  Missouri  Station."^    The  fresh-cut  green  forage  was  fed  twice  daily. 

Various  soilage  crops  compared 

Daily  Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 
Average  ration  gain     Concentrates  Soilage 

Lot  I,  Middlings,  1 .4  lbs.  Corn  meal,  2 . 1  lbs. . .  . 
Lot  11,  Green  aKalfa,  0 .8  lb.  Corn  meal,  3 .3  lbs . 
Lot  III,  Green  clover,  0 .7  lb.  Corn  meal,  3 .3  lbs. . 
Lot  IV,  Green  bluegrass,  0 .7  lb.   Corn  meal,  3 .4  lbs. 

^-^U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Farmers'  Bui.  599.     ""Mo.  Bui.  110. 

"'Gray,  Duggar,  and  Ridgeway,  Ala.  Bui.  143;  Scott,  Fla.  Bui.  113. 

"*Fla.  Bui.  113.       "'Mo.  Bui.  79. 


Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

0.7 

518 

0.8 

401 

91 

0.8 

435 

93 

0.6 

531 

113 

LO.  ' 

'"Iowa  Bui. 

136. 

FEEDS  FOR  SWINE  617 

The  pigs  fed  green  alfalfa  or  clover  made  larger  gains  than  those  fed 
middlings  and  corn  meal,  78  lbs.  of  green  alfalfa  or  112  lbs.  of  green 
clover  saving  100  lbs.  of  concentrates.  Bluegrass  was  a  poor  supplement 
to  corn.  (418-22) 

998.  Roots. — "We  have  seen  in  previous  chapters  that  for  dairy  cattle, 
beef  cattle,  and  sheep,  silage  from  corn  or  the  sorghums  provides  about 
as  satisfactory  succulent  feed  as  do  roots,  and  at  a  much  lower  cost  over 
the  greater  part  of  our  country.  (366,  638-40,  784,  866)  With  the  pig 
however,  silage  will  not  replace  roots,  for  the  digestive  apparatus  of  this 
animal  is  not  adapted  to  utilize  large  amounts  of  such  coarse  and  fibrous 
feed.  Since  roots  have  a  high  value  for  pigs,  with  the  high  prices  now 
ruling  for  concentrates  large  numbers  of  farmers  can  profitably  grow 
roots  for  winter  succulence  for  their  pigs.  Roots  not  only  add  variety 
to  the  ration,  but  reduce  the  amount  of  concentrates  required,  and  aid 
in  maintaining  the  health  of  the  animals.  On  account  of  their  slightly 
laxative  effect  and  their  bulkiness,  roots  are  especially  valuable  for  brood 
sows  in  winter.  Danish  farmers  grow  no  Indian  corn,  and  yet  by  means 
of  waste  products  of  the  dairy,  purchased  feeding  stuffs,  and  root  crops, 
mostly  beets,  they  lead  the  world  in  the  production  of  pork,  both  as  to 
quantity  and  quality. 

The  value  of  roots  for  fattening  pigs  is  shown  in  the  following  table, 
summarizing  the  results  of  8  trials,  averaging  88  days,  in  which  concen- 
trates alone  were  fed  to  one  lot  of  pigs,  while  another  lot  was  fed  roots 
in  addition  to  the  same  concentrates : 

Value  of  roots  for  fattening  pigs 

Initial  Daily  Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 

Average  ration  weight  gain  Concentrates    Roots 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot  I,  total  of  38  pigs* 

Concentrates,  5 .4  lbs 90  1.2  499 

Lot  II,  total  of  38  pigs* 

Concentrates,  3 .6  lbs.     Roots,  5 .6  lbs 87  1.0  358  631 

♦Average  of  1  trial  by  Clark  (Utah  Bui.  101),  1  by  Lazenby  (Ohio  Rpt.,  1884),  2  by  Plumb  (Ind.  Bula 
79,  82),  1  by  Robertson  (Ottawa  Expt.  Farms,  Rpt.  1891),  2  by  Sanborn  (Utah  Rpt.  1891),  and  1  by  Shaw 
(Mont.  Bui.  27). 

As  sho^vn  in  the  table,  the  value  of  adding  roots  to  the  ration  for 
fattening  pigs,  lies  not  in  any  increase  in  the  rate  of  gain,  but  in  lessen- 
ing the  amount  of  concentrates  required  for  100  lbs.  gain.  In  these 
trials  only  448  lbs.  of  roots  was  required  to  save  100  lbs.  of  concen- 
trates. This  is  a  higher  value  than  we  would  expect  from  the  amount 
of  dry  matter  they  contain,  for  100  lbs.  of  corn  contains  as  much  dry 
matter  as  546  lbs.  of  sugar  beets,  which  are  the  richest  of  the  common 
root  crops.  The  high  value  of  roots  is  undoubtedly  due  to  their  bene- 
ficial effect  on  the  digestive  tract.  For  young  pigs  roots  are  especially 
valuable,  as  they  tend  to  growth  rather  than  fattening.  Indeed,  in 
finishing  pigs  the  allowance  of  roots  should  be  restricted,  or  the  desired 
finish  will  not  be  secured. 


618  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Root  crops  may  be  economically  gathered  by  turning  pigs  in  to  graze 
the  field.  At  the  Michigan  Station/^*  Shaw  turned  pigs  receiving  one- 
third  of  a  normal  grain  ration  into  a  beet  field  to  do  their  own  foraging 
and  found  that  1  acre  of  sugar  beets  produced  716  lbs.  and  1  acre  of 
half  sugar  beets  and  half  mangels  792  lbs.  of  gain.  In  the  South  root 
crops  may  be  used  with  advantage  as  forage  for  pigs  during  the  winter. 

Tho  it  is  not  wise  to  force  pigs  to  live  on  roots  alone,  it  is  of  interest 
to  note  that  Buffum  and  Griffith  of  the  Colorado  Station"^  found  that 
sugar  beets,  fed  alone,  rather  more  than  maintained  pigs.  As  high  as 
25  lbs.  per  day  of  mangels  have  been  fed  to  dry  sows  or  those  not  far 
advanced  in  pregnancj^,  the  allowance  being  decreased  and  the  meal  ra- 
tion somewhat  increased  as  pregnancy  advanced. 

999.  Comparison  of  root  crops. — The  Danish  (Copenhagen)  Experi- 
ment Station,^^*^  in  trials  with  204  pigs  fed  whole  or  sliced  roots  in 
combination  with  skim  milk,  whey,  and  grain,  found  that  1  lb.  of  ground 
barley  was  equal  in  feeding  value  to : 

Dry  matter  Sugar 

7.5  lbs.  mangel  beets  containing 11.0  per  ct.  6.7  per  ct. 

6 .5  lbs.  mangel  beets  containing 13 .6  per  ct.  8.9  per  ct. 

5 .0  lbs.  fodder  beets  containing 16 .5  per  ct.  10 .9  per  ct. 

4.0  lbs.  sugar     beets  containing 21 .2  per  ct.  14.0  per  ct. 

Thus  it  is  showTi  that  7.5  lbs.  of  mangels  or  4  lbs.  of  sugar  beets  are 
as  useful  in  pig  feeding  as  1  lb.  of  ground  barley,  when  all  are  combined 
with  dairy  waste  products.  Carrots  proved  as  valuable  as  beets  when 
measured  by  the  dry  substance  contained.  Since  roots  are  almost  wholly 
digestible  their  relative  feeding  value  depends  upon  the  total  dry  matter 
they  contain,  rather  than  the  variety  or  kind.  According  to  Day,^^' 
sugar  beets  not  only  possess  the  highest  feeding  value  per  ton,  but  are 
also  most  readily  eaten  by  pigs.  He  states  that  hogs  prefer  mangels 
to  carrots.  (367-72) 

1000.  Sugar  beets;  beet  pulp;  molasses. — At  the  Utah  Station"^  Clark 
fed  sugar  beets,  wet  beet  pulp,  and  beet  molasses  in  combination  with 
wheat  shorts  to  4  lots  of  130-lb.  pigs  for  48  days  with  the  results  sho-wn 
below : 

Sugar  beets,  teet  pulp,  and  heet  molasses  fed  to  pigs 

Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 
Daily  Beets  or 

Average  ration  gain  Shorta       beet  pulp         Molasses 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Lot  I 

Shorts,  7.6  lbs 1.7  444 

Lot  II 

Shorts,  3 .2  lbs.     Sugar  beets,  8.3  lbs.  ..1.2  268  697 

Lot  III 

Shorts,  3.3  lbs.     Beet  pulp,  12 .3  lbs.. . .       1.2  275         1,030 

Lot  IV 

Shorts,  3  .0  lbs.     Beet  pulp,  9  .4  lbs. 

Beet  molasses,  4.4  lbs.       1.6  186  600  281 

"'Mich  Bui.  233.  "'Productive  Swine  Husbandry,  p.  206. 

"»Colo.  Bui.  74.  "^Utah  Bui.  101. 

"° Copenhagen  (Denmark)  Station,  Rpt.  1892. 


FEEDS  FOR  SWINE  619 

The  table  shows  that  while  the  shorts-fed  pigs  gained  1.7  lbs.  each 
daily,  those  fed  a  half  allowance  of  shorts  with  sugar  beets  or  beet  pulp 
additional  gained  1.2  lbs.  each  daily.  In  this  trial  609  lbs.  of  wet  beet 
pulp  or  396  lbs.  of  sugar  beets  replaced  100  lbs.  of  wheat  shorts.  (274) 
Shorts,  beet  pulp,  and  beet  molasses  combined  produced  nearly  as  large 
gains  as  shorts  alone.  One  hundred  lbs.  of  beet  molasses  saved  32  lbs. 
of  shorts  and  153  lbs.  of  beet  pulp.  AU  the  pork  was  of  good  quality 
except  that  from  the  molasses-fed  pigs,  which  had  a  peculiar  unsavory 
taste.  (276) 

Overfeeding  with  beet  molasses  causes  pigs  to  scour.  In  a  trial  at 
the  New  York  (Cornell)  Station,"^  after  feeding  five  87-lb.  pigs  a  ration 
of  1.6  lbs.  corn  meal,  2.4  lbs.  sugar-beet  molasses,  and  4  lbs.  milk  for  3 
days,  2  pigs  died  suddenly.  The  molasses  was  then  withdrawn  from 
the  ration,  but  the  remaining  pigs  did  not  thrive,  doubtless  due  to  the 
effects  of  the  molasses. 

1001.  Potatoes. — In  two  trials  by  the  senior  author  at  the  Wisconsin 
Station^^"  potatoes  were  cooked  in  an  open  kettle,  using  as  little  water 
as  possible,  and  corn  meal  added  to  form  a  thick  mush  which  was  eaten 
by  pigs  with  great  relish.  Corn  meal  wet  with  water  was  fed  to  a  second 
lot  for  comparison.    The  results  were  as  follows : 

440  lbs.  of  corn  meal,  fed  alone,  produced  100  lbs.  of  gain. 

262  lbs.  of  corn  meal  with  786  lbs.  of  potatoes,  weighed  before  cooking,  produced 
100  lbs.  of  gain. 

From  this  we  learn  that  786  lbs.  of  potatoes,  when  fed  to  pigs  after 
being  cooked,  effected  a  saving  of  178  lbs.  of  corn  meal,  442  lbs.  of  po- 
tatoes taking  the  place  of  100  lbs.  of  corn  meal. 

At  the  Copenhagen  (Denmark)  Station^^^  Fjord  found  400  lbs.  of 
cooked  potatoes  equal  to  100  lbs.  of  mixed  grains  for  swine. 

Potter  of  the  Oregon  Station^^^  reports  that  when  steamed  potatoes  were 
fed  ^\ith  barley  at  the  rate  of  3  to  6  lbs.  of  potatoes  to  1  lb.  of  barley, 
it  took  only  340  to  381  lbs.  of  potatoes  to  replace  100  lbs.  of  grain.  To 
replace  100  lbs.  of  barley  552  lbs.  of  raw  potatoes  were  required.  Gris- 
dale  of  the  Ottawa  Experimental  Farms^'^  reports  that  raw  potatoes 
alone  will  scarcely  maintain  life  in  pigs,  but  given  in  small  quantities 
they  help  to  keep  them  in  health  when  other  succulent  feed  is  lacking. 
(374)     Potatoes  should  be  cooked  for  pigs,  and  fed  with  concentrates. 

1002.  Artichokes. — French  of  the  Oregon  Station^-*  placed  pigs  in  a 
field  of  artichokes,  estimated  to  yield  740  bu.  per  acre.  As  the  pigs 
made  little  gain  on  the  tubers  alone,  a  small  allowance  of  mixed  wheat 
and  oats  was  supplied  in  addition,  about  310  lbs.  of  mixed  grain  being 
then  required  to  produce  100  lbs.  of  gain.  In  this  case  the  artichokes 
saved  from  150  to  200  lbs.  of  grain  for  each  100  lbs.  of  gain  made. 

"'N.  Y.   (Cornell)  Bui.  199.  "^Breeder's  Gaz.,  63,  1913,  p.  896. 

""Wis.  Rpt.  1890.  '^^  Ottawa  Expt.  Farms,  Bui.  57. 

^Copenhagen  (Denmark)  Station,  Rpt.  1890.      ''*Ore.  Bui.  54. 


620  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Sweitzer  of  the  Missouri  Station^ "^  rates  artichokes  equal  to  potatoes 
for  pig  feeding.  Grisdale  of  the  Ottawa  Experimental  Farms"^  found 
artichokes  economical  and  slightly  more  valuable  than  potatoes.  Altho 
long  grown  in  a  small  way  and  often  extolled,  no  extended  feeding  trials 
have  yet  been  made  with  artichokes,  nor  does  their  use  by  feeders  seem 
to  increase.  (375) 

1003.  Pumpkins;  squashes. — Rommel,^"  summarizing  the  findings  of 
3  stations,  reports  that  273  lbs.  of  grain,  together  with  376  lbs.  of  raw 
pumpkins,  gave  100  lbs.  of  gain  with  fattening  pigs.  When  cooked  it 
required  1,150  lbs.  of  pumpkins  and  222  of  grain  for  100  lbs.  of  gain. 
From  these  data  we  may  conclude  that  cooking  is  of  no  advantage  with 
this  vegetable.  As  has  been  pointed  out  before  (383),  the  seeds  should 
not  be  removed  before  feeding  pumpkins  as  they  are  rich  in  nutrients. 
Feeding  an  undue  allowance  of  seeds  would,  however,  tend  to  cause  di- 
gestive disturbance,  on  account  of  their  richness. 

Cottrell  of  the  Colorado  Station^ -^  states  that  some  Colorado  stock- 
men fatten  hogs  exclusively  on  raw  squashes.  They  report  favorable 
returns  per  acre,  with  meat  of  good  flavor  but  having  an  undesirable 
yellow  color. 

1004.  Sweet  potatoes. — Dodson  of  the  Louisiana  Station^^"  recommends 
sweet  potatoes  as  the  best  root  crop  for  pigs  for  fall  and  early  winter 
grazing  on  the  cut-over  pine  lands  of  the  South,  Sweet  potatoes  planted 
in  June  and  early  July  are  ready  for  feeding  by  the  middle  of  October. 
Since  the  tubers  are  low  in  protein,  pigs  grazing  sweet  potatoes  should 
be  given  such  nitrogenous  feeds  as  soybeans  or  cowpeas.  Dodson  states 
that  an  acre  of  sweet  potatoes  should  carry  8  to  10  year-old  pigs  for 
60  days,  when  they  are  given  a  limited  concentrate  allowance  in  addition. 
Duggar  of  the  Alabama  Station,^'^*'  allowing  pigs  to  harvest  sweet  po- 
tatoes at  will,  secured  100  lbs.  of  gain  by  feeding  313  lbs.  of  grain 
additional,  thereby  saving  about  200  lbs.  of  grain  for  each  100  lbs.  of 
increase  while  fattening.  (376) 

1005.  Peanuts. — For  the  season  in  the  fall  when  they  are  available  pea- 
nuts provide  one  of  the  best  forage  crops  for  pigs  in  the  South.  Their 
value  is  shown  in  a  trial  by  Gray,  Summers,  and  Shook  at  the  Alabama 
Station,^^^  in  which  3  lots,  each  of  six  60-lb.  pigs,  were  fed  for  96  days 
as  shown  in  the  table : 

Peanuts  as  a  forage  crop  for  pigs  in  the  South 

Daily       Feed  for  100  lbs.  gain 
Average  ration  gain      Concentrates  Pasture 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Acres 

Lot      I,  Peanut  pasture  only 1 .00  ...         0 .22 

Lot    II,  Com,  1 .7  lbs.     Peanut  pasture 1 .25  134        0 .18 

Lot  III,  Com,  1 .6  lbs.     Tankage,  0 .4  lb.     Pasture .     1 .42  139        0 .  13 

The  pigs  on  peanut  pasture  without  other  feed  made  fair  gains  but 
"°Mo.  Bui.  29.  "'Colo.  Bui.  146.  ''"Ala.  Bui.  122. 

""Ottawa  Expt.  Farms,  Bui.  51.     "'La.  Bui.  124.  "'Ala.  Bui.  168. 

"^U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  Anim.  Indus.,  Bui.  47. 


FEEDS  FOR  SWINE  621 

were  not  fat  enough  for  market  at  the  close  of  the  trial,  while  Lots  II 
and  III  were  well  finished.  Compared  with  another  lot  fed  corn  and 
tankage  in  a  dry  lot,  an  acre  of  peanut  pasture  saved  2,390  lbs.  of  con- 
centrates. Lot  I,  grazing  peanuts  alone,  made  454  lbs.  of  gain  per  acre 
of  peanuts.  Much  higher  returns  than  this  are  sometimes  secured,  a 
field  at  the  Arkansas  Station  yielding  at  the  rate  of  1,252  lbs.  of  pork 
per  acre.  Since  peanuts  tend  to  make  soft  pork,  pigs  should  be  finished 
on  such  feeds  as  corn  for  at  least  2  to  3  weeks  after  grazing  peanuts. 
Peanuts  can  be  grazed  during  only  a  relatively  short  season,  for  after 
a  time  the  nuts  will  sprout  or  rot  if  left  in  the  ground,  especially  in  wet 
weather.   (258,  362) 

1006.  Cliufas. — Like  artichokes,  the  small  tubers  of  the  chufa  remain 
in  the  ground  uninjured  all  winter.  Chufas  grow  best  on  light,  sandy 
soils,  producing  100  to  150  bushels  per  acre.  Duggar  of  the  Alabama 
Station^^^-  hurdled  young  pigs  on  a  chufa  field,  giving  them  corn  and 
cowpea  meal  additional.  The  average  of  2  trials  showed  that,  after  due 
allowance  was  made  for  the  grain  fed,  the  chufas  produced  pork  at  the 
rate  of  307  lbs.,  worth  over  $15  per  acre.  (377) 

1007.  Cassava. — Conner  of  the  Florida  Station^^^  found  that  pigs  fed 
cassava  alone  or  equal  parts  of  cassava  and  sweet  potatoes  did  not  main- 
tain their  weight.  When  fed  with  shorts  cassava  produced  fair  gains. 
Larger  returns  can  generally  be  secured  from  other  crops  for  pigs  than 
from  cassava.  (378) 

1008.  Silage. — May  of  the  Kentucky  Station"*  found  that  hogs  re- 
ceiving shelled  corn  and  corn-and-soybean  silage  made  larger  gains  than 
those  fed  shelled  corn  alone,  100  lbs.  of  silage  equaling  22  lbs.  of  corn 
in  feeding  value.  The  pigs  first  picked  out  the  grain  in  the  silage  and 
then  chewed  the  remainder,  tho  swallowing  but  little  of  it.  At  the 
Ottawa  Experimental  Farms"^  clover  and  alfalfa  silage  invariably 
proved  useful,  and  corn  silage  was  fairly  well  eaten.  The  addition  of 
some  dry  meal  to  the  silage  caused  it  to  be  eaten  quite  readily.  Clover, 
alfalfa,  or  other  legume  hay  should  generally  prove  more  satisfactory 
than  silage  of  any  kind.  Silage  from  the  corn  plant  is  both  too  woody 
and  too  low  in  digestible  matter  to  serve  with  any  satisfaction  as  a  feed 
for  swine  that  are  being  properly  maintained.  If  shotes  and  breeding 
stock  live  on  a  limited  allowance  of  rich  concentrates  alone,  they  will 
suffer  for  lack  of  proper  bulk  in  the  ration.  For  such  pigs,  silage,  and 
even  corn  silage,  will  be  helpful  in  distending  the  digestive  tract. 

1009.  The  legume  hays.— With  the  prices  of  feeding  stuffs  ruling  high, 
the  swine  feeder  must  make  the  largest  possible  use  of  alfalfa,  clover, 
vetch,  cowpesi,  soybean,  and  other  legume  pasture  in  summer,  and  in  win- 
ter feed  freely  of  specially  cured  hay  from  the  legumes  in  order  to  have 
healthy  animals  and  to  keep  down  the  cost  of  production.  The  finer 
parts  of  clover  and  alfalfa  hay,  especially  the  first  cutting  of  clover  and 

"^Ala.  Bui.  122.  ™Ky.  Bui.  101. 

»««Fla.  Bui.  90.  "'Ottawa  Expt.  Farms,  Bui.  51. 


622  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

the  last  cutting  of  alfalfa,  are  often  as  valuable  for  feeding  pigs  as  is 
the  same  weight  of  expensive  wheat  middlings.  The  southern  planter 
has  a  specially  choice  list  of  equally  valuable  legumes  in  the  cowpea,  soy- 
bean, velvet  bean,  peanut,  etc.  Legume  hay  may  be  fed  to  pigs  from 
slatted  racks  or  from  boxes  with  openings  low  on  the  sides  from  which 
the  animals  can  eat  at  will.  The  legume  hays  not  only  furnish  pro- 
tein, so  essential  for  building  all  the  lean  meat  tissues  and  the  organs  of 
the  body,  but  they  also  carry  much  calcium  (lime),  which  is  needed  in 
bone  building.  They  are  therefore  doubly  useful  in  supplementing  Indian 
corn  and  the  other  cereals,  which  are  rather  poor  in  both  protein  and 
calcium. 

1010.  Alfalfa  hay. — Leafy,  bright  alfalfa  hay  is  the  best  of  all  legume 
hays  for  the  pig.  Not  only  is  this  hay  useful  for  brood  sows  and  stock 
pigs  but  it  is  a  cheap  and  fairly  efficient  supplement  to  corn  or  the  other 
cereals  for  fattening  pigs.  The  value  of  alfalfa  hay  for  fattening  pigs 
is  shown  in  the  following  table,  which  summarizes  the  results  of  3  trials, 
averaging  103  days  in  length,  by  Snyder  at  the  North  Platte,  Nebraska, 
Substation,^^''  with  pigs  averaging  133  lbs.  in  weight : 

Alfalfa  hay  for  fattening  pigs 

Corn  for  Feed  cost 
Daily  100  lbs.   of  100  lbs. 

Feed  given  gain  gain  gain* 

Lbs.  Lbs.         Dollars 

Lot     7,  Corn  alone 1.27  506  4.25 

Lot    II,  Corn  and  long  alfalfa  hay  in  rack 1 .50  436  3 .78 

Loi  777,  Corn  90,  and  chopped  aKalfa  hay  10  per  ct.  1.46  433  3.87 

Lot  IV,  Corn  75,  and  chopped  alfalfa  hay  25  per  ct.  1 .12  431  4 .33 

Lot     F,  Corn  75,  and  alfalfa  meal  25  per  ct 1.27  399  4.35 

*Corn  at  $0.47  per  bushel;  long  alfalfa  hay  at  $8,  chopped  alfalfa  hay  at  $10,  and  alfalfa  meal  at  $15 
per  ton. 

In  these  trials  the  pigs  in  Lot  I,  fed  ground  corn  alone,  made  better 
gains  than  is  usual  on  this  unbalanced  ration,  due  to  the  fact  that  they 
had  been  well-grown  on  alfalfa  pasture.  The  pigs  in  Lot  II,  supplied 
long  alfalfa  hay  in  racks  in  addition  to  corn,  gained  0.23  lb.  more  per 
head  daily  than  those  in  Lot  I  and  made  the  largest  and  the  cheapest 
gains  of  all  lots.  Chopping  the  hay  by  passing  it  thru  a  feed  cutter 
or  grinding  it  to  a  meal  did  not  produce  more  rapid  gains,  but  increased 
the  cost.  When  the  proportion  of  cut  alfalfa  hay  or  alfalfa  meal  was 
increased  to  25  per  ct.  the  gains  were  smaller  and  more  expensive.  In 
trials  at  the  Kansas  Station,"'^  Kinzer  and  Wheeler  likewise  found  that 
grinding  alfalfa  hay  to  meal  did  not  result  in  larger  gains  by  fattening 
pigs. 

While  fattening  cattle  and  sheep  will  consume  enough  alfalfa  hay  to 
make  a  fairly  well  balanced  ration  mth  com,  the  fattening  pig  has  not 
this  capacity  for  roughage  and  hence  will  not  consume  enough  hay  to 
balance  his  ration  sufficiently  to  produce  maximum  gains.  This  is  shown 
in  4  trials  by  Waters,  Kinzer,  and  colleagues  at  the  Kansas  Station^^^ 

^3«Nebr.  Bui.  124.  ^='Kan.  Bui.  192.  '^'Kan.  Bui.  192. 


FEEDS  FOR  SWINE  623 

with  a  total  of  192  pigs,  in  which  one  lot  was  fed  corn  with  alfalfa  hay 
in  racks  while  another  was  fed  corn  and  tankage.  The  results  of  the 
trials,  which  averaged  65  days,  are  summarized  in  the  table : 

Alfalfa  hay  vs.  tankage  as  supplements  to  corn 

Initial      DaUy     _Feed  for  100  Ibs^  gain 
Average  ration 


weight 

gain 

Concentrates 

Hay 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

154 

1.13 

587 

95 

153 

1.58 

477 

Lot    I,  Corn,  6 .5  lbs.    Alfalfa  hay,  1 .2  lbs. 
Lot  II,  Corn,  6 .6  lbs.     Tankage,  0 .9  lb 

Lot  II,  fed  tankage  and  corn,  made  considerably  larger  gains  than 
Lot  I,  fed  alfalfa  hay  as  the  sole  supplement  to  corn.  With  corn  at 
$19,  alfalfa  hay  at  $8,  and  tankage  at  $41  to  $45  per  ton,  in  each  trial 
the  gains  of  Lot  I  were  more  expensive  than  where  tankage  was  used 
as  the  supplement. 

Whether  to  use  alfalfa  hay  or  purchased  concentrates  to  balance  the 
ration  of  the  fattening  pig  will  depend  on  the  relative  price  of  these 
feeds.  With  corn  and  barley  at  $20,  tankage  at  $40,  and  alfalfa  hay  at 
$5  per  ton,  Morton  of  the  Colorado  Station^^'*  found  alfalfa  a  much  more 
economical  supplement  than  tankage.  In  one  trial  by  Snyder  at  the 
North  Platte,  Nebraska,  Substation,^*'*  fattening  pigs  made  cheaper  gains 
and  returned  more  profit  on  corn  and  alfalfa  hay  than  on  corn  and  5 
per  ct.  of  tankage,  while  in  another  trial  the  results  were  reversed.  Sny- 
der points  out  that  alfalfa  hay  is  most  efficient  as  a  supplement  in  fine 
winter  weather  when  the  pigs  have  good  appetites  for  the  hay  and  corn. 
In  unfavorable  weather  or  when  the  pigs  are  out  of  condition  the  use  of 
some  nitrogenous  concentrate,  like  tankage,  linseed  meal,  or  shorts,  aids 
in  stimulating  the  appetite  and  hence  results  in  larger  gains.  (339,  1013) 

1011.  Clover  hay. — In  2  trials  with  90-lb.  pigs  at  the  Montana  Sta- 
tion^*^  Linfield  found  that  pigs  fed  4.9  lbs.  per  head  daily  of  a  mixture 
of  2  parts  ground  barley  and  1  part  wheat  bran  gained  0.9  lb,  per  head 
daily,  requiring  529  lbs.  of  concentrates  for  100  lbs.  of  gain.  Other  lots 
fed  the  same  concentrate  allowance  Avith  1  lb.  of  clover  hay  per  head  daily 
made  an  average  daily  gain  of  1  lb.  and  required  487  lbs.  of  concen- 
trates and  101  lbs.  of  hay  for  100  lbs.  of  gain.  In  these  trials  100  lbs. 
of  clover  hay  was  equal  to  42  lbs.  of  mixed  barley  and  bran.  (347) 

'^^Colo.  Bui.  188.  "°Nebr.  Bui.  147.  "iMont.  Bui.  57. 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

FEED  AND  CARE  OF  SWINE 

Tho  the  synonym  for  filthiness,  no  other  animal  serving  man  will,  if 
given  a  chance,  so  well  keep  its  abode  in  order  as  the  pig.  He  will  in- 
dustriously gather  dried  grass,  leaves,  etc.,  and  form  them  into  a  bed 
which  he  will  not  foul.  The  floor  where  his  corn  is  thrown  will  remain 
clean  if  he  has  half  a  chance  to  show  his  manners.  When  he  wallows  in 
the  mire  or  rubs  on  the  oiler  it  is  with  a  wisdom  that  knows  whereof 
it  acts. 

He  is  excelled  only  by  the  cow  in  economy  of  converting  the  gross 
products  of  the  farm  into  edible  products  for  man.  Garbage,  vegetable 
and  other  waste,  green  forage,  and  grain  are  all  voraciously  consumed 
and  quickly  and  economically  converted  into  meat.  So  swift  is  his 
career  that  he  usually  breaks  into  life  with  the  spring  flowers,  plays  the 
gormand  in  summer,  and  yields  his  unctuous  body  a  sacrifice  to  men's 
necessities  with  the  dropping  of  the  leaves  in  fall.  The  pig  is  the  poor 
man's  reliance  and  the  opulent  farmer's  gold  mine.  Of  all  domestic 
animals  he  is  the  most  prolific,  and  his  possibilities  in  multiplying  are 
the  delight  of  the  city  man  in  his  ecstatic  dreams  of  land  owning  and 
raising  his  meager  investment  in  a  single  mother  pig  to  the  nth.  power 
thru  her  precocious  progeny. 

1012.  Summer  care  of  swine. — During  summer  all  swine,  including 
brood  sows  and  boars,  should  live  in  the  open  air  on  fresh,  uncontam- 
inated  soil  in  order  to  escape  intestinal  parasites  and  other  ailments. 
Grazing  on  succulent  pastures  with  a  reasonable  allowance  of  concen- 
trates additional,  they  will  develop  bone,  muscle  and  constitution  along 
with  a  vigorous,  roomy,  digestive  tract.  Shade  and  running  water, 
preferably  supplied  from  a  well,  or,  if  from  a  spring  or  brook,  safeguarded 
from  contamination,  are  essential  in  pastures.  Artificial  wallows,  made 
of  cement,  that  hold  a  few  inches  of  water,  will  not  spread  disease,  afford 
much  comfort,  and  are  a  paying  proposition  when  many  pigs  are  kept. 

Tho  even  mature  pigs  can  barely  subsist  on  grass  pasture,  good  pas- 
ture, such  as  alfalfa,  clover,  or  rape,  somewhat  more  than  sustains  life 
and  so  leaves  for  producing  increase  all  the  extra  feed  which  may  be 
supplied.  In  addition  to  pasture,  sufficient  concentrates  should  be  fed  to 
keep  the  pigs  thrifty  and  gaining,  but  in  no  case  so  abundantly  as  to 
make  them  lazy  and  shiftless,  for  pigs,  if  heavily  fed,  forage  little,  but 
lie  idly  in  the  shade.  Observation  will  soon  determine  the  quantity  of 
feed  which  will  keep  pigs  gaining  normally  while  actively  foraging  to 

624 


FEED  AND  CARE  OF  SWINE  625 

appease  their  hunger.  With  animals  on  such  protein-rich  pasture  as 
that  furnished  by  the  legumes  and  rape,  the  concentrates  may  be  mostly 
carbonaceous  in  character,  such  as  corn,  wheat,  barley,  kafir,  and  milo, 
with  enough  skim  milk,  tankage,  wheat  middlings,  linseed  meal,  or  other 
protein-rich  concentrates  to  balance  the  ration.  (918,  964) 

Boars  and  brood  sows  of  the  larger  breeds  should  reach  a  weight  of 
about  250  lbs.  at  one  year  of  age  if  rightly  fed  and  managed.  The  feed 
and  care  of  the  boar  does  not  differ  from  that  of  the  sow.  Too  often 
both  are  closely  confined  in  filthy  quarters,  away  from  the  wholesome 
earth,  without  opportunity  for  exercise  or  foraging. 

1013.  Winter  feed  and  care. — Breeding  stock  and  shotes  should  not  be 
heavily  fed  during  winter  lest  they  grow  too  fat.  If  rich  concentrates 
only  are  given  and  the  animals  not  overfed,  the  feed  allowance  will  not 
have  enough  volume  or  bulk  to  distend  the  stomach  and  intestines  prop- 
erly, and  this  leaves  the  animals  unsatisfied,  restless,  and  quarrelsome. 
To  correct  this  trouble  and  because  such  feed  is  both  cheap  and  whole- 
some, all  such  hogs  should  be  daily  fed  some  fine,  well-cured  legume  hay 
or  some  roots,  or  better,  both  hay  and  roots.  If,  unfortunately,  neither  is 
available,  then  bran  and  oats,  tho  more  costly,  "will  be  helpful  in  giving 
bulk  to  the  ration.  The  concentrates  fed  to  stock  hogs  should  always  be 
given  as  a  thin,  watery  slop  with  the  chill  taken  off,  to  help  distend  the 
digestive  tract  at  meal  time. 

Pigs  that  do  not  otherwise  get  exercise  in  winter  should  be  provided 
with  a  feeding  floor,  covered,  if  possible,  and  kept  clean,  on  which  shelled 
corn  and  whole  oats  are  scattered  thinly  so  as  to  force  them  to  pick  up 
a  grain  at  a  time.  Here  too  can  be  placed  racks  holding  legume  hay. 
In  this  way  pigs  may  be  kept  out  of  their  beds  and  on  their  feet  for 
hours  at  a  time  getting  air  and  exercise.  Young  breeding  stock  and 
shotes  should  gain  from  half  to  three-fourths  of  a  pound  daily  in  winter, 
the  supply  of  feed  being  regulated  to  that  end. 

It  is  highly  important  that  the  ration  of  the  brood  sow  furnish  ample 
protein  and  mineral  matter  for  the  proper  nourishment  of  her  body  and 
the  development  of  the  unborn  young.  Trials  by  Eward  of  the  Iowa 
Station,^  which  are  summarized  in  the  following  table,  show  the  folly  of 
feeding  brood  sows  corn  alone.  In  one  trial  a  lot  of  5  gilts  was  fed  3.6 
lbs.  of  ear  corn  alone  per  head  daily,  while  other  lots  were  fed  ear  corn  and 
meat  meal ;  ear  corn  and  a  mixture  of  oats,  wheat  bran,  wheat  middlings, 
and  linseed  meal ;  shelled  corn  with  cut  clover  hay  and  molasses ;  ear  corn 
and  clover  hay ;  and  ear  corn  and  alfalfa  hay.  In  a  similar  trial  with  4 
lots,  each  of  10  yearling  sows,  one  lot  was  fed  ear  corn  alone,  and  the 
other  lots  ear  corn  supplemented  by  meat  meal,  linseed  meal,  or  alfalfa 
hay.  In  the  table  all  weights  of  ear  corn  are  reduced  to  a  shelled  corn 
basis. 

iProc.  Am.  Soc.  Anim.  Prod.,  1913. 


626  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Com  requires  supplement  for  hrood  sows 

Average  Proportion 

Daily  weight  of  strong 

Average  ration  gain  of  piga         pigs 

Lbs.  Lbs.  Per  ct. 

Gilts,  5  in  each  lot 

/,  Ear  corn,  3.6  lbs 0.35  1.74  68 

//,  Ear  corn,  3.2  lbs.     Meat  meal,  0 .  13  lb 0.58  2.01  93 

///,  Ear  corn,  2.8  lbs.     Meat  meal,  0.43  lb 0.62  2.23  93 

IV,  Ear  corn,  2  .7  lbs.     Mixture  (oats  3,  bran  3,  mid- 
dlings 3,  linseed  meal  2  parts),  1 . 1  lbs 0 .35  1 .84  83 

V,  Shelled  corn,  3.8  lbs.     Cut  clover  and  molasses, 

1.6  lbs 0.58  2.19  86 

F7,  Ear  corn,  3.7  lbs.     Clover  hay  in  rack,  0.30  lb.  .  0.53  2.21  94 

VII,  Ear  corn,  3  .7  lbs.     AHalfa  hay  in  rack  1.1  lbs... .  0 .63  2  .29  89 
Yearling  sows,  10  in  each  lot 

7,  Ear  com,  5.0  lbs 0.59  1.85  41 

//,  Ear  corn,  4  . 1  lbs.     Meat  meal,  0 .50  lb 0  .78  2  .42  85 

///,  Ear  corn,  4 . 1  lbs.     Linseed  meal,  1 . 1  lbs 0 .67  2 .22  76 

7  F,  Ear  corn,  5 . 0  lbs.     Alfalfa  hay  in  rack,  0 .  27  lb .  .  0 .  64  1 .  77  37 

Both  the  gilts  and  the  yearling  sows  fed  corn  alone  farrowed  pigs 
lighter  in  weight  and  less  vigorous  than  when  the  ration  was  properly- 
balanced.  Lot  IV  of  the  yearling  sows  ate  so  little  alfalfa  hay  that  it 
was  insufficient  to  balance  the  corn  allowance,  as  is  shown  by  the  weight 
of  the  pigs  farrowed  and  the  low  percentage  of  strong  pigs.  The  gilts 
fed  clover  or  alfalfa  hay  made  good  gains  and  farrowed  large,  strong 
pigs. 

In  4  trials  at  the  North  Platte,  Nebraska,  Substation-  Snyder  found 
that  340-lb.  brood  sows  could  be  carried  thru  the  winter  satisfactorily 
on  1.1  lbs.  of  shelled  corn  daily  per  100  lbs.  live  weight  with  alfalfa  hay 
supplied  in  racks,  the  sows  eating  0.70  lb.  per  head  daily.  The  cost  of 
wintering  for  these  sows  was  less  than  when  a  mixture  of  half  ground 
corn  and  half  chopped  alfalfa  was  fed. 

1014.  The  brood  sow. — The  age  at  which  to  breed  young  sows  will 
naturally  depend  somewhat  on  the  growth  they  have  made.  Seldom  is 
it  advisable  to  breed  them  until  they  are  8  months  old,  and  many  breeders 
prefer  to  wait  until  they  are  10  to  12  months  old.  Whether  to  raise  1 
or  2  litters  a  year  should  be  determined  from  local  conditions,  consider- 
ing the  Avinter  climate  and  the  feeds  available.  Where  winters  are  long 
and  severe  and  the  sows  and  pigs  can  not  be  given  the  best  of  feed  and 
care,  it  is  best  not  to  attempt  to  raise  2  litters  a  year.  Under  the  proper 
conditions,  especially  where  dairy  by-products  are  available,  2  litters  a 
year  can  be  raised  successfully  even  in  the  northern  portion  of  the  coun- 
try, t£ie  spring  pigs  coming  in  March  or  April  and  the  fall  pigs  in  Sep- 
tember or  early  October. 

According  to  Coburn,^  young  sows  carry  their  pigs  from  100  to  108 
days  and  old  ones  from  112  to  115,  the  average  for  all  being  112  days. 

Likely  sows  that  are  kindly  mothers  should  be  retained  for  breeders 
as  long  as  5  or  6  years  if  possible.    Iddings  of  the  Idaho  Station*  found 

^Nebr.  Bui.  147.         'Swine  in  America.         ^Breeder's  Gaz.,  64,  1913,  p.  241, 


FEED  AND  CARE  OF  SWINE  627 

that  gilts  bred  at  8  months  averaged  7.7  pigs  per  litter ;  sows  24  months 
old  averaged  9.6  pigs;  and  aged  sows  10.6  pigs  per  litter.  Carlyle^ 
found  that  4-  and  S-j^r.-old  sows  bore  9  pigs  to  the  litter  on  the  average, 
the  litter  weighing  26  lbs.,  while  l-yr.-old  sows  averaged  less  than  8  pigs, 
weighing  but  15  lbs.  From  the  records  of  1,477  pure-bred  sows  of  8 
breeds  RommeP  found  that  on  an  average  there  were  9  pigs  to  the  litter, 
50.1  per  et.  males  and  49.9  per  et.  females. 

Tho  young  sows  have  smaller  litters  than  mature  sows,  they  usually 
raise  a  larger  percentage  of  their  pigs,  for  they  are  less  clumsy.  In  trials 
covering  4  years  at  the  North  Platte,  Nebraska,  Substation,'  Snyder 
found  that  sows  with  their  first  litters  farrowed  8.2  pigs  on  the  average 
and  raised  6.2  pigs.  Old  sows  farrowed  11.1  pigs  on  the  average,  but 
raised  only  6.5. 

A  sow  producing  litters  of  less  than  5  should  be  discarded,  while  one 
that  can  save  and  raise  8  pigs  is  a  good  producer.  The  pigs  in  a  litter 
of  8  usually  will  make  larger,  more  uniform  pigs,  and  in  most  cases 
are  more  profitable  to  the  farmer  than  abnormally  large  litters,  small 
in  average  size  and  low  in  vitality. 

1015.  At  farrowing  time. — Sows  thin  in  flesh  should  have  their  feed 
gradually  increased  so  as  to  be  in  good  condition  before  farrowing.  As 
this  period  approaches  let  the  feed  be  both  sloppy  and  limited  in  amount. 
Costiveness,  common  at  this  time,  should  be  forestalled  by  feeding  wheat 
bran,  linseed  oil  meal,  roots,  or  the  finer  parts  of  some  legume  hay,  and 
by  keeping  the  animals  out  of  doors  and  forcing  them  to  exercise.  Ken- 
nedy^ reports  that  in  England  sows  are  commonly  given  from  4  to  5 
oz.  of  epsom  salts  2  days  before  farrowing.  Nothing  but  lukewarm 
water  should  be  given  the  sow  during  the  24  hours  previous  to  farrow- 
ing unless  she  shows  signs  of  hunger,  in  which  case  a  thin,  warm  slop 
containing  a  little  ground  oats,  wheat  middlings,  or  linseed  meal  may  be 
supplied.  The  desire  of  the  sow  to  eat  her  young  shows  abnormal  feed 
or  care,  or  both,  for  such  mothers  are  usually  costive  and  feverish.  When 
trouble  is  apprehended  BelP  recommends  feeding  about  3  lbs,  of  salt 
pork,  cut  in  strips.  Harbert  would  apply  mucilage  containing  equal 
parts  of  a  tincture  of  aloes  and  asafetida  to  the  pigs  with  a  sponge  as 
soon  as  they  are  dry.  Sows  do  not  like  this  and  let  pigs  so  treated 
alone.  It  is  far  more  rational  to  forestall  such  possible  trouble  by  en- 
forcing exercise,  giving  coarse,  bulky  feeds,  and  especially  in  seeing  that 
the  bowels  move  freely  so  that  the  sows  are  not  feverish  at  farrowing  time. 
For  3  or  4  days  after  farrowing  feed  lightly  with  skim  milk  and  oat  or 
barley  meal,  linseed  meal,  wheat  middlings,  or  bran  in  the  form  of  a  thin 
slop,  warmed  if  the  weather  is  cold.    A  week  before  farrowing,  the  sow 

"Wis.  Bui.  104. 

*U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  Anim.  Indus.,  Cir.  112. 

^Nebr.  Bui.  147. 

*U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  Anim.  Indus.,  Bui.  77. 

•Breeder's  Gaz.,  51,  1907,  p.  535, 


628  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

should  be  placed  in  the  farrowing  pen  so  that  she  will  become  accustomed 
to  her  surroundings  before  that  event. 

The  farrowing  place  should  be  comfortable,  dry,  well-ventilated,  and  so 
sheltered  that  a  deep  nest  is  not  necessary  to  prevent  the  new-born  pigs 
being  chilled,  for  they  may  be  crushed  in  a  deep,  bird-like  nest.  Long 
hay  or  straw  is  not  suitable  for  bedding,  for  it  may  entangle  the  pigs. 
Cut  straw  or  hay,  chaff,  and  leaves  are  satisfactory,  provided  they  are 
reasonably  free  from  dust.  A  plank  fastened  with  the  edge  against  the 
wall,  placed  about  8  inches  from  the  floor  and  standing  out  8  inches  from 
the  sides  of  the  farrowing  pen  lessens  the  danger  of  the  mother  crush- 
ing her  young.  In  the  case  of  heavy,  clumsy  sows,  separate  the  pigs 
from  the  dam  by  placing  them  in  a  chaff-lined  box  or  barrel  for  a  couple 
of  days.  Sows  properly  handled  before  farrowing  will  not  usually  resent 
such  separation.  The  pigs  will  then  be  safe,  and  the  attendant  can  pass 
them  to  the  dam  for  nourishment  at  short  intervals.  A  chilled  pig  may 
be  revived  by  immersion  in  water  as  warm  as  the  hand  will  bear. 

1016.  Birth  weight  of  pigs. — In  a  study  by  the  senior  author^"  at  the 
Wisconsin  Station  each  pig  in  3  litters  as  soon  as  farrowed  was  tagged 
and  weighed.  The  new-born  pigs  weighed  from  1.3  to  3.1  lbs.  each,  the 
litters  aggregating  18.7,  19.2  and  22.5  lbs.  each.  The  first-farrowed  pig 
was  neither  heavier  nor  stronger,  and  the  last  was  neither  lighter  nor 
weaker  than  the  others.  The  so-called  "titman,"  or  weakling,  found 
in  many  litters,  is  probably  such  thru  lack  of  food  or  other  extraneous 
cause,  for  if  given  good  food  and  care  it  not  infrequently  outgrows  its 
mates. 

1017.  Care  of  sow  and  litter. — Farrowing  time  over,  the  ration  for 
the  sow  should  be  meager  for  a  day  or  two,  but  as  the  milk  flow  becomes 
heavier,  should  gradually  be  increased.  The  coarse  feeds,  so  useful  at 
other  times,  must  now  largely  give  way  to  rich  concentrates,  such  as  skim 
milk,  tankage,  heavy  flour  middlings,  ground  oats,  soybeans,  cowpeas, 
and  linseed  meal,  to  furnish  nitrogenous  matter,  and  corn,  barley,  kafir, 
or  milo  meal  in  large  proportion  to  furnish  the  carbohydrates.  Water 
should  be  liberally  added  to  form  a  thin  slop.  Sows  with  litters  should 
be  liberally  fed,  for  at  no  other  time  will  feed  go  so  far  or  give  such 
large  returns.  (914)  Good  mothers  with  large  litters  will  usually  lose 
flesh  despite  the  most  liberal  feeding. 

1018.  The  sow  as  a  milk  producer. — ^Woll"  found  that  a  sow  weigh- 
ing 438  lbs.  gave  7.7  lbs.  of  milk  in  1  day,  consuming  in  that  time  4  lbs. 
of  corn  meal,  4  lbs,  of  wheat  middlings,  and  8  lbs.  of  skim  milk.  Such 
findings  show  that  sows  good  for  breeding  purposes  rank  with  good  dairy 
cows  in  their  ability  to  convert  feed  into  milk.  (543-5) 

At  the  Wisconsin  Station^-  Carlyle  studied  the  milk  of  12  sows  of  3 
breeds.  The  pigs  were  kept  from  the  dam  except  for  short  periods  at 
2-hour  intervals  by  day  and  4  by  night,  when  they  were  put  with  her 
to  suckle.    They  were  weighed  collectively  before  and  after  that  oper- 

^"Wis.  Rpt.  1897.  '^Wis.  Rpt.  1897.  "Wis.  Bui.  104, 


FEED  AND  CARE  OF  SWINE  629 

ation,  and  the  increase  credited  as  milk  drawn  from  the  dam.  With  ex- 
treme difficulty  samples  of  milk  were  obtained  for  analysis.  The  average 
yield  of  milk  of  4  sows  of  each  breed  during  84  days  between  farrowing 
and  weaning,  determined  in  the  above  manner,  is  given  below : 

Yield  of  milk  hy  sows  between  farrowing  and  weaning 

Av.  daily  Av.  total 
Wt.  of        Pigs  in          milk  milk 

Breed  sow  litter  yield  yield 

Lbs.  No.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

Berkshire 390  7.7  6 .3  532 

Poland-China 393  7.5  4.9  429 

Texas  "Razorback" 247  6.3  5.2  434 

We  learn  that  these  sows  gave  from  4.9  to  6.3  lbs.  of  milk  daily,  the 
total  for  84  days,  by  which  time  they  went  dry,  ranging  from  429  to 
532  lbs.  A  4-yr.-old,  532-lb.  sow  with  10  pigs  gave  669  lbs.  of  milk, 
while  a  5-yr.-old,  490-lb.  sow  with  8  pigs  gave  only  337  lbs.  Carlyle 
states  that  some  sows  yield  almost  twice  as  much  milk  as  others. 

1019.  Compositioii  of  sow's  milk. — On  analysis  the  milk  of  the  sows 
reported  in  the  preceding  article  showed  the  composition  recorded  in 
the  following  table : 

Average  composition  of  sow's  milk 

Casein  and  Milk  Total      Specific 

Breed  Fat  albumin  Sugar  Ash  solids      gravity 

Per  ct.  Per  ct.  Per  ct.         Per  ct.        Per  ct. 

Berkshire 7.25  5.74  5.63        0.97       19.59     1.040 

Poland-China 6.79  5.94  5.74        0.98       19.19     1.041 

Texas  "Razorback"..     6.64  6.50  5.56        1.01       19.70     1.043 

It  is  shown  that  in  all  constituents  sow's  milk  is  richer  than  that  of 
the  cow.  (548)  WolP^  found  the  fat  globules  of  sow's  milk  only  one- 
fourth  as  large  as  those  of  cow's  milk,  but  8  times  as  numerous.  (550) 

1020.  Feeding  the  litters. — ^When  2  or  3  weeks  old  the  unweaned  pigs 
should  be  encouraged  to  eat  with  the  mother  by  providing  thin,  sloppy 
food  in  a  shallow,  low-set  trough.  Because  the  sucklings  cannot  fully 
satisfy  their  hunger  by  such  provision,  there  should  be  further  provided 
a  separate,  low  trough  which  cannot  be  reached  by  the  dam.  For  young 
pigs  dairy  by-products,  in  combination  with  various  ground  grains  and 
milling  by-products,  are  easily  the  best  of  all  feeds.  For  very  young 
pigs  there  is  nothing  better  among  the  grains  than  ground  oats,  with 
the  hulls  sieved  or  floated  out,  and  red  dog  flour.  Corn,  barley,  kafir, 
and  milo  meal,  dark  feeding  flour,  flour  wheat  middlings,  and  ground 
emmer  with  the  chaff  removed,  etc.,  may  all  be  freely  used  for  sows  and 
pigs  as  the  young  things  come  on.  Soaked  whole  corn  thinly  scattered 
over  a  feeding  floor  gives  feed  and  enforces  exercise.  Pigs  well  fed 
before  weaning  grow  faster  and  draw  less  on  the  sow — a  matter  of  im- 
portance where  the  litters  are  large. 

Where  1  litter  of  pigs  is  raised  a  year,  the  pigs  may  run  with  their 
"Wis.  Rpt.  1897. 


630  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

dams  10  or  12  weeks,  or  the  sow  may  be  allowed  to  wean  her  pigs  herself. 
However,  when  2  litters  are  to  be  raised,  the  pigs  must  be  weaned  at 
the  age  of  about  8  weeks.  The  sow  should  be  separated  from  the  pigs, 
and  only  returned  2  or  3  times  long  enough  for  them  to  empty  the  udders. 

1021.  Exercise  for  young  pigs. — ^Well-nurtured  pigs,  which  often  be- 
come excessively  fat  thru  liberal  feeding  and  lack  of  exercise  in  winter, 
may  die  unless  forced  to  take  abundant  exercise.  If  sufficient  exercise 
cannot  be  given,  the  danger  may  be  averted  by  reducing  the  feed  supply, 
but  this  checks  growth.  In  the  absence  of  more  natural  exercise  the 
herdsman  should  turn  the  pigs  out  of  doors  2  or  3  times  a  day  and  drive 
them  about  the  yard.  Selle^*  describes  a  means  for  exercising  winter 
pigs  as  follows :  Wagon  loads  of  sods  are  placed  in  the  cellar  in  the  fall, 
and  in  winter  these,  along  with  bits  of  meat  scrap  or  cracklings,  are 
thrown  into  the  pens.  In  searching  for  the  cracklings  the  pigs  get  ex- 
ercise as  well  as  some  feed. 

On  weaning,  pigs  of  the  same  size  should  be  placed  in  groups  of  not 
over  20  in  order  that  each  and  all  may  receive  the  care  and  attention 
needed.  Where  large  numbers  of  pigs  of  varying  sizes  range  together, 
the  weaker  ones  are  at  a  disadvantage  at  the  feed  trough  and  are  liable 
to  permanent  injury  from  lack  of  feed  and  rough  treatment. 

1022.  Shotes. — In  summei^  shotes  should  range  the  pastures,  getting 
part  of  their  nourishment  from  succulent  alfalfa,  clover,  vetch,  or  rape, 
or,  if  nothing  better  is  at  hand,  from  the  grasses.  Green  herbage  of 
the  proper  kind  will  a  little  more  than  maintain  the  animal,  leaving 
available  for  growth  all  the  feed  supplied.  To  supplement  the  pasture 
2  lbs.  or  more  of  concentrates  daily  per  100  lbs.  live  weight  should  be 
fed,  except  where  pasture  is  unusually  cheap  compared  with  grain,  when 
no  more  than  1  lb.  per  100  lbs.  live  weight  may  be  the  most  economical. 
(984)  To  force  shotes  to  forage  the  fields  for  their  entire  feed  is  unwise 
and  expensive.  They  should  gain  at  least  half  to  three-quarters  of  a 
pound  per  day,  and  sufficient  concentrates  to  produce  this  gain  should 
be  fed.  In  winter  shotes  should  be  liberally  fed  the  finer  parts  of  some 
legume  hay,  such  as  alfalfa  or  clover,  and  roots.  These  are  not  only 
the  cheapest  of  feeds  so  far  as  they  can  be  used,  but  they  are  helpful 
in  developing  a  roomy  digestive  tract  capable  of  utilizing  a  large  amount 
of  feed  when  the  fattening  period  arrives.  Legume  hay  also  furnishes 
nitrogenous  matter  and  lime,  both  essentials  with  these  animals.  But 
roughage  alone  is  not  sufficient  for  the  growing  pig,  and  therefore  such 
coarse  feed  should  be  supplemented  with  a  reasonable  supply  of  rich 
concentrates  containing  but  little  woody  fiber.  Corn,  barley,  kafir,  milo, 
and  the  other  cereal  grains  should  be  given  to  furnish  heat  and  lay  on 
fat,  while  a  supply  of  skim  milk,  tankage,  wheat  middlings,  soybeans, 
and  other  nitrogenous  feeds  will  furnish  the  protein  for  muscle  building. 

1023.  The  fattening  period. — Having  developed  a  strong  framework 
of  bone,  ample  lean-meat  tissues,  and  a  roomy,  vigorous  digestive  tract, 
there  now  remains  the  final  operation  of  laying  on  fat.    If  the  pigs  have 

"Wis.  Farmers'  Inst,  Bui.  1894. 


FEED  AND  CAEE  OF  SWINE  631 

been  properly  cared  for  up  to  this  point  this  is  the  simplest  and  easiest 
part  of  the  whole  process.  Fattening  is  best  accomplished  by  restricting 
the  amount  of  exercise,  reducing  the  allowance  of  coarse  feed,  and  giving 
all  the  palatable  carbohydrate-rich  concentrates,  such  as  corn,  barley, 
kafir,  milo,  emmer,  etc.,  the  pigs  will  consume,  with  sufficient  protein- 
rich  feeds  to  balance  the  ration.  The  feeder  will  gain  much  help  from 
studying  the  results  secured  with  the  many  successful  rations  fed  in 
trials  reviewed  in  the  preceding  chapter.  Especially  during  the  first 
part  of  the  fattening  period,  considerable  use  can  be  made  of  legume 
hay  or  forage  crops.  If  the  most  rapid  fattening  and  the  highest  finish 
are  desired,  as  fattening  progresses  the  roughage  should  be  almost  en- 
tirely eliminated.  Even  with  well-grown  shotes,  it  is  important  that 
enough  protein-rich  feeds  be  supplied  to  balance  the  ration  and  stim- 
ulate the  lagging  appetite.  (918)  If  the  fattening  period  is  short,  only 
the  small  grains  need  be  ground,  but  if  the  animals  are  to  be  carried 
to  a  heavy  weight  and  be  highly  finished,  it  may  be  advisable  to  grind 
all  grains  in  order  that  the  consumption  of  feed  may  be  as  large  as  pos- 
sible without  cloying  the  appetite.  (920-1) 

If  the  shotes  have  been  properly  brought  forward  the  fattening  period 
should  not  exceed  8  weeks,  unless  the  animals  are  to  be  made  un- 
usually fat  or  there  is  a  rising  market  which  warrants  continued  feeding. 
After  the  first  few  weeks  of  heavy  feeding  more  and  more  feed  is  required 
to  produce  a  given  gain,  and  this  fact  should  always  be  remembered  by 
the  feeder.  (913)  All  fattening  animals  should  drink  water  freely,  being 
forced  to  do  so,  if  necessary,  by  placing  it  in  their  feed.  (926)  At  all 
times  coal  ashes,  wood  ashes,  lime,  etc.,  should  be  accessible,  as  elsewhere 
recommended.  (927)  Fattening  pigs  should  be  fed  twice  daily,  and  pos- 
sibly 3  times  toward  the  close  of  the  period  when  on  ground  feed  and 
getting  little  or  no  roughage. 

Since  pigs  infested  with  worms  or  lice  do  not  make  economical  gains, 
the  wise  feeder  will  keep  his  animals  free  from  these  pests.  When  pigs 
are  fed  and  housed  in  clean  quarters,  there  should  be  but  little  trouble 
from  these  sources.  Lice  may  be  eradicated  by  using  a  dip  of  crude  pe- 
troleum or  one  of  the  standard  stock  dips.  For  intestinal  worms  var- 
ious treatments  are  advised,  including  turpentine;  charcoal  and  salt; 
charcoal,  wood  ashes,  and  salt;  copperas;  and  lye.  From  trials  at  the 
Iowa  Station,  Ewvard^^  recommends  for  a  50-lb.  pig  a  dose  of  2.5  grains 
santonin,  1  dram  areca  nut,  0.5  grain  calomel,  and  0.5  dram  sodium 
bicarbonate.  The  amount  should  be  doubled  for  a  100-lb.  pig,  increased 
3.5  times  for  a  200-lb.  pig,  and  5  times  as  much  should  be  given  to  one 
weighing  300  lbs.  Feed  should  be  withheld  at  least  24  hours  before 
giving  the  remedy,  and  the  dose  should  be  repeated  in  8  or  10  days,  to 
be  sure  that  the  worms  are  expelled. 

1024.  Home  markets. — ^With  pork  consumption  increasing  more  rapidly 
than  production,  there  have  sprung  up  over  our  land  good  local  markets 
for  all  manner  of  pork  products,  from  the  dressed  carcass  to  sausages, 

"Information  to  the  authors. 


632  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

hams,  bacon,  etc.  Consumers  are  calling  for  leaner  pork,  and  many- 
farmers  who  are  feeding  pigs  will  find  it  to  their  advantage  to  supply  the 
home  demand  for  high-grade  pork  products.  Knowledge  of  how  to  grow 
the  pig  economically  on  such  roughages  as  the  legume  hays,  roots,  and 
rape  is  of  great  value  in  producing  a  high-grade  product,  especially 
with  eastern  farmers,  who  are  unable  to  produce  corn  as  cheaply  as  it 
is  grown  in  the  corn  belt  where  the  lard  hog  is  still  the  favorite.  In 
finishing  pigs  for  local  markets  the  farmer  should  study  the  demand  and 
fatten  his  animals  accordingly,  bearing  in  mind  that  when  the  market 
does  not  give  a  premium  for  the  thoroly  fat  pig  it  \\all  pay  him  to  save 
the  expensive  gains  of  the  last  part  of  the  fattening  period,  which  are 
needed  to  put  on  a  high  finish.  (199,  913) 

American  farmers  should  gain  much  help  from  studying  the  methods 
of  the  Danes,  who  grow  no  corn,  yet  lead  the  world  in  bacon  production. 
This  surprising  fact  is  due  to  their  wise  use  of  dairy  by-products,  to 
their  spirit  of  co-operation,  and  to  the  high  degree  of  intelligence  and 
skill  they  show  in  feeding  and  caring  for  their  pigs.  This  knowledge 
is  acquired  thru  their  agricultural  colleges  and  other  educational  insti- 
tutions, which  are  supported  and  directed  by  a  wise  and  sympathetic 
government.  The  total  area  of  Denmark  is  but  little  over  one-fourth 
that  of  Iowa,  yet  measured  in  money  this  little  country  exports  about 
one-sixth  as  much  pork  products,  mostly  bacon,  as  the  entire  United 
States. 

Most  helpfully,  local  establishments  are  springing  up  in  this  country 
where  pork  products  of  the  highest  quality  are  being  manufactured, 
and  the  success  attained  by  some  of  these  shows  that  expansion  in  this 
direction  is  possible,  as  it  is  also  desirable.  Since  the  pig,  next  to  the 
cow,  is  the  most  economical  four-footed  farm  animal  for  the  production 
of  human  food,  there  is  every  reason  to  anticipate  greatly  increased  inter- 
est  in  pork  production  in  all  the  agricultural  districts  of  our  country. 


APPENDIX 

Table   I.  Average   Percentage   Composition  of   American   Feeding 

Stuffs 

This  table  is  an  exhaustive  compilation,  made  by  the  authors,  of  the 
analj^ses  of  feeding  stuffs  reported  by  the  State  Experiment  Stations  and 
the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture.  The  preparation  of  this 
table  and  Appendix  Tables  II  and  III  has  required  the  time  of  trained 
assistants  equivalent  to  one  person  working  steadily  for  three  years,  in 
addition  to  the  supervision  of  the  authors.  The  completeness  of  the 
data  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  over  53,000  analyses  have  been  gathered 
into  this  table.  The  value  of  the  averages  here  given  is  shown  by  the 
large  number  of  complete  analyses  combined  for  the  leading  feeding 
stuffs.  For  example,  5,335  complete  analyses  enter  into  the  average  for 
corn  meal,  4,641  for  standard  wheat  middlings,  7,742  for  wheat  bran, 
etc.  Compared  with  former  editions  of  this  book,  270  more  averages  for 
different  feeds  are  given,  an  increase  of  80  per  ct.  When  possible  sep- 
arate averages  are  given  for  high-  and  low-grade  feeds  of  the  same  name, 
for  forage  crops  at  different  stages  of  maturity  and  with  different  contents 
of  water,  etc.  For  reasons  given  in  the  text,  averages  for  the  various 
proprietary  mixed  feeds  are  not  here  given.  (285)  The  figures  for  a 
few  feeds,  for  which  American  analyses  are  not  available,  have  been 
taken  from  Z usammensetzung  der  Futtermittel,  by  Dietrich  and  Konig. 
Where  the  scientific  names  of  plants  are  given  in  the  text,  they  are  not 
repeated  in  this  table,  for  they  may  be  readily  found  by  referring  to 
the  index.  In  other  instances  the  scientific  names  of  the  plants  are  here 
given. 

This  and  the  following  tables  are  fully  protected  by  copyright. 


Feeding  stuff 


Crude 
protein 


Carbohydrates 


N-free 
extract 


No.  of 

anal- 
yses 


440 
52 

154 
67 

7 

5,335 
46 

*778 

68 

5 


CoNCENTR.\TES  AND  THEIR  By-PRODTJCTS 

Com  and  its  products 

Dent  com 

Flint  com 

Soft  com 

Sweet  com,  mature 

Pop  com 

Com  meal  or  chop 

Com  cob 

Com-and-cob  meal 

Hominy  feed,  high  grade 

Homiay  feed,  low  grade 

Hominy,  pearled 


Per  ct. 

10.5 

12.2 

30.6 

9.3 

9.4 

11.3 
10.0 
10.4 
10.1 
9.1 
10.6 

633 


1.5 
1.5 
1.0 
1.8 
1.6 

1.3 
1.5 
1.5 
2.6 
2.7 
1.2 


Per  ct. 

10.1 
10.4 

7.4 
11.5 
12.1 

9.3 

2.0 
8.5 
10.6 
9.5 

7.8 


2.0 
1.5 
1.2 
2.3 
2.0 

2.3 

31.8 
7.9 
4.4 
8.5 
1.0 


Per  ct. 

70.9 
69.4 
56.0 
67.2 
69.7 

72.0 
54.3 
67.6 
64.3 
64.0 
76.1 


5.0 
5.0 
3.8 
7.9 
5.2 

3.8 
0.4 
4.1 
8.0 
6.2 
3.3 


634  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Table  I.    Average  percentage  composition  of  American  feeding  stuffs — continued. 


Feeding  stuff 


Crude 
protein 


Carbohydrates 


N-free 
extract 


Concentrates — con. 
Com  and  its  products — con. 

Gluten  feed,  high  grade 

Gluten  feed,  low  grade 

Gluten  meal,  high  grade 

Gluten  meal,  low  grade 

Germ  oil  meal,  high  grade 

Germ  oil  meal,  low  grade 

Com  bran 


Wheat  and  its  products 

"\^Tieat,  all  analyses 

Wheat,  Atlant 'c  states 

Wheat,  Minn.,  N.  D.,  S.  D.,  Nebr.,  Kan. 
\Mieat,  IMiss.  \''alley,  except  above  states 

Wheat,  Rocky  Mountain  states 

Wheat,  Pacific  states 

Winter  wheat 

Spring  wheat 

Durum  wheat 

Polish  wheat 

Wlieat  flour,  patent 

WTieat  flom-,  graham 

Red  dog  flour 


Flour  wheat  middlings 

Standard  wheat  middlings  (shoi-ts). 

"HTieat  bran,  all  analyses 

Wheat  bran,  winter 

Wheat  bran,  spring 

Wheat  bran,  low  grade 

Wheat  feed  (shorts  and  bran) 

Wheat  screenings 

Rye  and  its  products 

Rye 

Rye  meal  or  chop 

Rye  flour 

Rye  middlings 

Rye  bran 

Rye  feed  (shorts  and  bran) 

Oats  and  oat  products 

Oats 

Oats,  hght  weight 

Oat  kernel,  without  huU 

Oat  meal 

Ground  oats,  high  grade 

Oat  feed,  low  grade 


Oat  middlings 

Oat  bran 

Oat  dust 

Oat  hulls 

Com  and  oat  feed 

Com  and  oat  feed,  low  grade 

Barley,  its  products,  and  emmer 

Barley 

Barley,  bald 

Barley  feed 


8.7 
8.8 
9.1 
8.2 
8.9 
7.8 
10.0 

10.2 
11.2 
10.4 
10.5 
8.5 
10.9 

10.9 
10.1 
10.4 
9.5 
12.3 
12.0 
11.1 

10.7 
10.5 
10.1 
10.6 
10.4 
10.0 
10.1 
10.2 

9.4 
11.0 
11.8 
11.4 
11.4 
11.5 

9.2 
8.7 
6.9 
7.9 
10.8 
10.2 

7.3 
6.4 


11.4 
9.5 

9.3 

9.3 

.10.2 


2.1 
1.1 
1.1 
1.5 

2.7 
3.3 
2.4 

1.9 
1.8 
1.8 
1.8 
2.0 
1.9 

1.8 
2.0 
1.8 
2.3 
0.5 
1.5 
2.5 

3.7 

4.4 
6.3 
6.3 
6.3 
6.2 
5.2 
3.9 

2.0 
1.8 
0.8 
3.7 
3.5 
3.8 

3.5 
4.5 
2.2 
2.0 
3.3 
4.0 

3.2 
6.1 
7.0 
6.0 

2.8 
4.6 

2.7 
2.8 
4.2 


Per  ct. 

25.4 
17.8 
35.5 
27.3 
22.6 
13.7 
9.7 

12.4 
11.7 
13.5 
12.3 
13.3 
9.9 

11.7 
12.5 
14.1 
20.3 
10.9 
13.7 
16.8 

17.8 
17.4 
16.0 
15.7 
15.7 
11.9 
16.8 
13.3 

11.8 
10.9 
7.9 
15.7 
15.3 
15.3 

12.4 
12,3 
14.3 
16.0 
12.1 
9.6 

16.3 
12.2 
12.6 
4.0 
9.6 
8.9 

11.5 
10.8 
12.7 


7.1 
6.9 
2.1 
9.2 
9.0 
8.7 
9.8 

2.2 
2.0 
2.4 
2.2 
2.1 
2.7 

2.0 
2.7 
2.6 
2.0 
0.4 
1.9 
2.2 

4.7 
6.0 
9.5 
8.8 
10.2 
16.6 
7.6 
7.4 

1.8 
2.4 
0.4 

4.6 
4.0 

4.7 

10.9 

15.4 

1.4 

1.5 

9.9 

18.5 

4.6 
18.3 
18.7 
29.2 

7.4 
13.7 

4.6 
2.9 

7.8 


Per  ct. 
52.9 

59.7 
47.5 
43.4 
46.0 
56.1 
62.4 

71.2 
71.3 
69.8 
71.2 
71.9 
72.6 

71.6 
70.5 
68.6 
64.2 
74.6 
68.8 
63.3 

58.1 
56.8 
53.7 
54.2 
52.6 
51.7 
55.7 
61.1 

73.2 
71.9 
78.0 
61.2 
62.7 
61.5 

59.6 
54.4 
67.1 
66.1 
59.2 
53.8 

61.8 
52.3 
49.9 
52.3 
65.0 
59.7 


71.6 
61.7 


APPENDIX 


635 


Table  I.    Average  percentage  composition  of  American  feeding  stuffs — continved. 


Feeding  stuff 


Crude 
protein 


Carbohydrates 


N-free 
extract 


Concentrates  —  con. 
Barley,  its  products,  and  emmer — con 

Barley  shorts 

Barley  bran 

Barley  screenings 

Malt 

Malt  sprouts 

Brewers'  grains,  dried 

Brewers'  grains,  dried  (below  25%  pro- 
tein)   

Brewers'  grains,  wet 

Emmer  (spelt) 

Emmer,  without  huUs 

Rice  and  its  products 

Rough  rice 

Pohshed  rice 

Rice  polish 

Rice  bran,  high  grade 

Rice  bran,  low  grade 

Rice  meal 

Rice  huUs 

Buckwheat  and  its  products 

Buckwheat 

Buckwheat  flour 

Buckwheat  middlings 

Buckwheat  bran,  high  grade 

Buckwheat  bran,  low  grade 

Buckwheat  feed,  good  grade 

Buckwheat  feed,  low  grade 

Buckwheat  hulls 

The  sorghums 

Kafir  grain 

Kafir-head  chops 

Milo  grain 

Milo-head  chops 

Feterita  grain 

Durra  grain 

ShaUu  grain 

Kaohang  grain 

Sorghum  grain 

Broom-corn  seed 

Hog,  or  broom-corn,  millet  seed 

Foxtail  millet  seed 

Barnyard  millet  seed 

Pearl  mUlet  seed 

'  Cotton  seed  and  its  products 

Cotton  seed 

Cottonseed  kernel,  (without  hull) .... 

Cottonseed  meal,  choice 

Cottonseed  meal,  prime 

Cottonseed  meal,  good 

Cold-pressed  cottonseed  cake 

Cottonseed  feed 

Cottonseed  hulls 

Cottonseed-huU  bran 


10.2 
6.6 

11.4 
5.8 
7.6 

7.5 

8.2 
75.9 

8.7 
10.5 


9.6 
12.3 
10.0 
10.1 
9.5 
9.5 
9.3 

12.1 
12.8 
12.0 
11.2 
10.1 
11.8 
11.9 
10.3 

11.8 
12.5 
10.7 
10.3 
10.8 
9.9 
9.7 

9.9 
12.7 
11.8 

9.1 
10.8 
10.2 

8.0 

9.4 
6.7 
7.5 
7.8 
7.9 
7.9 
8.3 
9.7 
8.4 


4.2 
5.7 
4.2 
2.9 
6.1 

3.5 

3.8 
1.0 
3.7 
1.5 


4.9 
0.5 
4.8 
9.7 

11.3 
9.1 

16.9 


2.1 
1.1 
4.8 
4.2 
3.1 
4.4 
3.2 
2.1 

1.7 
2.8 
2.8 
3.1 
1.5 
2.0 
1.6 

1.9 
1.9 
2.9 
3.3 
3.6 
5.6 
2.3 

4.6 
5.3 
6.2 
6.6 
6.4 
4.2 
4.9 
2.7 
2.5 


Per  ct. 

12.9 
9.1 
11.5 
18.0 
26.4 

26.5 

23.1 
5.7 
11.9 
14.9 


7.6 
7.4 
11.9 
12.1 
10.9 
11.8 
3.3 

10.8 
7.9 
28.3 
22.3 
10.7 
19.3 
13.3 
4.4 

11.1 
9.7 
10.7 
10.0 
11.5 
10.1 
12.5 

10.5 
9.2 
10.2 
11.8 
12.1 
10.7 
11.7 

19.5 
32.8 
44.1 
39.8 
37.6 
26.1 
24.5 
4.6 
3.4 


Per  ct. 
10.1 

19.3 
9.5 
9.0 

12.6 

14.6 

15.0 
3.6 

10.1 
2.1 

9.3 

0.4 

1.9 

12.4 

15.8 

9.3 

35.4 

10.3 

0.6 

4.8 

7.1 

33.5 

17.9 

28.5 

43.7 

2.3 
6.4 
2.4 
5.9 
1.2 
1.7 
1.7 

1.5 
2.0 
8.2 
7.8 
8.4 
16.0 
2.3 

22.6 
3.1 
8.1 
10.1 
11.5 
24.0 
21.4 
43.8 
34.8 


58.7 
56.5 
60.6 


41.0 

43.5 
12.1 
63.7 
68.5 


66.7 
79.0 
62.3 
44.3 

42.7 
48.7 
34.0 


62.2 
76.1 
42.7 
49.4 
39.9 
41.4 
39.7 
38.5 

70.1 
65.9 
70.5 
68.1 
71.7 
72.8 
71.1 

71.9 
70.8 
63.5 
64.7 
61.0 
52.8 
69.0 

24.9 
17.5 
25.0 
27.4 
28.4 
30.1 
34.6 
37.3 
49.7 


3.9 
2.8 
2.8 
3.7 
1.5 

6.9 

6.4 
1.7 
1.9 
2.5 


2.5 
1.5 
7.4 

5.8 
2.7 
5.2 
3.4 
1.0 

3.0 
2.7 
2.9 
2.6 
3.3 
3.5 
3.4 

4.3 
3.4 
3.4 
3.3 
4.1 
4.7 
6.7 

19.0 
34.6 
9.1 
8.3 
8.2 
7.7 
6.3 
1.9 
1.2 


636 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Table  I.    Average  percentage  composition  of  American  feeding  stuffs — continued. 


Feeding  stuff 


Crude 
protein 

Carbohydrates 

Water 

Ash 

Fiber 

N-free 
extract 

Fat 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

9.2 

4.3 

22.6 

7.1 

23.2 

33.7 

9.1 

5.4 

33.9 

8.4 

35.7 

7.5 

9.6 

5.6 

36.9 

8.7 

36.3 

2.9 

9.4 

7.3 

16.6 

11.2 

41.3 

14.2 

8.6 

8.2 

15.4 

15.5 

40.5 

11.8 

14.0 

3.6 

21.0 

4.0 

56.7 

0.7 

13.4 

3.6 

22.7 

5.8 

53.0 

1.5 

12.8 

3.3 

22.1 

3.7 

56.7 

1.4 

11.6 

3.4 

23.6 

4.1 

55.8 

1.5 

9.6 

4.4 

24.6 

4.2 

56.1 

1.1 

12.6 

3.8 

26.2 

7.1 

49.4 

0.9 

11.5 

3.0 

23.8 

8.7 

50.4 

2.6 

6.1 

4.5 

13.0 

26.6 

46.7 

3.1 

9.2 

3.4 

22.9 

5.6 

57.8 

1.1 

11.8 

3.0 

25.6 

4.4 

53.6 

1.6 

10.9 

3.6 

23.8 

4.6 

55.7 

1.4 

9.9 

5.9 

12.2 

35.3 

35.6 

1.1 

7.2 

3.6 

6.9 

43.6 

37.5 

1.2 

6.5 

4.1 

20.4 

16.4 

16.4 

36.2 

6.0 

2.2 

26.8 

2.6 

17.5 

44.9 

4.0 

5.4 

24.4 

6.2 

26.6 

33.4 

10.7 

4.9 

47.6 

5.1 

23.7 

8.0 

5.6 

4.5 

28.4 

23.4 

27.0 

11.1 

9.1 

5.5 

7.3 

56.6 

18.9 

2.6 

9.2 

3.3 

31.7 

13.5 

38.0 

4.3 

9.9 

5.3 

36.5 

4.3 

26.5 

17.5 

11.8 

5.4 

41.4 

5.3 

28.7 

7.4 

9.5 

4.2 

22.2 

3.4 

59.3 

1.4 

11.7 

2.6 

20.8 

7.5 

51.0 

6.4 

12.3 

4.0 

17.1 

14.3 

47.7 

4.6 

9.6 

4.9 

20.9 

11.2 

45.3 

8.1 

7.7 

5.7 

20.4 

8.0 

41.1 

17.1 

10.4 

4.3 

16.8 

24.0 

35.0 

9.5 

10.0 

7.9 

31.2 

11.3 

30.0 

9.6 

9.8 

10.7 

37.5 

6.3 

21.7 

14.0 

6.9 

3.1 

16.1 

27.9 

21.3 

24.7 

4.5 

3.8 

27.7 

6.3 

16.3 

41.4 

7.8 

6.7 

12.6 

24.4 

34.6 

14.4 

10.0 

4.2 

34.8 

10.9 

21.8 

18.3 

86.4 

0.7 

3.5 

5.0 

4.4 

74.5 

1.6 

17.6 

2.7 

3.6 

90.1 

0.7 

3.8 

5.2 

0.2 

90.4 

0.7 

3.3 

4.7 

0.9 

8.3 

25.1 

36.6 

25.8 

4.2 

90.6 

0.7 

3.6 

5.0 

0.1 

93.4 

0.7 

0.8 

4.8 

0.3 

90.6 

0.4 

2.0 

5.9 

1.1 

80.8 

0.9 

6.5 

4.9 

6.9 

81.0 

1.0 

5.9 

5.4 

6.7 

Concentrates — con . 
Flax  seed  and  its  products 

Flax  seed 

Linseed  meal,  old  process 

Linseed  meal,  new  process 

Flax  feed 

Flax  screenings 

Leguminous  seeds  and  their  products 

Adzuki  bean,  Phaseolus  angularis 

Bean,  navy 

Bean,  navy,  cull 

Cowpea 

Frijole,  Phaseolus  vulgaris 

Horse  bean 

Jack  bean,  Canavalia  ensiformis 

Mesquite  bean  and  pod 

Pea,  field 

Pea,  garden 

Pea  meal 

Pea  bran 

Pea  hulls 

Peanut,  with  hull 

Peanut  kernel,  without  huU 

Peanut  waste 

Peanut  cake,  from  hulled  nuts 

Peanut  cake,  huUs  included 

Peanut  hulls 

Sesbania  macrocarpa 

Soybean 

Soybean  meal,  fat  extracted 

Tepary,     Phaseolus    acutifolius,    var. 

latifolius 

Velvet  bean,  seed 

Velvet  bean,  seed  and  pod 

Miscel.  oil-bearing  seeds  and  their  products 

Cocoanut  meal,  low  in  fat 

Cocoanut  meal,  high  in  fat 

Palmnut  cake 

Rapeseed  cake .  . .  : 

Sesame  oil  cake . 

Sunflower  seed,  with  hulls 

Sunflower  seed,  without  hulls 

Sunflower  heads 

Sunflower  seed  cake 

Milk  and  its  products 

Cow's  milk 

Cow's  milk,  colostrum 

Skim  mUk,  centrifugal 

Skim  milk,  gravity 

Skim  milk,  dried 

Buttermilk 

Whey 

Mare's  milk 

Ewe's  milli 

Sow's  milk 


APPENDIX 


637 


Table  I.    Average  percentage  composition  of  American  feeding  stuflFs — continued. 


Feeding  stuff 


Crude 
protein 


Carbohydrates 


N-free 
extract 


Concentrates — con. 
Shiiighier-house  by-products 

Dried  blood 

Fish  meal,  high  in  fat 

Fish  meal,  low  in  fat 

Fish-glue  waste 

Fresh  bone 

Meat-and-bone  meal,  30-40%  ash .  . . 
Meat-and-bone  meal,  over  40%  ash . . 

Pork  cracklings 

Poultry  bone 

Tankage,  over  60%  protein 

Tankage,  55-60%  protein 

Tankage,  45-55%  protein 

Tankage,  below  45%  protein 

Miscellaneoiis  concentrates 

Acorn,  kernel  and  shell 

Acorn,  kernel 

Beet  pulp,  wet 

Beet  pulp,  dried 

Beet  pulp,  molasses- 

Bakery  refuse 

Bread 

Cassava,  dried 

Cassava  starch  refuse 

Chess,  or  cheat,  seed 

Cocoa  shells 

Com,  oat,  and  barley  feed 

Distillers'  grains,  dried,  from  com .  . . 
Distillers'  grains,  dried,  from  rye .... 

Distillers'  grains,  wet 

Distillery  slop,  whole 

Distillery  slop,  strained 

Lamb's-quarter  seed,  Chenopodium  aUmm 
Molasses,  beet 


Molasses,  cane,  or  blackstrap  . . . 
Molasses  feeds,  below  10%  fiber. 
Molasses  feeds,  10-15%  fiber. .  . 
Molasses  feeds,  over  15%  fiber . . 

Molasses-alfalfa  feeds 

Molassine  meal 

Mustard  feed  or  bran 


Pigweed  seed 

Potato  flakes,  dried. 

Potato  flour 

Starch  feed,  dry. . . . 
Starch  feed,  wet. . . . 
Starch  refuse 


Per  ct. 

9.7 
10.8 
12.8 
14.0 
30.4 

6.0 


Dried  Roughage 

Cured  com  and  sorghum  forage,  etc. 
Com  fodder  (ears,  if  any,  remaining), 

very  dry,  from  bam  or  in  arid  districts 

Com  fodder,  medium  in  water 

Com  fodder,  high  in  water 


27 
34 
90 

8 

7 

8.3 
33.8 

5.6 
12.0 

7.7 

4.9 

9.7 

6.6 

7.2 
77.4 
93.8 
95.9 

9.8 
25.3 
25.8 
11.6 
11.7 

9.3 
13.5 
16.6 

5.7 
10.7 

6.3 
12.1 
10.6 

9.3 
66.6 
10.3 


9.0 
18.3 
39.3 


Per  ct. 

3.3 

29.2 
32.6 
34.9 
21.1 

36.8 
45.8 
2.3 
61.7 
10.5 
13.6 
19.7 
22.6 

1.1 

1.4 
0.4 
3.5 
5.6 
5.2 
1.5 
2.0 
1.6 
4.1 
10.3 
3.5 
2.6 
3.9 
0.6 
0.3 
0.3 
3.0 
5.2 
6.4 
6.7 
7.2 
9.8 
9.2 
7.8 
6.2 
6.6 
4.2 
4.0 
2.4 
1.8 
0.3 


6.5 
5.0 
3.6 


Per  ct. 
82.3 

48.4 
52.4 
39.1 
19.7 
39.8 
33.2 
56.4 
24.3 
63.1 
58.1 
51.7 
40.4 

3.4 

4.2 

0.9 

8.9 

9.5 

11.2 

7.9 

2.8 

0.8 

10.5 

15.4 

11.4 

30.7 

23.1 

4.5 

1.9 

1.4 

14.1 

3.5 

3.1 

13.4 

12.2 

13.7 

12.0 

8.8 

31.7 

14.4 

15.0 

7.1 

2.7 

15.4 

5.6 

6.3 


4.8 


2.1 
1.6 


3.6 
4.9 
3.0 
3.7 

17.8 

2.1 
18.9 
15.9 
0.5 
0.7 
5.0 
6.1 
7.2 
16.5 
9.2 
11.6 
10.9 
2.8 
0.5 
0.2 
19.1 


9.8 
11.8 
18.6 
17.2 
6.4 
10.7 
17.2 
15.2 
2.9 
2.2 
7.2 
3.1 
7.3 


27.2 
22.0 
16.7 


Per  ct. 


3.8 


4.1 
3.8 
4.1 
2.7 
4.1 
3.6 
2.5 
2.9 
4.2 
9.9 

45.4 
54.6 
5.7 
59.6 
60.7 
65.1 
55.4 
84.1 
78.8 
68.6 
49.9 
61.7 
36.3 
47.1 
13.1 
2.9 
1.5 
46.2 
66.0 
64.7 
53.5 
52.9 
45.8 
46.7 
59.6 
34.1 
45.7 
52.5 
73.6 
81.3 
59.4 
21.1 
73.1 


47.3 
45.8 
34.2 


Per  ct. 

0.9 
11.6 

2.2 

7.9 
25.0 
11.2 
10.0 
32.2 

3.1 
12.9 
13.0 
14.0 
17.0 

4.4 
5.4 
0.2 
0.9 
0.7 
9.7 
0.7 
0.5 
0.7 
1.9 
3.0 
4.5 
12.2 
7.8 
1.6 
0.6 
0.7 
7.8 


5.0 
4.2 
2.8 
1.4 
0.8 
11.6 
5.4 
6.8 
0.3 
0.8 
6.9 
3.3 
1.4 


2.2 
2.2 
1.4 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Table  I.    Average  percentage  composition  of  American  feeding  stuffs — continued. 


Feeding  stuff 


Dried  Roughage — con. 
Cured  cwn  and  sorghum  forage, 
etc. —  con. 

Sweet  com  fodder 

Com  stover  (ears  removed),  very  diy .  . 

Com  stover,  medium  in  water 

Com  stover,  high  in  water 

Com  leaves 

Com  husks 

Com  stalks 

Com  tops 

New  com  product 

Kafir  fodder,  dry 

Kafir  fodder,  high  in  water 

Kafir  stover,  diy 

Kafir  stover,  high  in  water 

Milo  fodder,  dry 

MHo  fodder,  high  in  water 

Milo  stover,  high  in  water 

Sorghum  fodder,  dry 

Sorghum  fodder,  high  in  water 

Sorghimi  bagasse,  dried .  . 

DuiTa  fodder 

Broom-corn  fodder 

Japanese  cane  fodder 

Sugar-cane  bagasse 

Hay  from  the  grasses,  etc. 
Bent  grass,  Canada,  or  blue  joint,  Cala 

magrostis  Canadensis 

Bermuda  grass 

Black  grass,  J  uncus  Gerardi 

Bluegi-ass,  Canada 

Bluegrass,  Kentucky,  all  analyses 

Bluegrass,  Kentucky,  in  milk 

Bluegrass,  Kentucky,  ripe 

Bluegrasses,  native  westem 

Brome  grass,  smooth 

Bluestem  grasses,  Andropogon  spp .... 

Buffalo  grass,  Bulbilis  dactyloides 

Bunch  grasses,  miscellaneous 

Carpet  grass 

Chess,  or  cheat,  Bromus  secalinus 

Crab  grass 

Crow-foot  grass,  Eleu^ne  spp 

Fescue,  meadow 

Fescues,  native,  FestvxM  spp 

Fowl  meadow  grass 

FoxtaUs,  miscellaneous 

Gama  grass,  Tripsacum  dactyloides 

Grama  grasses,  Bouleloua  spp 

Hair  grasses,  miscellaneous 

Johnson  grass 

Millet,  bamyard 

Millet,  common,  or  Hungarian 

Millet,  German 


12.3 
9.4 
19.0 
41.0 
23.4 
24.7 
17.7 

17.9 
9.2 
9.0 
28.3 
16.3 
27.3 
11.1 
39.1 

35.5 

9.7 

37.4 

11.3 

10.1 

9.4 

6.8 

10.2 


6.7 
9.7 
10.3 
10.7 
13.2 
12.4 

23.7 
8.1 
8.5 
6.9 
7.0 
7.0 
7.9 

8.4 
9.5 
9.5 

11.7 
4.9 

11.1 


11.8 


10.1 
13.5 
14.3 

8.7 


9.0 
5.8 
5.5 
3.8 
6.2 
2.5 
5.2 

5.6 
4.0 
9.4 
3.3 
8.3 
7.3 
9.9 
3.1 

6.7 
7.8 
3.1 
2.9 
5.2 
5.7 
2.0 
5.6 


7.6 
7.3 
5.8 
6.6 
5.9 

6.5 

8.0 
7.7 
5.5 

11.5 
9.2 

10.2 

7.9 
8.5 
7.9 
7.0 
5.8 
7.2 
10.1 

6.2 
9.0 

6.8 
7.5 
8.2 
6.3 


Crude 
protein 


Per  ct. 


9.2 
5.9 
5.7 
3.9 
7.1 
2.9 
4.8 

5.6 
6.4 
8.9 
6.5 
5.1 
3.8 
12.0 
3.7 

2.3 
7.4 
3.9 
3.4 
6.4 
3.9 
1.4 
3.3 


7.6 
7.1 
7.5 
6.6 

8.3 
8.5 

6.1 
11.2 
9.9 
4.9 
7.0 
6.0 
7.0 

7.2 
8.0 


8.9 
9.8 
9.3 

6.7 
6.4 
8.3 
6.6 
8.3 
8.3 
8.0 


Carbohydrates 


26.4 
30.7 
27.7 
20.1 
22.1 
24.9 
27.8 

27.4 
28.7 
26.8 
21.6 
27.4 
23.7 
18.4 
17.5 

20.6 
26.1 
17.8 
30.5 
24.1 
36.8 
20.6 
34.6 


34.7 
25.6 
25.1 
28.2 
28.3 
23.4 

25.4 
29.8 
31.3 
34.2 
26.1 
30.6 
31.8 

28.0 
28.7 
27.4 
30.4 
33.5 
28.8 
28.6 

30.4 
28.7 
31.2 
30.2 
27.6 
24.0 
27.3 


N-free 
extract 


Per  ct. 


41.3 
46.6 
40.9 
30.2 
39.4 
44.2 
43.1 

42.0 
48.9 
43.1 
37.6 
41.2 
36.6 
44.1 
34.3 

34.1 
45.9 
35.0 
50.5 
51.4 
42.4 
67.3 
39.2 


41.8 
48.2 
47.3 
46.4 
40.7 
47.0 

35.3 
39.9 
40.2 
46.7 
46.6 
45.4 
40.9 

46.2 
42.9 
44.4 
42.1 
44.8 
40.4 
42.6 

43.1 
47.6 
44.9 
43.5 
40.8 
44.3 
46.5 


APPENDIX 


639 


Table  I.    Average  percentage  composition  of  American  feeding  stuffs — continued. 


Feeding  stuff 


Water 


Ash 


Crude 
protein 


Carbohydrates 


N-free 
extract 


Dried  Roughage — con. 

Hay  from  the  grasses,  etc. — con. 

Millet,  hog,  or  broom-corn 

Millet,  pearl,  or  cat-taU 

Millet,  wild,  or  Indian 

Mixed  grasses 

Mixed  grasses,  rowen 

Natal  grass,  Tricholaena  rosea 

Needle  grasses,  Stipa  spp 

Nerved     manna     grass,     Panicularia 

nervata 

Oat  grass,  tall,  or  meadow  oat  grass, 

Arrhenatherum  elatius 

Old  witch  grass,  Panicum  capillare 

Orchard  gi-ass 

Para  grass 

Panic  grasses,  Panicum  spp 

Prairie  liaj^,  western 

Quack,  or  couch  grass,  Agropyron  repens . . 

Rescue  grass 

Red  top,  all  analyses 

Red  top,  in  bloom 

Reed  bent  grass,  Calamagrostis  pur- 
pur  ascens  

Reed  canaiy  grass,  Phalaris  arundinacca. . 

Reed  grasses,  miscellaneous  western 

Reed  meadow  grass,  or  manna,  Panicu- 
laria Americana 

Rhode  Island  bent,  .Agrosiismmna 

Rye  grass,  ItaUan 

Rye  grass,  perennial 

Rushes,  western,  J  uncus  spp 

Salt  grasses,  miscellaneous 

Sedges,  western,  Carex  spp 

Sedges,  eastern,  Carex  spp 

Spear  grasses,  Poa  spp 

Swamp  grasses 

Sweet  vernal  grass,  Anthoxanthum  oder- 

atum 

Teosinte 

Timothy,  all  analyses 

Timothy,  before  bloom 

Timothy,  early  to  full  bloom 

Timothy,  late  bloom  to  early  seed 

Timothy,  nearly  ripe 

Timothy,  rowen 

Wheat  grass,  common,  Agropyron  glau- 
cum 

Wheat  grasses,  miscellaneous,  Agropyron 
spp 

Wheat  grass,  western,  Agropyron  occi- 
dentale 

WUd  barley,  or  foxtail,  Hordeumjvbaium . 

WUd  oat,  Avenafatun, 

Wild  rye,  Elymus  Canadensis 


Per  ct. 

9.3 
12.8 

6.7 
12.8 
13.6 

9.8 

5.3 
6.2 

11.8 
7.1 

11.6 
9.8 

7.9 
6.5 
5.9 
9.8 
9.8 
8.0 

5.9 

9.6 

7.0 

6.7 
11.5 

11.4 
12.0 
5.7 

5.3 
5.2 
9.3 
5.5 


9.3 
10.6 

11.6 

7.2 
12.8 
14.9 
12.5 
15.1 

7.3 


5.9 
7.5 
7.9 
10.8 


Per  ct. 

5.9 


5.6 
6.5 
5.0 

5.5 

8.5 

6.1 
10.1 
6.9 
6.6 

7.1 

7.7 
7.3 
8.1 
6.8 
8.1 

5.1 


7.5 
8.1 
7.6 

12.6 
6.8 
7.4 
5.8 

7.7 

9.3 
10.3 


4.6 
4.5 
4.3 
6.9 

6.9 

6.2 

7.0 
8.8 
6.4 
7.3 


6.7 
10.6 

7.6 
12.3 

7.4 


8.0 

8.0 
10.6 
7.9 
4.6 

8.3 
8.0 
7.3 
9.8 
7.4 
7.2 

10.2 

7.9 
6.2 

9.3 
6.6 
8.1 
9.2 
10.2 

8.1 
11.2 
6.1 
7.6 

7.7 

12.4 
9.1 


6.3 
5.5 
5.2 
14.4 

6.5 

7.1 

7.7 
7.0 
8.0 
7.1 


21.3 
33.0 
30.7 

28.8 
24.2 
36.8 

34.0 

28.0 

29.4 
24.3 
30.3 
33.6 

29.5 
30.5 
36.5 
24.6 

28.7 
29.9 

31.2 

29.0 
33.3 

29.5 
29.5 
27.8 
24.2 
29.2 

30.5 

28.2 
29.2 
30.0 
28.2 

21.7 
26.4 

29.9 
28.1 
29.5 
28.3 
30.7 
24.3 

27.4 

30.2 

32.7 
27.4 
30.1 
26.1 


52.2 
36.8 
42.7 
42.7 
40.1 
39.2 

45.6 

46.8 

42.1 
45.7 
40.4 
44.5 

44.9 
44.7 
41.0 
44.5 
45.0 
44.7 

45.3 

42.9 
44.3 

42.9 
42.8 
43.3 
43.4 
45.5 

41.5 
46.3 
46.3 
49.0 
44.3 

42.7 
41.7 

45.0 
45.1 
44.2 
44.0 
45.1 
34.9 


49.4 

47.7 

44.4 
47.3 
44.8 
46.8 


2.5 

1.7 
2.4 
2.5 
3.3 
1.8 

1.8 

1.9 

2.6 
2.2 
2.9 
0.9 

2.3 
2.6 
2.0 
3.2 
2.3 
2.1 

2.3 

2.7 
2.2 

1.9 
3.0 
1.9 
3.1 

1.8 

2.0 
2.3 
1.7 
2.1 
2.3 

4.6 
1.9 

2.5 
3.2 
2.6 

2.8 
2.2 
4.4 


2.5 

2.4 


2.3 
2.0 
2.8 
1.9 


640  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Table  I.    Average  percentage  composition  of  American  feeding  stuffs — continued. 


Feeding  stuff 


Crude 
protein 


Carbohydrates 


N-free 
extract 


Dried  Roughage — con. 
Hay  from  the  smaller  cereals 

Barley  hay,  common 

Barley  hay,  bald 

Enamer  hay 

Oat  hay 

Rye  hay,  aU  analyses 

Rye  hay,  heading  out  to  in  bloom  . 

Wheat  hay 

Hay  from  the  legumes 

Alfalfa,  all  analyses 

Alfalfa,  first  cutting 

Alfalfa,  second  cutting 

AJfaKa,  third  cutting 

AlfaKa,  fourth  cutting 

Alfalfa,  before  bloom 

Alfalfa,  in  bloom 


Alfalfa,  in  seed 

Alfalfa,  variegated,  or  sand  lucerne 

Alfalfa  meal 

Alfalfa  leaves 

AlfaKa  stems 

Bean,  whole  plant 


Clover,  alsike,  all  analyses 

Clover,  alsike,  in  bloom 

Clover,  bur 

Clover,  crimson,  or  scarlet 

Clover,  Egyptian,  or  berseem,  Trifolium 

Alexandrinum 

Clover,  mammoth  red 

Clover,  red,  aU  analyses 

Clover,  red,  before  bloom 

Clover,  red,  ia  bloom 

Clover,  red,  after  bloom 

Clover,  sweet,  white 

Clover,  sweet,  yellow 

Clover,  white 

Clover  meal 


Clover  rowen 

Covvpea,  all  analyses 

Cowpea,  before  bloom 

Cowpea,  in  bloom  to  early  pod 

Cowpea,  ripe 

Flat  pea,  Lathyrus  silvestris,  var.  Wagneri 

Kudzu  vine 

Lespedeza,  or  Japan  clover 

Lupines,  Lupinv^  spp 

Pea,  field 

Pea,  field,  without  peas 

Peanut  vine,  with  nuts 

Peanut  vine,  without  nuts 

Sanfoin,  Onobrychis  viciaefolia 

SerradeUa 

Soybean  hay 


7.4 
8.7 
7.7 
12.0 
8.1 
8.2 
8.1 


8.5 
7.3 
8.9 
16.0 
6.2 
7.5 

10.4 
15.2 


5.6 
12.6 
9.1 

12.3 
12.6 
7.0 
10.6 

7.5 
18.7 
12.9 

10.4 
13.9 
22.1 
8.6 
8.7 
8.1 
8.5 

14.8 
9.7 
7.8 

10.6 

10.0 
7.7 
7.1 

11.8 

7.8 
11.1 
9.4 
7.8 
21.5 
15.9 
9.7 
8.6 


6.4 
6.9 
9.3 
6.8 
5.1 
5.8 
6.4 


8.8 
9.0 
9.5 
7.8 
10.0 
10.0 

7.0 
8.3 
9.0 
13.6 
4.9 
3.5 
8.4 

8.3 
7.7 
10.8 
8.8 

9.5 
6.2 

7.1 

7.2 
7.4 
6.0 
7.2 
6.0 
8.0 
7.2 

7.3 
11.9 
17.3 
10.2 
6.4 
6.7 
6.8 
5.8 

8.8 
7.9 
6.6 
6.8 
8.7 
7.1 
12.3 


Per  ct. 
7.0 

7.4 
10.0 
8.4 
6.7 
9.8 
6.2 

14.9 
13.9 
14.7 
14.6 
15.9 
22.0 
15.0 

12.2 
14.2 
14.3 
22.5 
6.3 
22.5 
15.4 

12.8 
13.2 
19.2 
14.1 

14.4 

10.8 
12.8 

18.7 
13.1 
11.6 
14.5 
13.4 
16.2 
13.7 

16.5 
19.3 
26.2 
18.5 
10.1 
22.7 
16.7 
12.1 

15.8 
15.1 

9.5 
13.3 

9.1 
10.5 
15.7 
16.0 


Per  ct, 

29.7 
21.9 
33.6 
28.3 
37.5 
33.9 
24.7 

28.3 
30.9 
31.9 
28.4 
24.6 
20.5 
30.2 

27.6 
27.8 
30.1 
12.7 
54.4 
4.4 
27.5 

25.7 
26.4 
23.0 
27.3 

23.2 
27.0 
25.5 

18.3 
23.1 
21.9 
27.4 
38.8 
23.2 
25.9 

20.4 
22.5 
20.6 
21.0 
29.2 
27.7 
25.0 
25.9 

20.8 
24.5 
27.7 
24.3 
20.2 
19.7 
19.6 
24.9 


52.6 

37.3 
36.2 
35.4 
36.8 
34.0 
37.1 
35.5 

40.3 
32.3 
35.8 
41.2 
27.9 
55.2 
37.3 

38.4 
37.0 
37.0 


43.0 
34.2 
38.7 

41.8 
39.1 
33.8 
40.1 
31.5 
41.6 
42.4 

37.3 
34.0 
25.5 
36.4 
41.8 
32.0 
41.2 
41.6 

43.5 
37.9 
45.2 
37.4 
36.8 
44.2 
40.2 
39.1 


2.2 
2.1 
2.1 
2.8 
2.1 
2.6 
2.0 

2.3 
1.7 
1.7 
1.8 
1.7 
4.2 
1.8 

2.5 
2.2 
2.0 
3.4 
0.9 
1.8 
2.3 

2.5 
3.1 
3.0 
2.3 

2.4 
3.1 
3.1 

3.6 
3.4 
4.6 
2.2 
1.6 
2.9 
2.3 

3.7 
2.6 
2.6 
3.3 
2.5 
3.2 
3.2 
2.8 

3.3 
3.5 
1.6 
10.4 
3.7 
2.6 
2.5 
2.8 


APPENDIX 


641 


Table  I.    Average  percentage  composition  of  American  feeding  stuffs — continued. 


Crude 
protein 


Carbohydrates 


Dried  Roughage — con. 

Hay  from  the  legumes — con. 

Trefoil,  yellow,  or  black  medic,  Medicago 

lupulina 

Velvet  bean 

Vetch,  common 

Vetch,  hairy 

Vetch,  kidney,  Anthyllis  vulneraria — 
Vetches,  wild 

Hay  from  mixed  legumes  and  grasses 

Clover  and  mixed  grasses 

Clover  and  timothy 

Clover  mixed  rowen 

Cowpeas  and  millet 

Peas  and  oats 

Peas,  oats,  and  barley 

Vetch  and  oats 

Vetch  and  wheat 

Straw  and  chaff  from  the  cereals 

Barley  straw 

Buckwheat  straw 

Flax  shives 

Millet  straw 

Oat  straw 

Oat  chaff 

Rice  straw 

Rye  straw 

Wheat  straw 

Wheat  straw  from  rusted  grain 

Wheat  chaff 

Legume  straws 

Bean 

Crimson  clover 

Cowpea 

Horse  bean 

Soybean 

Miscellaneous  dry  roiighages 

Alfilaria,  Erodium  dcutarium 

Artichoke  tops 

Brush  feed 

Burnet,  Sanguisorba  minor 

Daisy,  field 

Furze 

Greasewood 

Lamb's  quarter 

Prickly  comfrey 

Purslane 

Rape 

Russian  thistle 

Saltbushes,  Atripkx  spp 

Spurrey,  Spergtda  arvensis 

Sweet  potato  vines 


11.2 

7.2 
7.1 
12.3 
9.7 


10.1 
12.2 
13.0 
9.7 
18.6 
16.5 
15.7 
15.0 


14.2 
9.9 
7.2 
14.2 
11.5 

8.2 
7.5 
7.1 
8.4 
8.1 
14.4 


10.5 
12.3 

8.5 
12.1 
11.9 


11.1 
25.8 
5.0 
11.1 
9.3 
5.5 
4.6 

9.7 
7.9 
11.9 
11.3 
5.8 
6.6 
7.9 
11.3 


10.9 

7.4 
8.2 
8.6 
11.2 

8.2 


6.4 
6.1 
5.8 
14.8 
7.3 
6.0 
6.7 


5.7 
5.5 
7.0 
5.2 
5.4 

11.5 
14.5 
3.2 

5.2 
6.4 

7.2 


7.2 
7.0 
5.4 
8.4 


11.4 
7.0 
2.8 
8.8 

10.2 
7.0 

14.4 

16.5 
22.0 
22.9 
14.5 
15.9 
17.4 
10.4 
9.2 


16.9 
16.4 
17.3 
19.9 
12.1 
17.0 


9.9 
8.6 
11.8 
13.7 
11.4 
12.6 
10.6 
14.5 


3.5 

5.2 
7.2 
3.6 
3.6 

5.9 
3.9 
3.0 
3.1 

8.7 
4.2 


7.3 

7.5 


5.6 


11.1 
4.2 
5.4 
13.0 
14.1 
11.6 
19.8 


24.0 
25.5 
22.3 
18.9 
18.2 
13.5 
11.3 
12.5 


14.8 
27.5 
26.2 
24.8 
26.5 
26.0 


28.5 
29.9 
27.9 
27.6 
25.6 
29.5 
27.2 
27.2 


36.0 
43.0 
42.5 
35.8 
36.3 

25.7 
33.5 
38.9 
37.4 
40.9 
28.0 


30.8 


44.5 
36.4 


23.0 
22.0 
46.5 
20.7 
22.0 
38.5 
24.5 

12.3 

8.7 
14.2 
12.8 
25.0 
22.6 
19.1 
20.2 


43.2 
38.4 
38.7 
31.6 
38.9 
39.8 


42.3 
40.8 
38.6 
32.0 
36.5 
32.4 
37.3 
34.4 


39.1 
35.1 
32.9 
39.7 
40.8 

46.3 
39.2 
46.6 
44.4 
34.6 
44.8 


42.9 
32.9 
33.6 
33.1 
37.2 


40.2 
40.1 
37.9 
42.5 
40.1 
35.4 
34.3 

33.2 

32.8 
24.5 
39.2 
32.1 
38.4 
46.8 
43.5 


3.0 
3.1 
2.5 

2.8 
1.6 
2.4 


2.8 
2.4 
2.9 
2.2 
2.6 
3.0 
2.5 
2.1 


1.5 
1.3 
3.2 
1.5 

2.4 

2.4 
1.4 
1.2 
1.5 
1.3 
1.4 


1.3 
1.5 
1.2 
1.4 
1.7 


3.2 

0.9 
2.4 
3.9 
4.3 
2.0 
2.4 

4.3 
3.1 
4.2 
3.3 
3.0 
1.5 
4.5 
3.3 


642 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Table  I.    Average  percentage  composition  of  American  feeding  stuffs — continued. 


Feeding  stufif 


Crude 
protein 


Carbohydrates 


N-free 
extract 


Fresh  Green  Koughage 
Corn  and  the  sorghums 

Com  fodder,  all  analyses 

Dent  corn  fodder,  all  analyses 

Dent  com  fodder,  in  tassel 

Dent  com  fodder,  in  milk 

Dent  com  fodder,  dough  to  glazing 

Dent  com  fodder,  kemels  glazed 

Dent  com  fodder,  kemels  ripe 

Flint  com  fodder,  all  analyses 

FUnt  com  fodder,  in  tassel 

Flint  com  fodder,  in  milk 

Flint  com  fodder,  kemels  glazed 

Flint  com  fodder,  kemels  ripe 

Sweet  com  fodder,  before  milk  stage.  . .  . 
Sweet  com  fodder,  roasting  ears  or  later 

Sweet  com  fodder,  ears  removed 

Sweet  com  ears,  including  husks 

Com  fodder,  pop 

Com  stover,  green  (ears  removed) 

Com  leaves  and  tops 

Com  leaves 

Com  husks 


Com  stalks,  stripped 

Kafir  fodder,  all  analyses 

Kafir  fodder,  heads  just  showing 

MUo  fodder 

Sweet  sorghum  fodder 

Durra  fodder 

Broom-com  fodder 

Sugar  cane 

Fresh  green  grass 
Bent  grass,  Canada,  or  bluejoint,  Cala^ 

magrostis  Canadensis 

Bermuda  grass 

Bluegrass,  Canada 

Bluegrass,  Kentucky,  all  analyses 

Bluegrass,  Kentucky,  before  heading. . . 

Bluegrass,  Kentucky,  headed  out 

Bluegrass,  Kentucky,  after  bloom 


Bluegrasses,  native 

Brome  grass,  smooth 

Brome  grasses,  miscellaneous 

Bluejoint  grasses,  westem,  Andropogon 

spp 

Bluestem  grasses,  Andropogon  spp .   . 

Bunch  grasses,  miscellaneous 

Chess,  or  cheat,  Bromus  secalinus 

Crab  grass 

Fescue,  meadow 

Fescues,  native,  Festuca  spp 

Guinea  grass,  Panicum  maximum 

Grama  grass,  Bouteloua  spp 

Johnson  grass 

Meadow  foxtail 


Per  ct. 

78.1 
76.9 
85.1 
80.1 
74.9 
73.8 
65.2 

79.3 
89.4 
85.0 
79.0 
72.1 
90.0 
79.7 

78.5 
62.2 
83.1 
77.3 
84.1 
68.9 
63.5 

73.6 
76.4 
80.1 
77.3 
75.1 
77.6 
77.1 
78.3 


55.4 
66.8 
66.8 
68.4 
76.2 
63.6 
56.4 

54.7 
67.0 
63.7 

61.1 
68.4 
50.6 
60.4 

69.1 
69.5 
64.0 
71.5 
63.9 
70.9 
70.4 


1.2 
1.2 
1.1 
1.1 
1.1 
1.2 
1.4 

1.0 
0.8 
0.8 
1.1 
1.3 
1.0 
1.2 

1.3 
0.9 
1.0 
1.4 
1.2 
3.2 
1.5 

1.1 
1.9 
1.3 
1.4 
1.4 
1.8 
1.7 
1.4 


4.1 
2.3 
2.6 
2.8 
2.7 
3.7 
4.1 

2.5 
2.9 
3.2 

2.8 
2.4 
4.2 
1.8 

4.3 
2.4 
2.5 
2.6 
2.5 
2.0 
2.7 


1.9 
1.9 
1.6 
1.6 
2.1 
2.0 
2.7 

1.9 
1.4 
1.5 
1.9 
2.4 
1.0 
1.9 

1.6 
3.8 
1.3 
1.3 
1.9 
3.2 
1.8 

1.3 
2.4 
1.6 
1.8 
1.5 
2.0 
2.0 
0.9 


4.1 
3.0 
3.0 
4.1 
5.3 
4.9 
3.4 

3.2 
4.2 
4.5 

2.6 
3.0 
4.3 
3.2 

2.7 
3.0 
3.5 
2.2 
3.3 
2.5 
3.6 


5.2 
5.5 
4.3 
4.9 
5.6 
6.2 
7.4 

4.6 
3.2 
3.6 
4.2 
6.1 
2.5 
4.4 

5.6 
4.3 
6.0 
6.0 
4.4 
8.6 
11.9 

9.1 


6.2 


15.2 
8.0 

10.3 
8.7 
5.2 

10.9 

13.2 

15.0 
9.3 
11.9 

12.8 
10.5 
15.8 
13.0 

9.1 
10.1 
12.5 
10.9 
12.7 
9.3 
8.0 


13.0 
13.9 
7.6 
11.7 
15.4 
16.2 
22.3 

12.6 
4.8 
8.6 

12.9 

17.0 
5.2 

12.2 

12.6 
26.2 

8.2 
13.6 

7.8 
15.4 
20.9 

14.5 
12.0 
10.1 
12.1 
14.0 
11.8 
10.1 
12.2 


20.0 
18.9 
16.1 
14.8 
9.3 
15.6 
21.6 

23.3 
15.1 
15.7 

19.8 
14.2 
23.9 
20.5 

13.8 
14.0 
16.7 
12.1 
16.7 
14.4 
14.1 


0.6 
0.6 
0.3 
0.6 
0.9 
0.6 
1.0 

0.6 
0.4 
0.5 
0.9 
1.1 
0.3 
0.6 

0.4 
2.6 
0.4 
0.4 
0.6 
0.7 
0.4 

0.4 
0.7 
0.4 
0.4 
1.0 
0.6 
0.5 
1.0 


1.2 
1.0 
1.2 
1.2 
1.3 
1.3 
1.3 

1.3 
1.5 
1.0 

0.9 
1.5 
1.2 
1.1 

1.0 
1.0 
0.8 
0.7 
0.9 
0.9 
1.2 


APPENDIX 


643 


Table  I.    Average  percentage  composition  of  American  feeding  stuffs — continued. 


Feeding  stuff 


Fresh  Green  Roughage — con. 
Fresh  green  grass  —  con. 

Millet,  barnyard 

Millet,  common,  or  Hungarian 

Millet,  hog,  or  broom-corn 

Millet,  pearl,  or  cat-tail 

Mixed  grasses,  immature 

Mixed  grasses,  at  haying  stage 

Oat  grass,  tall,  or  meadow  oat  grass,  Ar- 

rhenatherum  elatius 

Orchard  grass 

Para  grass 

Quack  grass,  Agropyron  repens 

Rescue  grass 

Red  top 

Reed  canary  grass,  Phalaris  arundinacea 
Reed  meadow  grass,  or  manna,  Panicu- 

laria  Americana 

Rhode  Island  bent  grass,  Agrostis  canina . 

Rowen,  mixed 

Rye  grass,  ItaUan 

Rye  grass,  perennial 

Rushes,  western,  Juncus  spp 

Sedges,  western,  Carex  spp 

Spear  grasses,  miscellaneous 

Sweet     vernal     grass,     Anthoxanthum 

oderatum 

Teosinte 

Timothy,  aU  analyses 

Timothy,  before  bloom 

Timothy,  in  bloom 

Timothy,  in  seed 

Timothy,  mountain,  Phleum  alpinum .  .  . 
Wheat  grasses,  miscellaneous,  Agropyron 

spp 

Wild  barley,  or  foxtaU,  Hordeum  juhaluvi 

Wild  oats,  Avena  fatua 

Wild  rye,  Elymus  Canadensis 

Green  fodder  from  the  smaller  cereals 

Barley  fodder 

Buckwheat,  Japanese 

Oat  fodder 

Oat  fodder,  8  in.  high 

Rye  fodder.  ■._■■■•_ 

Rye  fodder,  5  in.  high 

Wlieat  fodder,  all  analyses 

Wheat  fodder,  5  in.  high 

Green  legumes 

Alfalfa,  all  analyses 

Alfalfa,  before  bloom 

Alfalfa,  in  bloom 

AKalfa,  after  bloom 

Beggarweed 

Clover,  alsike 

Clover,  alsike,  in  bloom 


78.7 
72.4 
75.3 
81.3 
70.3 
69.2 

69.7 
70.8 
72.8 
75.0 
69.4 
60.7 

63.0 

69.3 
67.3 

71.8 
72.9 
73.4 

68.9 
61.5 
66.4 


78.7 
62.5 
75.8 

67.9 
53.6 
62.5 

54.7 
64.3 
63.4 
76.7 

76.8 
63.4 
73.9 
87.0 

78.7 
81.9 
72.6 
75.8 

74.7 
80.1 
74.1 
70.2 
72.9 
75.7 
78.5 


1.6 
2.1 
1.8 
1.6 
3.0 
1.8 

2.0 
2.5 
2.4 
2.5 
2.4 
2.7 

2.9 

2.5 

2.6 

2. 

2. 

2. 


2.0 


3.2 
3.5 

2.7 
2.2 

2.1 
3.6 
2.1 
1.6 
1.7 
2.2 
2.7 
3.0 


Crude 
protein 


1.7 
2.9 
2.0 
1.8 
5.1 
3.0 


2.6 
2.9 
1.7 
3.8 
3.8 
3.1 

3.6 

2.8 
2.9 
4.7 
3.1 
3.0 

3.4 
3.8 
3.3 

2.6 
1.7 
3.1 
2.5 

2.7 
3.1 
3.0 

4.0 
4.9 
2.6 
3.7 


3.3 
4.6 
3.2 
4.9 
2.6 
6.5 
3.6 
6.5 

4.5 
4.7 
4.4 
2.9 
4.2 
4.1 
3.5 


Carbohydrates 


6.7 
8.4 
7.4 
6.2 
6.3 
10.6 

10.5 
9.8 
9.2 
7.0 
8.6 

12.2 

10.9 

10.0 
10.6 
7.3 


9.8 
11.4 
14.7 

9.7 
6.7 
11.7 
7.3 

10.4 
15.3 
12.9 

15.7 
11.8 
8.6 
7.5 

6.0 
8.0 
7.8 
1.7 
7.3 
2.0 
7.5 
3.9 

7.0 
4.2 
7.8 
12.8 
7.5 
6.5 
5.9 


10.7 
13.3 
12.9 
8.8 
13.8 
14.1 

14.3 
12.9 
13.4 
10.5 

14.8 
20.2 

18.5 


14.8 
15.9 
12.3 
13.4 
13.2 

15.1 
19.0 
21.9 

15.9 
10.4 
19.3 
12.0 

16.1 
24.4 
18.8 

21.1 
14.1 
21.3 

8.9 

11.0 
19.5 
11.9 
4,0 
9.0 
6.5 
12.8 
10.1 


0.6 
0.9 
0.6 
0.3 
1.5 
1.3 


0.9 
1.1 
0.5 
1.2 
1.0 
1.1 

1.1 

0.6 
0.7 
1.5 
1.3 
1.3 

0.6 
1.1 
1.0 

1.0 
0.5 
1.2 
0.7 

0.9 
1.3 
1.0 


0.8 
0.9 
1.1 
0.8 
0.7 
0.9 
0.8 
0.7 

1.0 
0.8 
0.8 
0.6 
0.5 
0.6 
0.6 


644 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Table  I.    Average  percentage  composition  of  American  feeding  stuffs — continued. 


Feeding  stuff 


Fresh  Green  Roughage — con. 
Green  legumes  —  con. 

Clover,  bur 

Clover,  crimson 

Clover,  mammoth  red 

Clover,  red,  all  analyses 

Clover,  red,  in  bloom 

Clover,  red,  rowen 

Clover,  sweet 

Clover,  white 

Cowpeas 

Flat  pea,  Lathyrus  silvestris,  var 

Jack  bean,  Canavalia  ensiformis 

Horse  bean 

Lupines 

Peas,  field,  Canada 

Peas,  field,  miscellaneous 

Kudzu  vine 

Lespedeza,  or  Japan  clover 

Sanfoin,  Onobrychis  viciaefolia 

Serradella 

Soybeans,  all  analyses 

Soybeans,  in  bloom 

Soybeans,  in  seed 

Trefoil,  yellow,  or  black  medic,  Medicago 

lupidina 

Velvet  bean 

Vetch,  common 

Yeichtkidney,  Anthyllisvulneraria 

Vetch,  hairy 

Vetches,  wild 

Mixed  legumes  and  grasses 

Clover  and  mixed  grasses 

Cowpeas  and  com 

Cowpeas  and  oats 

Cowpeas  and  sorghimi 

Peas  and  miUet 

Peas  and  barley 

Peas  and  oats 

Peas,  oats,  and  rape 

Soybeans  and  com 

Soybeans  and  kafir 

Vetch  and  barley 

Vetch  and  oats 

Vetch  and  wheat 

Roots,  tubers,  etc. 

Artichoke 

Beet,  common 

Beet,  sugar 

Carrot 

Cassava 

Chufa 

Mangel 

Onion 


Ash 

Carbohydrates 

Water 

protein 

Fiber 

N-free 
extract 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

79.2 

2.3 

5.1 

3.9 

7.8 

82.6 

1.7 

3.0 

4.7 

7.4 

74.9 

2.3 

4.0 

7.3 

11.0 

73.8 

2.1 

4.1 

7.3 

11.7 

72.5 

2.0 

4.1 

8.2 

12.1 

65.6 

2.5 

5.3 

9.1 

16.2 

75.6 

2.1 

4.4 

7.0 

10.2 

78.2 

2.7 

4.6 

4.2 

9.5 

83.7 

2.0 

3.0 

3.8 

7.0 

77.5 

1.6 

5.7 

6.4 

8.0 

76.8 

2.7 

5.2 

6.4 

8.4 

82.4 

2.0 

3.6 

4.2 

7.3 

82.6 

1.6 

3.4 

4.6 

7.2 

83.4 

1.6 

3.6 

4.0 

6.9 

81.2 

1.6 

3.2 

5.3 

8.1 

69.4 

2.2 

5.5 

8.3 

13.6 

63.4 

3.5 

6.7 

10.7 

14.7 

74.4 

2.4 

3.8 

6.2 

12.4 

79.8 

3.0 

2.9 

4.8 

8.8 

76.4 

2.4 

4.1 

6.3 

9.8 

79.2 

2.3 

3.9 

5.8 

8.2 

75.8 

2.4 

4.0 

6.4 

10.4 

77.3 

2.3 

4.5 

5.6 

9.5 

82.1 

2.0 

3.5 

5.1 

6.6 

79.6 

2.1 

3.8 

5.5 

8.5 

72.3 

3.2 

3.7 

8.3 

12.0 

81.8 

2.2 

4.2 

5.0 

6.3 

75.4 

2.1 

5.1 

6.9 

10.0 

72.7 

1.6 

3.0 

8.5 

13.3 

80.0 

1.8 

2.1 

5.3 

10.4 

78.2 

2.2 

4.5 

5.7 

8.5 

81.3 

1.7 

1.5 

5.5 

9.5 

80.3 

2.6 

2.6 

6.6 

6.6 

79.8 

1.7 

3.6 

5.2 

8.9 

77.4 

2.0 

3.2 

6.3 

10.1 

82.1 

2.7 

3.1 

4.3 

7.0 

76.2 

1.7 

2.7 

5.4 

13.2 

82.9 

2.1 

2.0 

6.2 

6.2 

80.0 

1.2 

2.8 

6.5 

9.0 

73.5 

2.3 

3.8 

7.5 

12.0 

77.3 

1.6 

3.3 

7.1 

10.1 

79.5 

1.7 

2.0 

0.8 

15.9 

87.0 

1.5 

1.6 

0.9 

8.9 

83.6 

1.1 

1.6 

1.0 

12.6 

88.3 

1.2 

1.2 

1.1 

8.0 

67.4 

1.0 

1.1 

1.4 

28.8 

79.5 

0.4 

0.7 

2.2 

10.5 

90.6 

1.0 

1.4 

0.8 

6.1 

87.6 

0.5 

1.3 

0.7 

9.6 

Per  ct. 


APPENDIX 


645 


Table  I.    Average  percentage  composition  of  American  feeding  stuffs — continued. 


Feeding  stuff 


Crude 
protein 


Carbohydrates 


N-free 
extract 


Fresh  Green  Roughage — con. 
Roots,  tubers,  etc. — con. 

Parsnip 

Potato 

Rutabaga 

Sweet  potato 

Turnip 

Miscellaneous  green  forages 

Alfikria,  Erodium  ciaitarium 

Apple 

Apple  pomace 

Bmnet 

Cabbage 

Cabbage  waste,  outer  leaves 

Cactus,  cane,  entire  plant 

Cactus,  cane,  fruit 

Cactus,  cane,  stems 

Cactus,  prickly  pear 

Cactus,  prickly  pear,  old  joints 

Cactus,  prickly  pear,  yomig  joints.  .  . . 

Kale 

Kohh-abi 

Melon,  pie,  or  stock 

Mustard,  white,  Brassica  alba 

Potato  pomace,  wet 

Prickly  comf  rey 

Pumpkin,  field 

Purslane 

Rape 

Russian  thistle 

Saltbush,  Australian 

Saltbushes,  miscellaneous 

Sugar  beet  leaves 

Sugar  beet  tops 

Sunflower,  whole  plant 

Turnip  tops 

Silage 
Silage  from  com,  the  sorghums,  etc. 
Com,  weUmatured,  recent  analyses.  .  . 

Com,  immature 

Com,  early  analyses 

Com,  from  frosted  com 

Com,  from  field-cured  stover 

Durra 

Kafir 

Sorghum,  sweet 

Japanese  cane 

Sugar-cane  tops 

Miscellaneous  silage 

Alfalfa 

Apple  pomace 

Barley 

Clover 

Com  and  clover 


91 

87 
91 
89 
83 

79.6 
76.7 
75.7 
88.4 
88.6 
76.3 
85.0 


73.7 
79.0 
76.9 
74.7 
80.4 

79.7 
69.2 
77.2 
77.6 
76.6 

75.4 
79.4 
75.0 
72.2 
71.4 


1.3 
1.1 
1.0 
1.1 
0.9 

3.0 
0.4 
1.0 
2.0 
0.8 
3.1 
1.7 

2.7 
3.8 
3.4 
3.2 
2.6 
1.9 
1.3 

0.4 
2.1 
0.3 
2.3 
0.9 
1.9 
2.2 

3.8 
5.4 
5.1 
1.8 
2.0 
2.6 
3.0 


1.7 
1.4 
1.4 
1.8 
1.4 

1.9 
2.5 
1.6 
2.0 
1.9 

2.9 
1.0 
2.6 
2.5 
2.2 


1.7 

2.2 
1.2 
1.8 
1.4 

3.2 
0.5 
1.6 
3.0 

2.2 
2.7 
0.9 

1.5 
1.5 
0.8 
0.6 
0.9 
2.4 
2.0 

0.7 
4.1 
0.7 
2.5 
1.4 
2.2 
2.9 

3.0 
3.7 
3.9 
1.9 
2.6 
3.6 
2.8 


2.1 
1.9 
1.9 
2.2 
1.4 

1.2 
1.8 
1.5 
1.5 
1.3 

3.5 
1.6 
2.6 
3.7 
3.3 


1.3 
0.4 
1.4 
1.3 
1.1 

2.9 
1.3 

4.6 
4.6 
0.9 
2.8 
1.1 

3.2 
3.4 
2.3 
2.5 
1.2 
1.5 
1.3 

1.4 
1.7 
0.9 
1.8 
1.3 
1.5 
2.6 

4.8 
4.4 
4.2 
1.1 
1.2 
4.0 
1.5 


6.2 
6.1 
6.3 

7.0 


8.0 

8.2 
4.5 
9.4 
9.0 

7.7 


11.9 
17.4 

7.0 
26.4 

5.9 


15.6 
14.5 
9.6 
4.7 
5.1 
6.5 

10.4 
12.6 
9.7 
9.8 
7.8 
5.0 
4.3 

3.4 
5.5 
6.3 
5.9 
4.2 
4.4 
8.4 


8.3 
9.4 

10.8 
6.5 
5.3 

11.4 
7.3 


15.4 
11.3 
12.7 
14.4 
9.8 


9.5 
15.5 
11.9 

9.7 
11.8 


12.2 
9.4 
11.5 
14.5 


Per  ct. 

0.4 
0.1 
0.3 
0.6 
0.2 

0.4 
0.4 
1.6 
0.7 
0.3 
0.4 
0.2 

0.8 
0.4 
0.3 
0.3 
0.4 
0.5 
0.1 

0.2 
0.6 
0.1 
0.3 
0.5 
0.3 
0.6 

0.5 
0.4 
0.3 
0.3 
0.3 
2.1 
0.4 


0.8 
0.6 
0.9 
0.8 
0.7 

0.7 
1.1 
0.9 
0.6 
0.4 


1.4 
1.3 
1.0 
1.1 
0.9 


646 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Table  I.    Average  percentage  composition  of  American  feeding  stuffs — continued. 


Feeding  stuff 


Ash 

Crude 
protein 

Carbohydrates 

Fat 

No.  of 

Water 

Fiber 

N-free 
extract 

anal- 
yses 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

Perct. 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

80.6 

1.4 

2.1 

7.2 

7.5 

1.2 

1 

75.3 

2.0 

2.5 

6.7 

12.5 

1.0 

15 

78.0 

2.2 

3.2 

6.3 

9.4 

0.9 

9 

71.5 

3.5 

3.4 

8.6 

11.9 

1.1 

2 

72.1 

2.6 

3.8 

7.8 

12.5 

1.2 

8 

69.3 

2.5 

2.3 

9.9 

14.6 

1.4 

5 

68.4 

3.4 

2.8 

9.7 

14.6 

1.1 

6 

79.0 

2.8 

2.8 

7.2 

7.2 

1.0 

9 

71.7 

1.9 

2.0 

9.8 

13.3 

1.3 

2 

72.5 

2.8 

3.8 

9.6 

10.0 

1.3 

6 

76.8 

1.3 

2.8 

6.5 

11.3 

1.3 

72.8 

2.1 

3.0 

9.8 

11.6 

0.7 

2 

67.7 

2.2 

2.4 

8.5 

18.2 

1.0 

8 

72.9 

3.5 

3.9 

8.1 

10.3 

1.3 

9 

77.0 

4.4 

2.8 

4.7 

10.6 

0.5 

2 

90.0 

0.3 

1.5 

3.1 

4.7 

0.4 

1 

69.9 

2.4 

3.5 

9.8 

13.4 

1.0 

6 

70.2 

1.2 

6.4 

4.5 

15.6 

2.1 

4 

Silage — con. 
MisccllaneoiLS  silage — con 

Com  and  rye 

Com  and  soybean 

Cowpea 

Cowpea  and  soybean 

Field  pea 

Grasses,  mixed 

Millet 

Millet,  barnyard,  and  soybean . . . 

Oat 

Oat  and  pea 

Pea-cannery  refuse 

Rye 

Sorghum  and  cowpea 

Soybean 

Sugar  beet  leaves 

Sugar  beet  pulp 

Vetch 

Wet  brewers'  grains 


APPENDIX 


647 


Table  II.  Average  Digestibility  of  American  Feeding  Stuffs,  with 
Additions  from  the  German  Tables 

The  coefficients  marked  "H  &  M"  in  this  table  have  been  compiled 
by  the  authors  from  the  digestion  trials  reported  by  the  State  Experi- 
ment Stations  and  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture. 
Those  marked  "L"  are  from  the  compilation  by  Lindsey  given  in  the 
Massachusetts  (Hatch)  Experiment  Station  Report  for  1911,  and  un- 
published coefficients  furnished  by  him  for  this  edition.  To  render  the 
table  more  complete,  additions  marked  "M"  have  been  made  from  the 
German  tables  given  in  Mentzel  and  Lengerke's  Landwirtschaftliche 
Kalender  for  1914. 


A.  Experiments  with  Ruminants 


Dry 

matter 


Crude 

protein 


Carbohydrates 


Fiber 


N-free 
extract 


Au- 
thority 


Concentrates 
Grains,  seeds,  and  their  products 

Com  meal 

Corncob 

Com-and-cob  meal 

Hominy  feed 

Gluten  feed 

Gluten  meal 

Germ  oil  meal 

Com  bran 

Wheat,  ground 

Dunim  wheat 

Flour  wheat  middlings 

Standard  wheat  middlings 

Wheat  bran,  av.  of  all  trials 

Wheat  bran,  winter 

Wheat  bran,  spring 

Wheat  bran,  low  grade 

\\aieatfeed. 

Wheat  screenings 

Rye  meal 

Rye  feed 

Oats 

Oat  feed,  low  grade 

Oat  middlings 

Oat  hulls 

Barley 

Barley,  grotmd 

Barley  bran 

Malt  sprouts 

Brewers'  grains,  dried 

Emmer 

Rice  meal 

Rice  polish 

Rice  bran 

Rice  huUs 

Buckwheat 


91 

82 
77 
67 
100 


H&M 
H&M 
H&M 
H&M 
H&M 
H&M 
H&M 

H&M 
H&M 
H&M 

L 

L 
H&M 
H&M 

H&M 
H&M 
H&M 
H&M 
H&M 
H&M 
H&M 

H&M 
H&M 
H&M 
H&M 
H&M 

M 
H&M 

H&M 
H&M 
H&M 
H&M 
H&M 

M 

M 


648 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Table  II.    Average  digestibility  of  American  feeding  stuffs  —  continued. 


Feeding  stuff 


Dry 

matter 


Crude 
protein 


Carbohydrates 


Concentrates  —  con. 
Grains,  seeds,  and  their  products  — 

Buckwheat  middlings 

Buckwheat  bran 

Kafir,  ground,  with  legume  hay . . 

Kafir,  in  unbalanced  ration 

Kafir  heads,  with  legume  hay.  . .  . 
Kafir  heads,  in  unbalanced  ration . 
Milo  maize,  in  imbalanced  ration. 


Millet  seed,  whole 

MiQet  seed,  ground 

Cotton  seed 

Cotton  seed,  roasted 

Cottonseed  meal,  choice  and  prime . 

Cold-pressed  cottonseed  cake 

Cottonseed  feed 

Cottonseed  hulls 


Flaxseed 

Linseed  meal,  old  process 

Linseed  meal,  new  process 

Cowpea  meal 

Horse  beans 

Pea  meal 

Pea  hulls 

Peanut  cake,  from  hulled  nuts . 


Peanut  cake,  many  hulls .  .  . 

Soj'beans,  ground 

Soybean  meal,  fat  extracted . 

Cocoanut  cake 

Palmnut  cake 

Rapeseed  cake 

Sesame  oU  cake 

Sunflower  seed  cake 


Slaughter  house  and  animal  by-products 

Skim  milk 

Dried  blood 

Fish  meal 

Flesh  meal 


Miscellaneous  concentrates 

Beet  pulp,  dried 

Beet  pulp,  molasses- 

Cocoa  shells 

Distillers'  grains,  largely  from  com . 
Distillers'  grains,  largely  from  rye . 

Molasses,  cane,  or  black-strap 

Molasses  feeds 


Dried  Roughage 
Cured  com  and  sorghum  forage 

Com  fodder,  dent,  mature 

Com  fodder,  dent,  in  milk 

Com  fodder,  southern  dent,  immature. 

Com  fodder,  flint,  mature 

Com  fodder,  flint,  ears  forming 


Per  ct. 

74 
49 

50 

34 


71 


91 


32 
39 
55 
44 
61 
35 
100 

41 
53 
76 
66 
37 
48 
45 
47 


83 


50 


56 
92 
51 
80 
36 
84 

84 
92 
50 
51 
75 
72 
61 
34 

55 
78 
87 
93 
91 
94 
90 
84 

49 
73 
100 
87 
93 
76 
71 
71 


98 


Per  ct. 


95 

74 
83 
55 
73 
90 

90 
82 
68 
100 
100 
79 
94 
90 


100 


100 
95 
84 

100 


APPENDIX 

Table  II.    Average  digestibility  of  American  feeding  stuffs  —  continued. 


649 


Feeding  atuff 


o^ 

Dry 

Crude 

Carboh 

ydrates 

Fat 

^i^ 

matter 

protein 

Fiber 

N-free 
extract 

thority 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

6 

67 

64 

74 

68 

74 

H&M 

35 

57 

37 

66 

59 

62 

H&M 

4 

60 

45 

69 

63 

59 

H&M 

5 

19 

73 

66 

36 

H&M 

2 

60 

55 

71 

62 

71 

H&M 

3 

63 

60 

61 

66 

83 

H&M 

8 

59 

46 

60 

67 

60 

H&M 

5 

56 

34 

67 

60 

75 

H&M 

3 

52 

16 

51 

61 

63 

H&M 

20 

58 

38 

61 

63 

65 

H&M 

1 

61 

14 

64 

65 

46 

H&M 

9 

54 

52 

52 

51 

42 

H&M 

5 

56 

58 

59 

52 

44 

H&M 

2 

62 

43 

70 

62 

37 

H&M 

7 

56 

57 

66 

61 

52 

H&M 

11 

63 

51 

59 

64 

39 

H&M 

2 

60 

68 

53 

67 

16 

H&M 

3 

54 

61 

60 

45 

H&M 

4 

20 

54 

47 

37 

H&M 

1 

45 

42 

46 

49 

32 

H&M 

8 

53 

44 

60 

53 

43 

H&M 

2 

61 

52 

67 

59 

54 

H&M 

9 

57 

44 

67 

57 

46 

H&M 

4 

59 

61 

64 

56 

47 

H&M 

2 

65 

60 

68 

67 

64 

H&M 

2 

62 

63 

67 

59 

46 

H&M 

73 

61 

57 

62 

62 

50 

L 

34 

50 

55 

59 

49 

M 

4 

52 

43 

56 

52 

46 

H&M 

3 

58 

60 

61 

56 

55 

H&M 

3 

62 

57 

61 

67 

56 

H&M 

3 

53 

47 

45 

H&M 

16 

58 

53 

42 

H&M 

3 

60 

62 

61 

63 

53 

H&M 

2 

67 

74 

71 

61 

49 

H&M 

5 

54 

45 

59 

53 

35 

H&M 

6 

51 

75 

14 

56 

41 

H&M 

2 

62 

62 

70 

65 

42 

H&M 

1 

62 

62 

71 

60 

43 

H&M 

58 

55 

48 

50 

62 

50 

L 

8 

59 

57 

57 

63 

48 

L 

17 

52 

43 

46 

59 

51 

L 

6 

55 

62 

58 

57 

34 

H&M 

10 

64 

55 

63 

41 

H&M 

4 

59 

65 

62 

63 

41 

H&M 

22 

54 

54 

52 

56 

61 

H&M 

109 

60 

71 

43 

72 

38 

H&M 

53 

59 

67 

42 

72 

38 

H&M 

21 

62 

76 

44 

74 

40 

H&M 

Dried  Roughage  —  con 
Cured  corn  and  sorghum  forage  ■ 

Sweet  com  fodder 

Com  stover 

Com  leaves 

Com  husks 

Com  stover,  tops  and  leaves. . .  . 

New  com  product 

Kafir  fodder 

Kafir  stover 

Milo  fodder 

Sorghum  fodder 

Sorghum  bagasse 


Hay  from  the  grasses,  etc. 

Bermuda  grass 

Black  grass 

Bluegrass,  Canada 

Bluegrass,  Kentucky 

Brome  grass 

Brome  grass,  western 

Buffalo  grass 

Bunch  grass,  black 

Chess,  or  cheat 

Crab  grass,  ripe 

Fescue,  meadow 

Johnson  grass 


MUlet,  bamyard 

Millet,  Hungarian 

Millet,  pearl,  or  cat-tail 

Mixed  grasses,  8-10%  protein. 
Mixed  grasses,  low  in  protein . 

Oat  grass,  tall 

Orchard  grass 


Quack,  or  couch  grass. 

Para  grass 

Prairie  gi-ass,  western . 

Red  top 

Rush,  Baltic 

Salt  grasses 

Salt  bushes 


Sedges,  western 

Spear  grasses 

Timothy,  av.  of  all  trials  .... 

Timothy,  in  bloom 

Timothy,  past  bloom 

Wheat  grasses,  miscellaneous. 
Wheat  grass,  western 


Hay  from  the  smaller  cereals 

Barley 

Oat 


Hay  from  the  legumes 

AlfaKa,  av.  of  all  trials 

Alfalfa,  first  cutting 

Alfalfa,  second  cutting 


650 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Table  II.    Average  digestibility  of  American  feeding  stuffs  —  continued. 


Feeding  stuff 


o^ 

Dry 

Crude 

Carbohydrates 

^s 

matter 

protein 

Fiber 

N-free 
extract 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

Perc 

6 

58 

70 

40 

70 

42 

74 

60 

70 

43 

72 

39 

15 

56 

62 

48 

64 

43 

2 

81 

64 

76 

5 

13 

62 

69 

47 

65 

44 

25 

59 

59 

54 

66 

57 

4 

62 

62 

53 

68 

54 

4 

65 

47 

63 

60 

3 

61 

75 

34 

72 

31 

1 

66 

73 

61 

70 

51 

4 

59 

68 

47 

68 

39 

2 

68 

75 

56 

75 

57 

5 

60 

72 

52 

72 

SO 

2 

70 

36 

74 

66 

2 

75 

50 

63 

65 

4 

60 

73 

57 

64 

44 

5 

65 

67 

57 

72 

64 

8 

67 

79 

59 

71 

67 

8 

68 

55 

72 

70 

70 

13 

55 

47 

51 

60 

45 

7 

62 

73 

58 

61 

59 

7 

58 

65 

55 

59 

55 

6 

66 

74 

65 

68 

64 

7 

25 

54 

53 

39 

2 

45 

81 

26 

43 

93 

5 

49 

43 

68 

57 

18 

54 

28 

60 

51 

39 

2 

38 

45 

49 

48 

6 

22 

59 

46 

23 

9 

23 

55 

39 

36 

4 

50 

38 

66 

60 

10 

23 

50 

37 

31 

3 

26 

39 

33 

43 

14 

68 

66 

65 

71 

86 

17 

70 

62 

64 

77 

76 

23 

69 

54 

59 

75 

75 

4 

69 

62 

75 

71 

66 

2 

77 

78 

75 

81 

74 

12 

62 

60 

77 

75 

6 

65 

44 

55 

73 

64 

2 

68 

47 

62 

75 

70 

6 

71 

59 

72 

56 

2 

53 

64 

45 

60 

50 

2 

60 

68 

53 

67 

16 

9 

70 

60 

69 

70 

62 

8 

63 

64 

70 

67 

62 

2 

70 

66 

75 

62 

Dried  Roughage  —  con. 

Hay  from  the  legumes  —  con. 

AlfaKa,  third  cutting 

AJfaKa,  budded  to  full  bloom 

Clover,  alsike 

Clover,  bur 

Clover,  crimson 

Clover,  red,  av.  of  all  trials 

Clover,  red,  in  bloom 

CloA'^er  rowen 

Clover,  sweet,  white 

Clover,  white 

Cowpea 

Lupine,  wild 

Peanut  vine 

Sanfoin 

Serradella 

Soybean 

Vetch,  common 

Vetch,  hairy 

Hay  from  mixed  grasses  and  legumes 
Clover  and  mixed  grasses,  western. . . 

Clover  and  timothy 

Peas  and  oats 

Vetch  and  oats 

Vetch  and  wheat 

Straw  and  chaff 

Barley  straw 

Flax  shives 

Horse  bean  straw 

Oat  straw 

Oat  chaff 

Rice  straw 

Rye  straw 

Soybean  straw 

Wheat  straw 

Wheat  chaff 

Fresh  Green  Roughage 
Com  and  the  sorghums 

Com  fodder,  dent,  immature 

Com  fodder,  dent,  in  mUk 

Com  fodder,  dent,  mature 

Com  fodder,  flint,  mature 

Com  fodder,  sweet,  in  mUk 

Com  fodder,  sweet,  roasting  ears .... 

Sorghum  fodder,  all  trials 

Sorghum  fodder,  in  bloom 

Fresh  green  grasses  and  cereals 

Barley 

Bluegrass,  native 

Brome  grass,  western 

Mniet,  barnyard 

MiUet,  Hungarian 

Mbced  grasses,  immature 


APPENDIX 


651 


TABiiE  n.    Average  digestibility  of  American  feeding  stuffs  —  continued. 


Feeding  stuff 


Dry 

matter 


Crud 
protein 


Carbohydrates 


N-free 
extract 


Fresh  Green  Roughage  —  con. 
Fresh  green  grasses  and  cereals  —  con 

Mixed  grasses,  late  in  season 

Oat  fodder 

Orchard  grass 

Red  top 

Rye  fodder 

Timothy 

Green  legumes 

Alfalfa 

Clover,  crimson 

Clover,  red 

Clover  rowen 

CowT^ea 

Lupine 

Pea,  field,  Canada 

Sanfoin 

Soybean,  aU  trials 

Soybean,  in  bloom 

Vetch,  common 

Vetch,  hairy 

Mixed  legumes  and  grasses 

Peas  and  barley 

Peas  and  oats 

Vetch  and  oats 

Vetch  and  wheat 

Roots  and  tubers 

Beet,  sugar 

Carrot 

Mangel 

Potato 

Rutabaga 

Turnip 

Miscellaneous  green 

Cabbage 

Cabbage  waste,  outer  leaves.  . 

Cactus,  prickly  pear 

Kale 

Pumpkin 

Rape 

Silage 

Com,  dent,  mature 

Com,  dent,  inomature 

Clover 

Com  and  soybean 

Cowpea 

Kafir,  well  matured 

MiUet,  barnyard,  and  soybean 

Oat  and  pea 

Sorghum,  well  matured 

Soybean 

Vetch 


10 


56 


68 


34 
100 
78 

74 
51 


100 
78 
47 
59 
61 
87 


100 


84 


652  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Table  II.    Average  digestibility  of  American  feeding  stuffs — continued. 


B.  Experiments  with  Horses 


Feeding  stuff 


Dry 

matter 

Crude 
protein 

Carboh 

ydrates 

ll 

Fiber 

N-free 
extract 

Fat 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

Per  ct. 

2 

74 

58 

83 

48 

2 

88 

76 

96 

73 

34 

80 

29 

75 

71 

2 

44 

21 

43 

47 

47 

4 

63 

48 

65 

22 

14 

58 

39 

58 

18 

12 

55 

38 

52 

29 

6 

73 

46 

70 

14 

5 

56 

37 

63 

29 

Com 

Com  meal 

Oats 

Timothy  hay 

Meadow  hay,  excellent 
Meadow  hay,  good .  .  . . 

Meadow  hay,  poor 

Alfalfa  hay 

Clover  hay,  red 


C.  Experiments  with  Calves 

Whole  milk 

13 
9 
3 
3 

94 
93 
87 
95 

98* 
98* 
98* 
98* 

97 
96 
95 

H&M 

Pasteurized  whole  milk 

H&M 

H&M 

Skim  milk 

H&M 

D.  Experiments  with  Swine 


Shelled  com 

Ground  com 

Com-and-cob  meal 

Wheat 

Red  dog  flour 

Wheat  middlings  (shorts) 

Wheat  bran 

Barley 

Rye 

Sorghum  seed 

Broom-corn  millet  seed . . . 

Rice 

Pea  meal 

Linseed  meal,  old  process 

Soybean  meal 

Skim  milk 

Dried  blood 

Tankage 

Pork  cracklings 

Potato 

•Assumed. 


33 

87 

75 

44 

92 

64 

47 

87 

76 

46 

93 

64 

1 

76 

76 

28 

84 

82 

2 

80 

60 

83 

70 

2 

87 

88 

36 

9 

82 

83 

30 

86 

83 

2 

66 

75 

39 

66 

72 

29 

77 

12 

89 

44 

4 

84 

10 

94 

41 

9 

.. 

60 

20 

83 

72 

1 

73 

68 

33 

92 

59 

2 

86 

100 

70 

11 

90 

70 

96 

49 

9 

78 

85 

16 

82 

70 

5 

84 

30 

100 

84 

5 

100 

100 

100 

1 

72 

72 

92 

5 

71 

100 

100 

20 

100 

94 

100 

4 

97 

84 

98 

APPENDIX 


653 


Table  III.    Average  Digestible  Nutrients  and  Fertilizing  Constit- 
uents IN  American  Feeding  Stuffs 

The  data  for  the  digestible  nutrients  in  this  table  are  derived  by 
combining  the  data  in  the  two  preceding  tables,  according  to  the  method 
described  in  Article  69  of  the  text.  Where  no  digestion  coefficients  are 
available  for  any  feed,  the  digestion  coefficients  for  a  similar  feed  have 
been  used  and  that  fact  indicated  by  an  asterisk.  The  total  digestible 
nutrients  given  in  the  fifth  column  is  the  sum  of  the  digestible  crude 
protein,  the  digestible  carbohydrates,  and  the  digestible  fat  X  2.25. 
(69-70)  For  the  convenience  of  the  student  and  farmer  in  computing 
rations,  the  sixth  column,  showing  the  nutritive  ratio  of  each  feeding 
stuff,  has  been  added  to  the  table. 

The  fertilizing  constituents  given  are  mostly  from  an  exhaustive  com- 
pilation by  the  authors  of  the  analyses  reported  by  the  State  Experiment 
Stations  and  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture.  A  few 
values  have  been  taken  from  Mentzel  and  Lengerke's,  Landwirtschaft- 
liche  Kalender  for  1914,  and  other  sources. 


Feeding  stuff 


Total  dry 
matter  in 
100  lbs. 


Digestible  nutrients  in  100  lbs. 


Crude 
protein 


Carbo- 
hydrates 


Nntritive 
ratio 


Fertilizing  constituents 
in  1000  lbs. 


Nitro- 
gen 


Phos- 
phoric 
acid 


Concentrates 
Com  and  its  products 

Dent  com 

Flint  com 

Soft  com 

Sweet  com  * 

Pop  com  * 

Com  meal  or  chop 

Com  cob 

Com-and-cob  meal 

Hominy  feed,  high  grade 

Hominy  feed,  low  grade  * 

Hominy,  pearled  * 

Gluten  feed,  high  grade 

Gluten  feed,  low  grade  * 

Gluten  meal,  high  grade 

Gluten  meal,  low  grade  * 

Germ  oil  meal,  high  grade 

Germ  oil  meal,  low  grade  * 

Com  bran 

Wheat  and  its  products 

Wheat,  all  analyses 

Wheat,  Atlantic  states 

Wheat,  Minn.,  N.  D.,  S.  D.,  Nebr. 

Kan 

Wheat,    Miss,    valley,    except 

above  states 

Wheat,  Rocky  Mountain  states. . 
Wheat,  Pacific  states 


Lbs. 

89.5 
87.8 
69.4 
90.7 
90.6 
88.7 

90.0 
89.6 
89.9 
90.9 
89.4 
91.3 

91.2 
90.9 
91.8 
91.1 
92.2 
90.0 


88.8 


89.5 
91.5 
89.1 


Lbs. 

7.5 
7.7 
5.5 
8.5 
9.0 
6.9 

0.4 
6.1 
7.0 
6.3 
5.8 
21.6 

15.1 
30.2 
23.2 
16.5 
10.0 
6.8 


9.2 

8.7 


10.0 


9.1 
9.8 
7.3 


Lbs. 

67.8 
66.1 
53.3 
64.5 
66.7 
69.0 

47.3 
63.7 
61.2 
64.1 
72.1 
51.9 

57.8 
43.9 
44.1 
42.6 
50.3 
56.9 


67.5 
67.5 


67.5 
68.1 
69.1 


Lbs. 

4.6 
4.6 
3.5 
7.3 
4.8 
3.5 

0.2 
3.7 
7.3 
5.6 
3.1 
3.2 

4.8 
4,4 
9.7 
10.4 
10.0 


1.5 

1.4 

1.5 

1.4 
1.6 
1.4 


Lbs. 

85.7 
84.2 
66.7 
89.4 
86.5 
83.8 

48.1 
78.1 
84.6 
83.0 
84.9 
80.7 

83.7 
84.0 
89.1 
82.5 
82.8 
73.1 


79.4 

79.7 

79.8 
81.5 
79.6 


10.4 
9.9 

11.1 
9.5 
8.6 

11.1 

119.2 
11.8 
11.1 
12.2 
13.6 
2.7 

4.5 
1.8 
2.8 
4.0 
7.3 
11.6 


7.7 
8.1 


7.0 


7.8 
7.3 


Lbs. 

16.2 
16.6 
11.8 
18.4 
19.4 
14.9 

3.2 

13.8 
17.0 
15.2 
12.5 
40.6 

28.5 
56.8 
43.7 
36.2 
21.9 
15.5 


19.8 
18.7 

21.6 

19.7 
21.3 
15.8 


6.9 
6.8 
5.4 


0.7 
5.8 
12.4 
12.5 
2.3 
6.2 

6.2 
5.5 
5.6 
13.2 
13.3 
6.2 


8.5 


8.7 
8.5 


Lbs. 

4.0 
3.9 
3.1 


3.7 

6.6 
6.3 
9.5 
9.6 
1.6 
2.3 


5.3 
5.2 


5.2 


5.2 
5.4 
5.2 


654 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Table  III.    Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents — contimied. 


Feeding  stuff 


Total  dry 
matter  in 
too  ibs. 


Digestible  nutrients  in  100  lbs. 


Crude     Carbo- 
prolein  hydrates 


Nutritive 
ratio 


Fertilizing  constituents 
in  1000  lbs. 


Nitro- 
gen 


Phos- 
phoric   Potash 
acid 


Concentrates — con. 
Wheat  and  its  products — con. 

Winter  wheat 

Spring  wheat 

Durum  wheat 

Polish  wheat  * 

Wheat  flour,  patent  * 

Wheat  flour,  graham  * 

Red  dog  flour  * 


Flour  wheat  middlings 

Standard  wheat  middlings  (shorts) 

Wheat  bran,  all  analyses 

Wheat  bran,  winter 

Wheat  bran,  spring 

Wheat  bran,  low  grade  * 

Wheat  feed  (shorts  and  bran) 

Wheat  screenings 


Rye  and  its  products 

Rye 

Rye  meal  or  chop 

Rye  floiu-  * 

Rye  middlings  * 

Rye  bran  * 

Rye  feed  (shorts  and  bran) .  . 

Oats  and  oat  products 

Oats 

Oats,  Mght  weight  * 

Oat  kernel,  without  hull  * .  . 

Oat  meal  * 

Ground  oats,  high  grade  * .  . 
Oat  feed,  low  grade 


Oat  middlings 

Oat  bran  * 

Oat  dust* 

Oat  hulls 

Com  and  oat  feed,  high  grade  * .  . 
Com  and  oat  feed,  low  grade  * .  . . 

Barley,  its  products,  and  emmer 

Barley 

Barley,  bald  * 

Barley  feed  * 

Barley  shorts  * 

Barley  bran 

Barley  screenings  * 

Malt* 


Malt  sprouts 

Brewers'  gi'atns,  dried 

Brewers'  grains,  dried,  below  25% 

protein  * 

Brewers'  grains,  wet  * 

Emmer  (spelt) 

Emmer,  without  hulls  * 


Lbs. 

89.  J 
89.9 
89.6 
90,5 

87.7 
88.0 
88.9 

89.3 
89.5 
89.9 
89.4 
89.6 
90.0 
89.9 
89.8 


90.6 
89.0 

88.2 


90.8 
91.3 
93.1 
92.1 

89.2 


92.7 
93.6 
93.4 
93.2 
88.6 
90.5 


90.7 
90.6 
89.8 
89.8 
93.4 
88.6 
94.2 

92.4 
92.5 

91.8 
24.1 
91.3 
89.5 


8.7 
9.2 
11.0 
15.0 
8.1 
12.1 
14.8 


9.6 

9.9 
9.2 


12.6 
12.2 
12.2 


9.7 
9.6 
11.4 
12.8 
9.4 
6.9 

13.0 
8.8 
9.1 
2.0 
7.3 
6.0 

9.0 

8.4 
10.8 
11.0 
7.7 
8.3 
15.8 

20.3 
21.5 

18.7 
4.6 
9.5 

11.9 


67.8 
67.2 
64.2 
60.9 
69.6 
61.2 
56.5 

52.8 
46.2 
41.6 
40.9 
43.3 
41.4 
45.1 
47.3 

68.4 
67.6 
72.0 
55.5 
56.6 
55.8 

52.1 
49.5 
57.7 
56.9 
51.4 
37.0 

54.9 
36.1 
34.9 
45.2 
60.6 
52.4 


67.5 
54.6 
52.5 
52.4 
47.7 
62.7 

47.4 
30.5 

32.1 
8.7 
63.2 
62.3 


Lbs. 

1.4 
1.6 
1.6 
1.2 
0.9 
1.8 
3.5 

4.3 
4.3 
3.0 
2.9 
3.0 
3.3 
4.0 
3.6 

1.2 
1.3 
0.7 
3.1 
2.8 
2.9 


3.8 
4.1 
7.5 
6.0 
4.1 
3.2 

6.3 
3.9 
4.3 
1.3 
3.4 
3.1 


1.6 
2.0 
3.0 
3.4 
2.4 
2.5 
3.2 


1.3 
6.1 

5.7 
1.5 
1.7 

2.2 


Lbs. 

79.7 
80.0 

78.8 
78.6 
79.7 
77.3 
79.2 

78.2 
69.3 
60.9 
59.6 
62.0 
56.3 
67.0 
65.0 

81.0 
79.7 
80.2 
75.1 
75.1 
74.5 


70.4 
68.3 
86.0 
83.2 
70.0 
51.1 

82.1 
53.7 
53.7 
50.1 
75.6 
65.4 


79.4 
80.4 
72.2 
71.2 
65.5 
61.6 
85.7 

70.6 
65.7 

63.6 
16.7 
76.5 
79.2 


8.2 
7.7 
6.2 
4.2 
8.8 
5.4 
4.4 

4.0 
4.2 
3.9 
3.9 
4.2 
6.5 
4.2 
5.8 

7.2 
7.7 
11.2 
5.0 
5.2 
5.1 

6.3 
6.1 
6.5 
5.5 
6.4 
6.4 

5.3 
5.1 
4.9 
24.1 
9.4 
9.9 


5.7 
5.5 
7.5 
6.4 
4.4 


2.5 
2.1 


2.4 
2.6 
7.1 

5.7 


Lbs. 

18.7 
20.0 
22.6 
32.5 
17.4 
21.9 
26.9 

28.5 
27.7 
25.6 
2''5.1 
25.1 
19.0 
26.9 
21.3 

18.9 
17.4 
12.6 
25.1 
24.5 
24.5 


lO. 
WT 
22.9 
25.6 
19.4 
15.4 

26.1 
19.5 
20.2 
6.4 
15.4 
14.2 


18.4 
17.3 
20.3 
20.6 
14.6 
18.4 
28.8 

42.2 
42.4 

37.0 
9.1 
19.0 
23.8 


8.6 

2.0 

6.4 

20.0 


21.1 
29.5 
29.3 
29.4 
29.5 
21.9 
7.4 

7.3 
8.3 

5.6 
15.4 
5.6 

8.1 
8.2 


8.0 
5.9 


12.7 


2.1 
7.5 
5.7 


12.8 
"9.7 
9.5 

16.5 
9.9 

9.8 
2.4 
7.6 


APPENDIX 


655 


Table  HI.    Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents — amiinued. 


Feeding  stuff 


Total  dry- 


Digestible  nutrients  in  100 1 


protein  hydrates 


NutritiTe 
ratio 


Fertilizing  con 
in  1000  1 


Kitro- 
gen 


Phos- 
phoric   Potash 
acid 


COXCENTRATES  —  COD 

Rice  and  its  products 

Rough  rice  * 

Polished  rice  * 

Rice  polish 

Rice  bran,  high  grade 

Rice  bran,  low  grade 

Rice  meal 

Rice  hulls 


Buckivheat  and  its  products 

Buckwheat 

Buckwheat  flour  * 

Buckwheat  middlings 

Buckwheat  bran,  high  grade . 
Buckwheat  bran,  low  grade  * 
Buckwheat  feed,  good  grade  ■ 
Buckwheat  feed,  low  grade  *, 
Buckwheat  huUs  * 


The  sorghums,  etc. 

Kafir  grain 

Kafir-head  chops 

MUo  grain  * 

Milo-head  chops  * 

Feterita  grain  * 

Durra  grain  * 

Shallu  grain  * 


Kaoliang  grain  * 

Sorghum  grain  * 

Broom-corn  seed  * 

Hog,  or  broom-corn,  millet  seed 

Foxtail  mUlet  seed 

Barnyard  millet  seed  * 

Pearl  millet  seed 


Cotton  seed  and  its  products 

Cottonseed 

Cottonseed  meal,  choice 

Cottonseed  meal,  prime 

Cottonseed  meal,  good  * 

Cold-pressed  cottonseed  cake . 

Cottonseed  feed 

Cottonseed  hulls 

Cottonseed-hull  bran  * 


Flaxseed  and  its  products 

Flax  seed 

Linseed  meal,  old  process 

Linseed  meal,  new  process . .  . . 

Flax  feed  * 

Flax  screenings  * 

Leguminous  seeds  and  their 
products 

Adzuki  bean  * 

Bean,  na\'y  * 


87.9 
87.2 
88.0 
88.8 
89.9 
88.2 
88.1 
89.7 


88.2 
87.5 
89.3 
89.7 
89.2 
90.1 
90.3 

90.1 
87.3 
88.2 
90.9 
89.2 
89.8 
92.0 

90.6 
92.5 
92.2 
92.1 
92.1 
91.7 
90.3 
91.6 


90.8 
90.9 
.T90Trt 
90.6 
91.4 


Lbs. 

4.7 
4.6 
8.0 
7.9 
7.1 
7.3 
0.3 


8.1 
5.9 
24.6 
10.5 
2.4 
9.1 
3.7 
0.4 


9.0 
6.1 
8.7 
6.3 
9.3 
8.2 
10.1 


8.3 
8.4 
8.6 
7.6 
8.3 


13.3 
37.0 
33.4 
31.6 
21.1 
14.2 
0.3 
0.2 


20.6 
30.2 
31.7 
12.0 
11.1 


17.4 
18.8 


Lbs. 

64.6 

72.8 
57.2 
38.1 
37.7 
48.1 
12.3 

49.7 
58.0 
38.3 
30.4 
21.4 
30.2 
24.0 
13.9 


65.8 
56.6 
66.2 
58.1 
66.6 
67.9 
66.3 

67.0 
66.2 
62.9 
63.7 
60.6 
57.0 
64.7 


29.6 
21.8 
24.3 
25.6 
33.2 
30.7 
33.3 
33.3 


17.0 
32>6 
37.9 
34.2 
35.1 


54.3 
51.3 


Lbs. 

1.7 
0.4 
7.5 
8.8 
7.5 
10.6 
0.7 


2.5 
1.5 
6.1 
3.2 
1.7 
2.9 
2.1 
0.7 


2.3 
2.0 
2.2 
1.9 
2.5 
2.7 
2.6 

3.3 
2.6 
2.6 
2.4 
3.0 
3.4 
4.9 


16.5 
8.6 
7.9 
7.8 
7.4 
5.7 
1.5 
0.9 


29.0 
6.7 
2.8 
12.5 
10.4 


0.4 
0.8 


Lbs. 

73.1 

78.3 
82.1 
65.8 
61.7 
79.2 
14.2 


63.4 
67.3 
76.6 
48.1 
27.6 
45.8 
32.4 
15.9 


SO.O 
66.7 
79.9 
68.7 
81.5 
82.2 
82.2 

82.9 
79.5 
77.0 
77.5 
76.0 
72.2 
84.0 


80.0 
78.2 
75:5 
74.8 
70.9 
57.7 
37.0 
35.5 


102.8 
77.9 
75.9 
74.3 


72.6 
71.9 


14.6 
16.0 
9.3 
7.3 

7.7 

9.8 

46.3 


10.4 
2.1 
3.6 

10.5 
4.0 
7.8 

38.8 


7.9 
9.9 
8.2 
9.9 
7.8 
9.0 
7.1 


9.6 
8.3 

8.2 
7.8 
8.5 
9.1 


5.0 
1.1 
1.3 
1.4 
2.4 
3.1 
122.3 
176.5 


4.0 
1.6 
1.4 
5.2 
5.3 


3.2 
2.8 


Lbs. 

12.2 
11.8 
19.0 
19.4 
17.4 
18.9 
5.3 


17.3 
12.6 
45.3 
35.7 
17.1 
30.9 
21.3 
7.0 

17.8 
15.5 
17.1 
16.0 
18.4 
16.2 
20.0 

16.8 
14.7 
16.3 
18.9 
19.4 
17.1 
18.7 


31.2 
70.6 
63.7 
60.2 
41.8 
39.2 
7.4 
5.4 


36.2 
54.2 
59.0 
26.6 
24.6 


33.6 
36.3 


Lbs. 

4.9 
1.7 

30.8 
22.2 
22.6 


10.0 
4.4 

23.4 

16.5 
9.4 

11.0 
8.4 
5.7 


5.7 
7.' 


15.0 
26.7 
26.6 
26.6 

14.7 
3.6 


15.0 
17.0 
17.7 


7.8 


656 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Table  III.    Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents — continued. 


Feeding  stuff 


Total  dry 
m&tter  in 
100  lbs. 


Digestible  nutrients  in  100  lbs. 


Crude     Carbo- 
protein  hjdrates 


Hutritive 
ratio 


Fertilizing  constituents 
in  1000  lbs. 


Nitro- 
gen 


Concentrates  —  con. 

Leguminous  seeds  and  their 

products — con. 

Bean,  navy,  cull  * 

Cowpea 

Frijole* 

Horse  bean 

Jack  bean  * 

Pea,  field 

Pea,  garden 

Pea  meal 

Pea  bran  * 

Pea  hulls 

Peanut,  with  huU  * 

Peanut  kernel,  without  hull  * .  .  .  . 

Peanut  waste  * 

Peanut  cake,  from  hulled  nuts .  .  .  . 

Peanut  cake,  hulls  included 

Peanut  hulls  * 

Sesbania  macrocarpa  * 

Soybean 

Soybean  meal,  fat  extracted 

Tepary  * 

Velvet  bean,  seed  * 

Velvet  bean,  seed  and  pod  * 

Miscel.  oil-bearing  seeds  and  their 
products 

Cocoanut  meal,  low  in  fat 

Cocoanut  meal,  high  in  fat 

Palmnut  cake 

Rapeseed  cake 

Sesame  oil  cake 

Sunflower  seed,  with  hulls  * 

Sunflower  seed,  without  hulls  *..  .  , 
Sunflower  seed  cake 

Milk  and  its  products 

Cow's  mUk 

Cow's  milk,  colostrum 

Skim  mUk,  centrifugal 

Skim  mUk,  gravity 

Skim  milli,  dried  * 

Buttermilk  * 

Whey* 

Slaughter  house  by-products 

Dried  blood 

Fish  meal,  high  in  fat 

Fish  meal,  low  in  fat 

Fish-glue  waste  * 

Fresh  bone  * 

Meat-and-bone     meal,     30-40% 

ash  * 

Meat-and-bone  meal,  over  40% 


87.2 
88.4 
90.4 
87.4 
88.5 
90.8 
88.2 

89.1 
90.1 
92.8 
93.5 
94.0 
96.0 
89.3 

94.4 
90.9 
90.8 
90.1 

88.2 
90.5 
88.3 
87.7 


90.4 
92.3 
89.6 
90.0 
90.2 
93.1 
95.5 
90.0 

13.6 

25.5 

9.9 

9.6 

91.7 

9.4 


90.3 
89.2 
87.2 
86.0 
69.6 

94.0 

93.4 


18.3 
19.4 
20.4 
22.8 
20.7 
19.0 
21.2 

19.8 
8.7 
4.9 
18.4 
24.1 
22.0 
42.8 

20.2 
0.4 
27.6 
30.7 
38.1 
18.4 
18.1 
14.9 


18.8 
18.4 
12.4 
25.3 
34.5 
13.5 
23.3 
32.0 

3.3 
16.5 
3.6 
3.1 
34.4 
3.4 
0.8 

69.1 
37.8 
40.9 
30.5 
18.3 

37.0 

30.9 


54.3 
54.5 
53.8 
49.1 
50.9 
55.8 
51.5 

53.6 
65.2 
74.7 
15.3 
14.9 
22.9 
20.4 

16.0 
33.0 
42.4 
22.8 
33.9 
56.6 
50.8 
51.7 


42.0 
37.6 
45.8 
23.7 
20.0 
38.1 
17.0 
18.3 

4.9 
2.6 
5.1 
4.6 
25.3 
4.9 
4.7 


Lbs. 


0.8 
1.1 
0.6 
0.7 
2.2 
0.6 
0.9 

0.8 

0.8 

0.9 

32.6 

40.4 

30.1 

7.2 

10.0 
2.1 
3.6 

14.4 
5.0 
0.8 
5.3 
3.8 


8.1 
17.1 
9.5 
7.6 
13.2 
20.3 
33.9 
16.5 

4.3 
3.5 
0.2 
0.9 
4.1 
0.1 
0.3 

0.9 
11.6 
2.2 
7.9 
24.5 

11.0 

9.8 


74.4 
76.4 
75.6 
73.5 
76.6 
76.2 
74.7 

75.2 
75.7 
81.6 
107.1 
129.9 
112.6 
79.4 

58.7 
38.1 
78.1 
85.9 
83.2 
76.8 
80.8 
75.2 


79.0 
94.5 
79.6 
66.1 
84.2 
97.3 
116.6 
87.4 

17.9 
27.0 
9.1 
9.7 
68.9 
8.4 
6.2 

71.1 
63.9 
45.9 
48.3 
73.4 

61.8 

53.0 


3.1 
2.9 
2.7 
2.2 
2.7 
3.0 
2.5 

2.8 
7.7 
1.6 
4.8 
4.4 
4.1 
0.9 

1.9 
94.2 
1.8 
1.8 
1.2 
3.2 
3.5 
4.0 


3.2 
4.1 
5.4 
1.6 


4.4 
0.6 
1.5 
2.1 
1.0 
1.5 
6.8 

0.03 
0.7 
0.1 
0.6 
3.0 

0.7 

0.7 


35.4 
37.8 
39.4 
41.9 
38.1 
36.6 
41.0 

38.1 
19.5 
11.0 
32.6 
42.9 
39.0 
76.2 

45.4 
11.7 
50.7 
58.4 
66.2 
35.5 
33.3 
27.4 


33.4 
32.6 
26.9 
49.9 
60.0 
25.8 
44.3 
55.7 

5.6 
28.2 
6.1 
5.3 
58.6 
5.8 
1.6 

131.5 

77.4 
83.8 
62.6 
31.5 

63.7 

53.1 


APPENDIX 


657 


Table  III.    Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents — continued. 


Feeding  staff 


Total  dry 
matter  in 
100  lbs. 


Digestible  nutrients  in  100  lbs. 


Crade 
protein 


Carbo- 
hydrates 


Nutritive 
ratio 


Fertilizing  constituents 
in  1000  lbs. 


Concentrates  —  con. 
Slaxighter  house  by-products — con. 

Pork  cracklings  * 

Poultry  bone  * 

Tankage,  over  60%  protein  * 

Tankage,  55-60%  protein  * 

Tankage,  45-55%  protein  * 

Tankage,  below  45%  protein  * .  . . 

Miscellaneous  concentrates 

Acorn,  kernel  and  sheU  * 

Acorn,  kernel  * 

Beet  pulp,  wet  * 

Beet  pulp,  dried 

Beet  pulp,  molasses- 

Bakery  refuse  * 

Bread* 

Cassava,  dried  * 

Cassava  starch  refuse  * 

Chess,  or  cheat  seed  * 

Cocoa  shells 

Com,  oat,  and  barley  feed  * 

Distillers'  grains,  dried,  from  com . 
Distillers'  grains,  dried,  from  rye .  . 

Distillers'  grains,  wet  * 

Distillery  slop,  whole  * 

Distillery  slop,  strained  * 

Lamb's-quarter  seed  * 

Molasses,  beet  * 

Molasses,  cane,  or  blackstrap  .... 
Molasses  feeds,  below  10%  fiber. . . 

Molasses  feeds,  10-15%  fiber 

Molasses  feeds,  over  15%  fiber  *. . . 

Molasaes-alf alf a  feeds  * 

Molassine  meal  * 

Mustard  feed  or  bran  * 

Pigeon-grass  seed  * 

Pigweed  seed  * 

Potato  flakes,  dried  * 

Potato  flour  * 

Starch  feed,  dry  * 

Starch  feed,  wet  * 

Starch  refuse  * 

Dried  Roughage 

Cured  com  and  sorghum  forage,  etc. 

Com  fodder  (ears,  if  any,  remain- 
ing), very  dry,  from  bam  or  in 
arid  districts 

Com  fodder,  medium  in  water .... 

Com  fodder,  high  in  water 

Sweet  com  fodder 

Com  stover  (ears  removed),  ver>' 
dry 


Lbs. 

95.0 
92.7 
92.6 
92.5 
92.5 
93.5 

72.1 
65.6 
9.3 
91.8 
92.4 
91.7 

66.2 
94.4 
88.0 
92.3 
95.1 
90.3 

93.4 
92.8 
22.6 
6.2 
4.1 
90.2 
74.7 

74.2 
88.4 
88.3 
90.7 
86.5 
83.4 
94.3 

89.3 
93.7 
87.9 
89.4 
90.7 
33.4 
89.7 


91.0 
81.7 
60.7 

87.7 


90. 


Lbs. 

52.4 
22.6 
58.7 
54.0 
48.1 
37.6 

2.3 
2.9 
0.5 
4.6 
5.9 
8.3 

5.8 
1.4 
0.5 
6.2 
1.7 
9.1 

22.4 
13.6 
3.3 
1.4 
1.0 
10.2 
1.1 

1.0 

8.2 
7.4 
8.4 
8.5 
5.4 
22.8 

8.5 
10.8 
3.6 
1.4 
11.2 
4.1 
4.6 


3.5 
3.0 
2.2 
5.9 

2.2 


Lb8. 


36.2 
27.3 
6.5 
65.2 
68.0 


51.9 

77.4 
56.4 
60.6 
44.8 
59.9 

40.4 
38.0 
13.3 
2.8 
1.4 
40.6 
59.4 

58.2 
47.2 
47.7 
45.5 
41.0 
50.3 
28.7 

45.4 
43.8 
67.2 
73.9 
55.0 
20.0 
66.1 


51.7 
47.3 
35.5 
47.6 

47.8 


Lbs. 

32.6 
3.0 
12.6 
12.7 
13.7 
16.7 

3.8 
4.7 
0.2 
0.8 
0.6 
7.0 

0.5 

0.2 
0.6 
1.5 
3.0 
4.0 

11.6 
6.6 
1.5 
0.6 
0.7 
6.9 


6.0 
4.2 
2.8 
0.5 
0.8 
10.2 

4.3 
6.0 
0.2 
0.4 
6.6 
3.1 
1.3 


1.5 
1.5 
1.0 
1.3 

1.0 


Lbs. 

125.8 
29.4 
87.0 
82.6 
78.9 
75.2 

47.1 

40.8 
7.4 
71.6 
75.3 
84.9 

58.8 
79.2 
58.3 
70.2 
53.3 
78.0 

88.9 
66.4 
20.0 
5.6 
4.0 
66.3 
60.5 

59.2 
66.6 
64.5 
60.2 
50.6 
57.5 
74.5 

63.6 
68.1 
71.2 
76.2 
81.0 
31.1 
73.6 


58.6 
53.7 
39.9 
56.4 

52.2 


19.5 
13.1 
13.8 
14.6 
11.8 
9.2 

9.1 

55.6 

115.6 

10.3 

30.4 

7.6 

3.0 
3.9 
5.1 
3.0 
3.0 
5.5 
54.0 

58.2 
7.1 
7.7 
6.2 
5.0 
9.6 
2.3 

6.5 
5.3 
18.8 
53.4 
6.2 
6.6 
15.0 


15.7 
16.9 
17.1 
8.6 

22.7 


Lbs. 

90.2 
38.9 
101.0 
93.0 

82.7 
64.6 

5.4 
6.7 
1.4 
14.2 
15.2 
17.9 

12.6 
4.5 
1.3 
16.8 
24.6 
18.2 

49.1 
37.0 
7.2 
3.0 
2.2 
22.6 
5.6 

5.0 
21.4 
19.5 
21.9 
19.2 
14.1 
50.7 

23.0 
24.0 
11.4 

4.3 
24.6 

9.0 
10.1 


12.5 
10.7 

7.7 
14.7 


55. 


101.5 
135.7 


0.4 
2.4 
1.5 

2.0 
6.6 
13.4 


8.3 
1.6 
1.3 


0.5 

2.4 
8.4 
8.4 


2.2 
0.8 
2.9 


3.7 
3.3 

2.5 
4.0 

4.5 


658 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Table  III.    Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents — continued. 


Feeding  stuff 


Total  dry 
matter  in 
100  lbs. 


Digestible  nutrients  in  100  lbs. 


Crnde     Carbo- 
protein  hydrates 


Fertilizing  constituents 


Nitro- 
gen 


Phos- 
phoric   Potash 
acid 


Dried  Roughage  —  con. 

Cured  corn  and  sorghum  forage, 

etc. — con. 

Com  stover,  medium  in  water 

Com  stover,  high  in  water 

Com  leaves 

Com  huslcs 

Com  tops 

New  com  product 

Kafir  fodder,  dry 

Kafir  fodder,  high  in  water 

Kafir  stover,  diy 

Kafir  stover,  high  in  water 

Milo  fodder,  dry 

Milo  fodder,  high  in  water 

Milo  stover,  liigh  in  water  * 

Sorghimi  fodder,  dry 

Sorghum  fodder,  high  in  water .  .  . 

Sorghum  bagasse,  dried 

Durra  fodder  * 

Broom-com  fodder  * 

Japanese  cane  fodder  * 

Sugar-cane  bagasse  * 

Hay  from  the  grasses,  etc. 
Bent  grass,  Canada,  or  blue  joint  * 

Bermuda  grass 

Black  grass 

Bluegrass,  Canada 

Bluegrass,  Kentucky,  all  analyses. . 

Bluegrass,  Kentucky,  in  mUk 

Bluegi-ass,  Kentucky,  ripe 

Bluegrass,  native  western  * 

Brome  grass,  smooth 

Bluestem  grasses  * 

Buffalo  gi-ass 

Bunch  grasses,  miscellaneous 

Carpet  grass  * 

Chess,  or  cheat 

Crab  grass 

Crow-foot  grass  * 

Fescue,  meadow 

Fescues,  native  * 

Fowl  meadow  grass  * 

Foxtails,  miscellaneous  * 

Gama  grass  * 

Grama  grasses  * 

Hair  grasses,  miscellaneous  * 

Johnson  grass 

Millet,  barnyard 

MUlet,  common,  or  Hungarian .  . . 

Millet,  German  * 

Millet,  hog,  or  broom-com  * 

Millet,  pearl,  or  cat-tail 


81.0 
59.0 
76.6 
75.3 

82.1 
90.8 

91.0 
71.7 

83.7 
72.7 
88.9 
60.9 
64.5 

90.3 
62.6 
88.7 
89.9 
90.6 
93.2 


93.3 
90.3 
89.7 
89.3 
86.8 
87.6 
76.3 

91.9 
91.5 
93.1 
93.0 
93.0 
92.1 
91.6 

90.5 
90.5 

88.3 
95.1 
88.9 
93.2 

88.2 

93.4 
93.4 
89.9 
86.5 
85.7 
91.3 
90.7 
87.2 


2.1 
1.4 
3.2 
0.6 
3.1 
3.8 

4.1 
3.0 
1.7 
1.3 
1.9 
0.6 
0.4 

2.8 
1.5 
0.5 
1.0 
0.6 
0.5 
0.5 

4.6 
3.7 
4.4 
2.8 

4.7 
4.8 
3.5 

6.4 
5.0 
2.4 
3.8 
1.2 
3.1 
3.0 

3.5 
3.8 
3.5 
4.6 
6.1 
5.6 
3.4 

3.2 
4.2 
2.9 
5.1 
5.0 
4.8 
5.3 
4.2 


42.4 
31.1 
40.1 
47.3 
45.5 
49.8 

45.0 
38.2 
43.1 
37.8 
36.3 
29.8 
31.3 

44.8 
32.9 
52.3 
43.6 
44.6 
55.0 
47.6 

44 

37.9 

39.4 

48.5 

43.5 

44.1 

38.3 

44.0 

44.2 

44 

43.9 

37.9 

44.6 

35.5 

40.0 
40.0 
45.2 
48.9 
43.0 
48.0 
40.5 

41.9 
41.9 
45.0 
40.5 
46.0 
49.7 
49.5 
43.8 


0.7 
0.6 
1.1 
0.3 
1.1 
2.3 

1.7 
1.6 
1.3 
1.0 
2.8 
1.4 
0.5 

2.0 
1.8 
0.6 
1.8 
1.1 
1.2 
3.3 

1.3 
0.8 
1.1 
0.9 
1.5 
1.5 
1.6 

1.6 
0.9 
0.8 
0.8 
0.7 
1.0 
0.7 

1.0 
0.9 
1.1 
1.1 
1.4 
1.7 
0.8 

0.7 
0.9 
1.0 
0.8 
1.8 
1.7 
1.6 
0.8 


46.1 
33.9 
45.8 
48.6 
51.1 
58.8 

52.9 
44.8 
47.7 
41.3 
44.5 
33.6 
32.8 

52.1 
38.4 
54.2 
48.6 

47.7 
58.2 
55.5 


52.1 
43.4 
46.3 
53.3 
51.6 
52.3 
45.4 

54.0 
51.2 

48.8 
49.5 
40.7 
49.9 
40.1 

45.7 
45.8 
51.2 
56.0 
52.3 
57.4 
45.7 

46.7 
48.1 
50.1 
47.4 
55.0 
58.3 
58.4 
49 


21.0 
23.2 
13.3 
80.0 
15.5 
14.5 

11.9 
13.9 
27.1 
30.8 
22.4 
55.0 
81.0 

17.6 
24.6 
107.4 
47.6 
78.5 
115.4 
110.0 

10.3 
10.7 

9.5 
18.0 
10.0 

9.9 
12.0 


9.1 
6.2 

11.4 
4.6 
9.0 

10.2 

14.2 
10.4 
8.2 
6.1 
19.2 
5.9 
3.7 

11.8 
6.2 
5.4 

10.2 
6.2 
2.2 
5.3 

12.2 
11.4 
12.0 
10.6 
13.3 
13.6 
9.8 


7.4 

17.9 

9.2 

15.8 

19.3 

7.8 

12.0 

11.2 

32.9 

9.6 

15.1 

11.2 

12.4 

11.5 

12.1 

12.8 

11.1 

13.8 

13.6 

10.9 

11.2 

14.2 

7.6 

15.7 

9.2 

14.9 

12.4 

10.7 

13.6 

10.2 

10.5 

13.3 

16.3 

10.6 

8.3 

13.3 

10.0 

13.3 

11.1 

12.8 

10.0 

14.1 

10.9 

10.7 

APPENDIX 


659 


Table  III.    Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents — con. 


Feediag  stuff 


Total  dry 

Digestible  nutrients  in  100  lbs. 

NutritiTe 
ratio 

Fertilizing  constitaents 
in  1000  lbs, 

100  lbs. 

Crude 

Carbo- 

Fat 

ToUl 

Kitro- 

Phos- 

protein 

hydrates 

gen 

acid 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

1: 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

93.3 

6.4 

49.5 

1.5 

59.3 

8.3 

17.0 

87.2 

4.3 

44.3 

1.2 

51.3 

10.9 

12.2 

3.8 

16.4 

86.4 

7.0 

39.9 

1.6 

50.5 

6.2 

19.7 

3.3 

16.6 

90.2 

3.7 

37.9 

0.8 

43.4 

10.7 

11.8 

94.7 

3.9 

43.9 

0.8 

49.6 

11.7 

12.5 

93.8 

4.0 

41.4 

0.8 

47.2 

10.8 

12.8 

88.2 

3.4 

38.4 

1.2 

44.5 

12.1 

12.8 

3.1 

16.4 

92.9 

6.5 

41.1 

1.0 

49.8 

6.7 

17.0 

88.4 

4.7 

41.1 

1.6 

49.4 

9.5 

12.6 

4.0 

19.4 

90.2 

2.3 

38.7 

0.4 

41.9 

17.2 

7.4 

92.1 

4.7 

46.1 

1.2 

53.5 

10.4 

13.3 

2.6 

6.3 

93.5 

4.0 

41.4 

1.1 

47.9 

11.0 

12.8 

94.1 

4.2 

49.7 

1.1 

56.4 

12.4 

11.7 

90.2 

5.0 

43.0 

1.2 

50.7 

9.1 

15.7 

5.5 

15.6 

90.2 

4.6 

45.9 

1.2 

53.2 

10.6 

11.8 

4.4 

18.8 

92.0 

4.5 

46.4 

1.1 

53.4 

10.9 

111.5 

94.1 

6.1 

44.4 

1.8 

53.4 

7.8 

16.3 

90.4 

4.5 

44.6 

1.4 

52.3 

10.6 

12.6 

5.2 

18.9 

93.0 

3.1 

42.8 

0.9 

47.9 

14.5 

9.9 

93.3 

4.6 

39.8 

0.8 

46.2 

9.0 

14.9 

88.5 

4.1 

45.0 

1.6 

52.7 

11.9 

10.6 

4.1 

17.0 

88.6 

3.9 

40.7 

1.0 

46.8 

11.0 

13.0 

88.0 

4.4 

39.0 

1.6 

47.0 

9.7 

14.7 

94.3 

7.5 

48.5 

0.9 

58.0 

6.7 

16.3 

94.7 

3.6 

40.0 

0.7 

45.2 

11.6 

13.0 

94.8 

6.9 

49.8 

1.0 

58. 9 

7.5 

17.9 

90.7 

2.7 

41.8 

0.6 

45.9 

16.0 

9.8 

2.0 

9.3 

94.5 

4.7 

50.7 

0.9 

57.4 

11.2 

12.2 

90.2 

3.5 

40.1 

0.8 

45.4 

12.0 

12.3 

90.7 

7.1 

39.9 

2.3 

52.2 

6.4 

19.8 

5.9 

18.5 

89.4 

5.6 

40.2 

0.9 

47.8 

7.5 

14.6 

7.5 

42.6 

88.4 

3.0 

42.8 

1.2 

48.5 

15.2 

9.9 

3.1 

13.6 

92.8 

4.7 

42.0 

1.6 

50.3 

9.7 

15.7 

87.2 

3.6 

44.7 

1.2 

51.0 

13.2 

10.1 

85.1 

2.4 

39.0 

1.4 

44.6 

17.6 

8.8 

87.5 

2.2 

40.7 

1.1 

45.4 

19.6 

8.3 

84.9 

8.2 

35.8 

2.1 

48.7 

4.9 

23.0 

92.7 

4.0 

44.0 

0.8 

49.8 

11.4 

10.4 

93.6 

4.4 

44.7 

0.8 

50.9 

10.6 

11.4 

94.1 

4.2 

50.5 

0.9 

56.7 

12.5 

12.3 

92.5 

4.0 

48.4 

1.1 

54.9 

12.7 

11.2 

92.1 

3.8 

42.8 

1.4 

49.8 

12.1 

12.8 

89.2 

4.0 

47.3 

1.1 

53.8 

12.4 

11.4 

6.3 

19.5 

92.6 

4.6 

48.2 

0.9 

54.8 

10.9 

11.2 

91.3 

4.8 

47.0 

0.9 

53.8 

10.2 

11.8 

92.3 

6.5 

44.3 

0.9 

52.8 

7.1 

16.0 

.. 

88.0 

4.5 

38.1 

1.7 

46.4 

9.3 

13.4 

8.0 

32.7 

91.9  1 

2.9 

41.1 

1.1 

46.5 

15.0 

10.7 

5.0 

17.0 

Dried  Roughage  —  con. 
Hay  from  the  grasses,  etc. — con. 

Millet,  wild,  or  Indian  * 

Mixed  grasses 

Mixed  grasses,  rowen 

Natal  gi-ass  * 

Needle  grasses  * 

Nerved  manna  grass  * 

Oat  grass,  tall,  or  meadow  oat  grass 

Old  witch  grass  * 

Orchard  grass 

Para  grass 

Panic  grasses  * 

Prairie  hay,  western 

Quack  grass 

Rescue  grass  * 

Red  top,  aU  analyses 

Red  top,  in  bloom 

Reed  bent  grass  * 

Reed  canary  grass  * 

Reed     grasses,     miscellaneous 

western  * 

Reed  meadow  grass,  or  manna  *..  . 
Rhode  Island  bent  grass  * 

Rj^e  grass,  Italian  * 

Rye  grass,  perennial  * 

Rushes,  western 

Salt  grasses,  miscellaneous 

Sedges,  western 

Sedges,  eastern  * 

Spear  grasses 

Swamp  grasses  * 

Sweet  vernal  grass  * 

Teosinte  * 

Timothy,  all  analyses 

Timothy,  before  bloom 

Timothy,  early  to  full  bloom  .... 
Timothy,  late  bloom  to  early 
seed 

Timothy,  nearly  ripe 

Timothy  rowen  * 

Wheat  grass,  common  * 

Wheat  grasses,  miscellaneous 

Wheat  grass,  western 

Wild  barley,  or  fo.xtail  * 

Wild  oat* 

Wild  rye  * 

Hay  from  the  smaller  cereals 

Barley  hay,  common 

Barley  hay,  bald 

Emmer  hay  * 

Oat  hay 

Rye  hay,  aU  analyses  * 


660 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Table  III.    Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents— con. 


Feeding  staff 


Total  dry 
matter  in 
100  lbs. 


Digestible  nutrients  in  100  lbs. 


Crude 
protein 


Carbo- 
hydrates 


HntritiTe 
ratio 


ertilizing  constituents 
in  1000  lbs. 


nitro- 
gen 


Dried  Roughage — con. 
Hay  from  the  smaller  cereals — con. 
Rye  hay,  heading  out  to  in  bloom  ^ 

Wheat  hay  * 

Hay  from  the  legumes 

Alfalfa,  aU  analyses 

Alfalfa,  first  cutting 

Alfalfa,  second  cutting 

Alfalfa,  third  cutting 

Alfalfa,  fourth  cutting  * 

Alfalfa,  before  bloom  * 

AlfaKa,  in  bloom 

Alfalfa,  in  seed  * 

AlfaKa,  variegated,  or    sand  lu 

ceme  * 

Alfalfa  meal  * 

Alfalfa  leaves  * 

Alfalfa  stems  * 

Bean,  whole  plant  * 

Beggarweed  * 

Clover,  alsike,  all  analyses 

Clover,  alsike,  in  bloom 

Clover,  bur 

Clover,  crimson,  or  scarlet 

Clover,  Egyptian,  or  berseem  * . . 

Clover,  mammoth  red  * 

Clover,  red,  all  analyses 

Clover,  red,  before  bloom  * 

Clover,  red,  in  bloom 

Clover,  red,  after  bloom  * 

Clover,  sweet,  white 

Clover,  sweet,  yellow  * 

Clover,  white 

Clover  meal  * 

Clover  rowen 

Cowpea,  all  analyses 

Cowpea,  before  bloom  * 

Cowpea,  in  bloom  to  early  pod  *. . 

Cowpea,  ripe  * 

Flat  pea* 

Kudzu  vine  * 

Lespedeza,  or  Japan  clover  *  — 

Lupines 

Pea,  field 

Pea,  field,  without  peas  * 

Peanut  vine,  with  nuts 

Peanut  vine,  without  nuts 

Sanf oin 

Serradella 

Soybean  hay 

Trefoil,  yellow,  or  black  medic  *. 
Velvet  bean  * 


91.8 
91.9 

9r4 
"91.5 
92.7 
91.1 
84.0 
93.8 

92.5 
89.6 

84.8 
91.2 
93.4 

94.4 
87.4 
90.9 
87.7 
87.4 
93.0 
89.4 

92.5 
81.3 
87.1 
89.6 
86.1 
77.9 
91.4 

91.3 
91.9 
91.5 
85.2 
90.3 
92.2 
89.4 

90.0 
92.3 
92.9 
88.2 
92.2 
88.9 
90.6 

92.2 
78.5 
84.1 
90.3 
91.4 
88.8 
92.8 


6.4 
4.0 

10,6 
9.3 
11.2 
10.2 
11.1 
15.4 

10.5 
8.5 

10.1 
10.2 
15.8 

1.8 
16.4 
11.6 

7.9 

8.2 
15.6 

9.7 

8.5 
6.4 
7.6 

11.6 
8.1 
6.8 

10.9 

10.0 
11.8 
8.1 
10.7 
13.1 
17.8 
12.6 

6.9 
18.4 
11.4 

8.6 
11.8 
12.2 

7.7 


7.4 
11.8 
11.7 
12.0 
12.0 


46.0 
48.5 

39.0 
39.0 
40.2 
37.1 
33.6 
35.5 

38.5 
39.2 

35.2 
38.7 
35.1 

46.9 
37.8 
36.2 
36.9 
36.4 
42.8 
36.8 

40.9 
37.2 
39.3 
38.1 
38.8 
34.1 
38.2 

35.9 
43.3 
42.0 
33.1 
33.7 
27.0 
34.6 

42.1 
37.3 
39.8 
41.1 
44.3 
40.1 
47.0 

39.6 
37.0 
39.8 
35.1 
39.2 
37.5 
40.3 


1.1 

0.8 

0.9 
0.6 
0.7 
0.8 
0.7 
1.6 

0.7 
1.0 

0.8 
0.8 
1.3 

0.4 
0.8 
0.7 
1.1 
1.3 
0.2 
1.0 

1.4 
1.8 
1,8 
1.9 
1.8 
2.6 
0.7 

0.5 
1.5 
1.3 
2.2 
1.0 
1.0 
1.3 

1.0 
1.7 
1.2 
1.1 
1.9 
1.9 
0.9 

8.3 
3.0 
1.7 
1.6 
1.2 
1.1 
1.4 


54.9 
54.3 

51.6 

49.7 
53.0 
49.1 
46.3 
54.5 

50.6 
49.9 

47.1 
50.7 
53.8 

49.6 
56.0 
49.4 
47.3 
47.5 
58.8 
48.7 

52.6 
47.6 
50.9 
54.0 
50.9 
46.7 
50.7 

47.0 
58.5 
53.0 
48.8 
49.0 
47.0 
50.1 

51.2 
59.5 
53.9 
52.2 
60.4 
56.6 
56.7 

67.9 
50.4 
51.0 
50.5 
53.6 
52.0 
55.5 


7.6 
12.6 

3.9 
4.3 
3.7 
3.8 
3.2 
2.5 

3.8 
4.9 

3.7 
4.0 
2.4 

26.6 
2.4 
3.3 

5.0 

4.8 
2.8 
4.0 

5.2 
6.4 
5.7 
3.7 
5.3 
5.9 
3.7 

3.7 

4.0 
5.5 
3.6 

2.7 

1 

3.0 

6.4 
2.2 
3.7 
5.1 
4.1 
3.6 
6.4 

6.1 
6.6 
5.9 
3.3 
3.6 
3.3 
3 


15.7 
9.9 

23.8 

22.2 
23.5 
23.4 
25.4 
35.2 

24.0 
19.5 

22.7 
22.5 
36.0 

10. 

36.0 

24. 

20.5 

21.1 

30.7 

22. f 

23.0 

17.3 

20.5 

29.9 

21.0 

18. 

23.2 

21.4 

25.9 

21 

26.4 

30.9 

41.9 

29. ( 

16.2 
36. i 
26.7 
19.4 
25.3 
24.2 
15.2 

21.3 

14.6 

16.8 

25. 

25. 

27.0 

26.2 


APPENDIX 


661 


Table  III.    Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents — con. 


==. 

Total  dry 
matter  in 
100  lbs. 

Digestible  nutrients  in  100  lbs. 

HutritiTe 
ratio 

Fertilizing  constituents 
in  1000  lbs. 

Fowling  stuff 

Crude     Carbo- 
protein  hydrates 

Fat 

Total 

Nitro- 
gen 

Phos- 
phorio 
acid 

Potash 

Dried  Roughage  — con. 
Hay  from  the  legumes —  con. 

Lbs. 

92.9 
87.7 
90.3 
93.4 

89.9 
87.8 
87.0 
90.3 

83.4 
83.5 
84.3 
85.0 

85.8 
90.1 
92.8 
85.8 
88.5 

91.8 
92.5 
92.9 
91.6 
91.9 
85.6 

89.5 
87.7 
91.5 
87.9 
88.1 

88.9 
74.2 
95.0 
88.9 
90.7 
94.5 
95.4 

92.1 

88.1 
88.7 
94.2 
93.4 
92.1 
88.7 

Lbs. 
11.6 

15.7 
8.1 
11.4 

4.7 
4.0 
7.7 
9.3 

8.3 
9.2 
6.9 
10.7 

0.9 
4.2 
5.8 
1.0 
1.0 

2.2 
0.9 
0.7 
0.7 
2.0 
1.1 

3.6 
3.8 
3.4 

4.2 
2.8 

6.3 

2.7 
1.2 
7.4 
8.0 
2.7 
14.8 

22.7 
19.8 
16.8 
5.1 
10.1 
7.9 
6.0 

Lbs. 

42.8 
37.1 
43.1 
43.5 

39.9 
39.7 
37.4 
34.7 

37.1 
36.9 
37.0 
41.1 

40.2 
26.3 
25.2 
41.7 
42.6 

34.3 
37.8 
39.6 
35.1 
33.3 
25.7 

42.4 
36.5 
39.1 
38.2 
38.5 

39.7 
50.8 
37.3 
39.2 
38.5 
32.3 
22.6 

37.7 
34.9 
47.2 
31.4 
24.7 
41.5 
37.1 

Lbs. 

1.6 
1.9 
1.0 
1.5 

1.3 
1.1 
1.7 
0.9 

1.5 
1.8 
1.4 
1.3 

0.6 
1.2 
3.0 
0.6 
0.9 

1.2 
0.3 
0.4 
0.5 
0.4 
0.6 

0.7 
0.9 
0.7 
0.8 
1.0 

1.7 
0.3 
0.7 
2.0 
2.2 
0.6 
1.0 

1.5 
2.1 
1.6 
1.2 
0.6 
3.0 
1.6 

Lbs. 

58.0 
57.1 
53.4 
58.3 

47.5 
46.2 
48.9 
46.0 

48.8 
50.1 
47.1 
54.7 

42.5 
33.2 
37.8 
44.1 
45.6 

39.2 
39.4 
41.2 
36.9 
36.2 
28.2 

47.6 
42.3 
44.1 
44.2 
43.5 

49.8 
54.2 
40.1 
51.1 
51.5 
36.4 
39.6 

63.8 
59.4 
67.6 
39.2 
36.2 
56.2 
46.7 

1: 

4.0 
2.6 
5.6 
4.1 

9.1 
10.6 
5.4 
3.9 

4.9 
4.4 
5.8 
4.1 

46.2 

6.9 

5.5 

43.1 

44.6 

16.8 
42.8 
57.9 
51.7 
17.1 
24.6 

12.2 
10.1 
12.0 
9.5 
14.5 

6.9 
19.1 
32.4 

5.9 

5.4 
12.5 

1.7 

1.8 
2.0 
3.0 
6.7 
2.6 
6.1 
6.8 

Lbs. 

27.7 
31.8 
19.4 
27.2 

15.8 
13.8 
18.9 
21.9 

18.2 
20.2 
17.0 
23.2 

5.6 
8.3 
11.5 

5.8 
5.8 

9.4 
6.2 
4.8 
5.0 
13.9 
6.7 

11.7 
12.0 
10.9 
13.8 
9.0 

17.8 
6.7 
8.6 
20.8 
22.6 
18.6 
31.7 

40.8 
35.7 
30.2 
29.1 
21.6 
18.1 
20.0 

Lbs. 
7.9 

10.3 
8.9 

4.1 
4.7 

6.6 
6.6 

1.8 
1.3 
1.9 
1.8 
2.1 

1.3 
1.4 
2.8 
1.3 

4.0 

4.2 

3.0 
1.2 

2.9 

10 '.3 
4.2 
6.5 
5.4 

8.6 
12.6 

13.6 

'5.4 

Lbs. 
18.6 

Vetch,  hairy              

26.2 

Vetch,  kidney  *         

13.4 

Vetches,  wild  *      

Hay  from  mixed  legumes  and 
grasses 

Clover  and  mixed  grasses 

Clover  and  timothy 

20.0 
19.0 

Peas  and  oats  

16.4 

Vetch  and  oats          

12.7 

Vetch  and  wheat       

Straw  and  chaff  from  the  cereals 

Barley  straw 

Buckwheat  straw  *                 .... 

12.0 
113 

Flax  shives 

MUlet  straw  * 

10.5 
17  3 

15.0 

Oat  chaff 

4.5 

15.4 

Rye  straw 

Wheat  straw 

7.9 

7.4 

Wheat  straw  from  rusted  grain  *.. 
Wheat  chaff 

Legume  straws 

Bean  * 

Crimson  clover  * 

Cowpea* 

Horse  bean .           

8.4 
13.6 

20'3 

Soybean      

8,9 

Miscellaneous  dry  rmighages 

Alfilaria* 

Artichoke  tops  *                   

105 

Brush  feed  *                           

Burnet* 

Daisy,  field  * 

Furze  *                                     .... 

47.7 
26.1 

9A4- 

Greasewood  *                             . . 

?,H9 

Prickly  comfrey  *                    .... 

Purslane  *                                .... 

96  7 

Rape* 

46  8 

Russian  thistle  * 

Saltbushes* 

Spurrey  * 

56.5 

Sweet  potato  vines  * 

16.4 

662 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Table  III.    Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents — con. 


Feeding  stuff 


Fresh  Green  Roughage 
Com,  the  sorghums,  etc. 

Com  fodder,  all  analyses  * 

Dent  com  fodder,  aU  analyses. . .  . 

Dent  com  fodder,  in  tassel 

Dent  com  fodder,  in  milk 

Dent    com    fodder,     dough    to 
glazing  * 

Dent  com  fodder,  kernels  glazed .  . 
Dent  com  fodder,  kernels  ripe. . .  . 

Flint  com  fodder,  all  analyses 

FUnt  com  fodder,  in  tassel  * 

FUnt  com  fodder,  in  mUk  * 

Flint  com  fodder,  kemels  glazed. .  . 

Flint  com  fodder,  kemels  ripe 

Sweet  com  fodder,   before  millv 

stage  * 

Sweet  com  fodder,  roasting  ears  or 

later 

Sweet  com  fodder,  ears  removed  * . 

Sweet  com  ears,  including  huslis  * . 

Com  fodder,  pop  * 

Com  stover,  green  (ears  re- 
moved)*  

Com  leaves  and  tops  * 

Com  leaves  * 

Com  husks  * 

Kafir  fodder,  all  analyses  * 

Kafir  fodder,  heads  just  showing  *. 

Milo  fodder  * 

Sweet  sorghum  fodder 

Durra  fodder  * 

Broom-corn  fodder  * 

Sugarcane  * 

Fresh  green  grass 

Bent  grass,  Canada,  or  blue- 
joint  * 

Bermuda  grass  * 

Bluegrass,  Canada  * 

Bluegrass,    Kentucky,    all    anal- 
yses * 

Bluegrass,  Kentucky,  before  head- 
ing * 

Bluegrass,      Kentucky,      headed 
out* 

Bluegrass,      Kentucky,      after 
bloom  * 

Bluegrasses,  native 

Brome  grass,  smooth  * 

Brome  grasses,  miscellaneous 

Bluejoint  grasses,  western  * 

Bluestem  grasses  * 


Total  dry 
matter  in 
100  lbs. 


Lbs. 

21.9 
23.1 
14.9 
19.9 

25.1 

26.2 
34.8 
20.7 
10.6 
15.0 
21.0 

27.9 

10.0 

20.3 
21.5 

37.8 
16.9 

22.7 
15.9 
31.1 
36.5 

23.6 
19.9 
22.7 
24.9 
22.4 
22.9 
21.7 


44.6 
33.2 
33.2 

31.6 

23.8 
36.4 

43.6 

45.3 
33.0 
36.3 
38.9 
31.6 


Digestible  nutrients  in  100  lbs. 


protein  hydrates 


Lbs.      Lbs.      Lbs. 


1.0 
1.0 
1.1 
1.0 

1.3 

1.1 
1.5 
1.0 
0.9 
0.9 
1.0 

1.2 

0.8 

1.2 
1.0 

3.0 
0.8 

0.5 
1.3 

2.1 
1.0 

1.1 
0.8 
0.8 
0.7 
0.9 
0.9 
0.4 


2.0 
1.4 
1.3 

2.3 


3.7 

2.8 


2.0 
2.9 
3.1 
1.7 
1.9 


12.8 
13.7 
8.2 
12.1 

15.4 

15.8 
21.1 
12.4 
5.5 
8.9 
12.3 

16.6 

6.1 

12.0 
13.1 

24.4 
9.9 

12.0 

8.4 
16.5 

22.7 

12.4 
11.6 
12.7 
14.1 
12.0 
12.1 
12.3 


21.7 
17.0 
17.2 

14.8 


10.4 
16.7 

21.9 

20.7 
15.0 
16.8 
17.6 
13.2 


0.4 
0.4 
0.3 
0.5 

0.7 

0.4 
0.8 
0.4 
0.3 
0.4 
0.6 

0.7 

0.2 

0.4 
0.3 

1.9 
0.3 

0.2 

0.5 
0.6 
0.3 

0.4 
0.3 
0.3 
0.6 
0.4 
0.3 
0.6 


0.6 
0.5 
0.4 


0.8 
0.7 

0.7 

0.6 
0.2 
0.2 
0.4 
0 


14.7 
15.6 
10.0 
14.2 

18.3 

17.8 
24.4 
14.3 
7.1 
10.7 
14.7 

19.4 
7.3 


Nutritive 
ratio 


12.9 
10.8 
20.0 
24.4 

14.4 
13.1 
14.2 
16.2 
13.8 
13.7 
14.1 


25.1 
19.5 
19.4 

18.5 

15.9 
21.1 

25.4 

24.1 
18.3 
20.3 
20.2 
16.9 


13.7 
14.6 
8.1 
13.2 

13.1 

15.2 
15.3 
13.3 
6.9 
10.9 
13.7 

15.2 


10.8 
13.8 

9.6 
13.2 

24.8 
7.3 
8.5 

23.4 

12.1 
15.4 
16.8 
22.1 
14.3 
14.2 
34.2 


11 
12 
13.9 

7.0 

3.3 
6.5 

12.4 

11.0 
5.3 
5.5 

10.9 
7.9 


Fertilizing  constitaents 
in  1000  lbs. 


Nitro- 
gen 


Lbs. 

3.0 
3.0 
2.6 
2.6 

3.4 

3.2 
4.3 
3.0 

2.2 
2.4 
3.0 


3.0 
2.6 

6.1 
2.1 

2.1 
3.0 
5.1 
2.9 

3.8 
2.6 
2.9 
2.4 
3.2 
3.2 
1.4 


6.6 
4.8 
4.8 

r.5 

1.8 

6.6 

1.9 

8.5 

7.8 

5.4 

5.1 
6.7 

7.2 
4.2 
4.8 

2'.  6 

2.2 

APPENDIX 


Table  III.    Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents — con. 


Feeding  stuff 


Total  dry 
matter  in 
100  lbs, 


Digestible  nutrients  in  100  lbs. 


Crude     Carbo- 
protein  hydrates 


NutritiTe 
ratio 


Fertilizing  constiiaents 
in  1000  lbs. 


Phos- 

phorio    Potash 
6  acid 


Feesh  Green  Roughage — con. 
Fresh  green  grass — con. 

Bunch  grasses  * 

Chess  or  cheat  * 

Crab  gi'ass  * 

Fescue,  meadow  * 

Fescues,  native  * 

Guinea  grass  * 

Grama  grass  * 

Johnson  grass  * 

Meadow  foxtail  * 

Millet,  barnyard 

Millet,  common,  or  Hungarian. .  .  . 

Millet,  hog,  or  broom-corn  * 

Millet,  pearl,  or  cat-tail  * 

Mixed  grasses,  immature 

Mixed  grasses,  at  haying  stage . .  . 
Oat  grass,  tall,  or  meadow  oat 

grass  * 

Orchard  grass 

Para  grass  * 

Quack  grass  * 

Rescue  grass  * 

Red  top 

Reed  canary  grass  * 

Reed  meadow  grass  * 

Rhode  Island  bent  grass  * 

Rowen,  mixed 

Rye  grass,  Italian  * 

Rye  grass,  perennial  * 

Rushes,  western  * 

Sedges,  western  * 

Spear  grasses,  miscellaneous  * . . .  . 

Sweet  vernal  grass  * 

Teosinte  * 

Timothy,  aU  analyses 

Timothy,  before  bloom  * 

Timothy,  in  bloom 

Timothy,  in  seed 

Timothy,  moimtaui  * 

Wheat  gi-asses,  miscellaneous  * . . . 

Wild  barley  * 

Wild  oats  * 

Wild  rye  * 

Green  fodder  from,  the  smaller  cereals 

Barley  fodder 

Buckwheat,  Japanese  * 

Oat  fodder 

Oat  fodder,  8  in.  high  * 

Rye  fodder 

Rye  fodder,  5  in.  high 

Wheat  fodder,  all  analyses  * 

Wheat  fodder,  5  in.  high  * 


49.4 
39.6 
30.9 
30.5 
36.0 
28.5 
36.1 

29.1 
29.6 
21.3 
27.6 
24.7 
18.7 
29.7 

30.8 

30.3 
29.2 
27.2 
25.0 
30.6 

39.3 
37.0 
30.7 
32.7 
28.2 
27.1 
26.6 

31.1 
38.5 
43.6 
31.2 
21.3 
37.5 
24.2 

32.1 
46.4 
37.5 
45.3 
35.7 
36.6 
23.3 

23.2 
36.6 
26.1 
13.0 
21.3 
18.1 
27.4 
24.2 


2.8 
1.5 
1.3 
1.6 
1.8 
1.1 
2.1 

1.2 
2.1 
1.0 
1.9 
1.3 
1.1 
3.6 

1.7 

1.1 
1.7 

0.8 
2.2 
2.6 

1.9 
1.7 
1.3 
1.4 
3.3 
1.8 
1.7 

2.5 
2.4 
2.0 
1.5 
1.0 
1.5 
1.8 

1.3 

1.5 
1.4 
2.2 
2.4 
1.5 
2.1 


Lbs. 

21.4 
20.8 
14.2 
15.0 
18.2 
14.1 
15.7 

14.7 
13.9 
12.1 
14.8 
13.8 
10.4 
14.5 

15.2 

13.3 
13.0 
14.0 
11.3 
14.5 

20.0 
18.3 
15.4 
16.4 
14.0 
12.7 
12.5 

16.2 
20.3 
23.6 
16.1 
11.9 
19.3 
13.8 

16.4 
24.7 
19.6 
24.1 
15.9 
18.7 
10.4 

11.5 
17.4 
11.8 

4.1 
12.2 

6.2 
15.1 
10.3 


Lbs. 

0.6 
0.6 
0.5 
0.5 
0.4 
0.4 
0.4 

0.5 
0.6 
0.4 
0.6 
0.4 
0.2 
0.9 

0.6 

0.4 
0.6 
0.3 
0.7 
0.2 

0.6 
0.6 
0.3 
0.4 
0.9 
0.7 
0.7 

0.3 
0.5 
0.4 
0.5 
0.3 
0.6 
0.4 

0.5 
0.7 
0.5 
0.5 
0.7 
0.7 
0.5 

0.4 
0.5 
0.8 
0.5 
0.5 
0.7 
0.6 
0.5 


Lbs. 

25.6 
23.7 
16.6 
17.7 
20.9 
16.1 
18.7 

17.0 
17.4 
14.0 
18.1 
16.0 
11.9 
20.1 

18.3 

15.3 
16.1 
15.5 
15.1 
17.5 

23.3 
21.4 
17.4 
18.7 
19.3 
16.1 
15.8 

19.4 
23.8 
26.5 
18.7 
13.6 
22.2 
16.5 

18.8 
27.8 
22.1 
27.4 
19.9 
21.8 
13.6 

14.7 
20.7 
15.9 
8.6 
15.4 
12.9 
19.3 
16.5 


8.1 
14.8 
11.8 
10.1 
10.6 
13.6 

7. 

13.2 
7.3 

13.0 
8.5 

11.3 


9.8 

12.9 
8.5 

18.4 
5.9 
5.7 

11.3 
11.6 
12.4 
12.4 
4.8 
7.9 
8.3 


12.2 
11.5 
12.6 
13.8 
8.2 

13.5 
17.5 
14.8 
11.5 

7.3 
13.5 

5.5 

5.4 
8.4 
5.9 
1.5 
6.3 
1.5 
5.9 
2.2 


Lbs.      Lbs.     Lbs. 


5.1 

4.3 
4.8 
5.6 
3.5 
5.3 

4.0 
5.8 
2.7 
4.6 
3.2 
2.9 
8.2 

4.8 

4.2 
4.6 
2.7 
6.1 
6.1 

5.0 

5.8 
4.5 
4.6 
7.5 
5.0 
4.8 

5.4 
6.1 
5.3 
4.2 
2.7 
5.0 
4.0 

4.3 
5.0 

4.8 
6.4 
7.8 
4.2 
5.9 

5.3 
7.4 
5.1 
7.8 
4.2 

10.4 
5.8 

10.4 


664  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Table  III.    Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents — con. 


Feeding  stuff 


ToUldry 

Digestible  natrients  in  100  lbs. 

Nutritive 
ratio 

Fertilimg  constituents 
in  1000  lbs. 

100  lbs. 

Crude     Carbo- 
protein  hydrates 

Pat 

Total 

Nitro- 
gen 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid 

Potash 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

1: 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

25.3 

3.3 

10.4 

0.4 

14.6 

3.4 

7.2 

1.5 

6.7 

19.9 

3.5 

7.5 

0.3 

11.7 

2.3 

7.5 

25.9 

3.3 

10.8 

0.3 

14.8 

3.5 

7.0 

29.8 

2.1 

13.5 

0.2 

16.0 

6.6 

4.6 

1.7 

7.9 

27.1 

3.1 

11.6 

0.2 

15.1 

3.9 

6.7 

2.7 

5.7 

24.3 

2.7 

11.8 

0.4 

15.4 

4.7 

6.6 

1.8 

9.2 

21.5 

2.3 

10.4 

0.4 

13.6 

4.9 

5.6 

20.8 

3.4 

8.2 

1.1 

14.1 

3.1 

8.2 

17.4 

2.3 

8.1 

0.4 

11.3 

3.9 

4.8 

2.0 

4.1 

25.1 

2.7 

12.4 

0.3 

15.8 

4.9 

6.4 

26.2 

2.7 

13.0 

0.6 

17.1 

5.3 

6.6 

1.3 

5.6 

27.5 

2.7 

13.8 

0.7 

18.1 

5.7 

6.6 

34.4 

3.3 

15.4 

0.8 

20.5 

5.2 

8.5 

2.0 

9.5 

24.4 

3.3 

10.3 

0.3 

14.3 

3.3 

7.0 

1.3 

5.0 

21.8 

3.1 

9.6 

0.5 

13.8 

3.5 

7.4 

1.8 

8.1 

16.3 

2.3 

8.0 

0.3 

11.0 

3.8 

4.8 

1.4 

6.2 

22.5 

4.6 

9.1 

0.4 

14.6 

2.2 

9.1 

1.5 

4.6 

23.2 

4.0 

9.2 

0.3 

13.9 

2.5 

8.3 

17.6 

2.8 

7.4 

0.3 

10.9 

2.9 

5.8 

1.2 

3.7 

30.6 

4.2 

13.9 

0.5 

19.2 

3.6 

8.8 

36.6 

4.5 

17.1 

0.6 

23.0 

4.1 

10.7 

17.4 

2.6 

8.0 

0.3 

11.3 

3.3 

5.4 

6.9 

5.1 

16.6 

2.9 

7.1 

0.3 

10.7 

2.7 

5.8 

1.1 

2.8 

18.8 

2.6 

8.6 

0.3 

11.9 

3.6 

5.1 

1.2 

3.2 

25.6 

2.8 

12.8 

0.5 

16.2 

4.8 

6.1 

1.4 

4.0 

20.2 

2.1 

8.9 

0.5 

12.1 

4.8 

4.6 

1.3 

4.1 

23.6 

3.2 

10.2 

0.5 

14.5 

3.5 

6.6 

1.8 

5.7 

20.8 

3.0 

8.5 

0.3 

12.2 

3.1 

6.2 

24.2 

3.1 

10.7 

0.5 

14.9 

3.8 

6.4 

22.7 

3.3 

9.2 

0.3 

13.2 

3.0 

7.2 

... 

17.9 

2.7 

7.2 

0.4 

10.8 

3.0 

5.6 

1.3 

4.5 

20.4 

2.7 

8.9 

0.3 

12.3 

3.6 

6.1 

1.6 

5.0 

27.7 

2.6 

12.8 

0.3 

16.1 

5.2 

5.9 

18.1 

3.5 

8.1 

0.4 

12.5 

2.6 

6.7 

1.4 

5.1 

24.6 

4.2 

12.1 

0.4 

17.2 

3.1 

8.2 

1.7 

6.0 

27.3 

2.2 

14.1 

0.0 

17.7 

7.0 

4.8 

20.0 

1.3 

11.4 

0.3 

13.4 

9.3 

3.4 

... 

21.8 

3.3 

9.1 

0.6 

13.8 

3.2 

7.2 

18.7 

0.7 

10.0 

0.3 

11.4 

15.3 

2.4 

19.7 

1.9 

8.4 

0.8 

12.1 

5.4 

4.2 

20.2 

2.7 

8.8 

0.5 

12.6 

3.7 

5.8 

1.6 

5.S 

22.6 

2.4 

10.6 

0.6 

14.4 

5.0 

5.1 

1.7 

6.1 

17.9 

2.3 

7.3 

0.5 

10.7 

3.7 

5.0 

1.0 

4a 

23.8 

1.7 

13.6 

0.6 

16.7 

8.8 

4.3 

1.1 

4.C 

17.1 

0.9 

7.9 

0.4 

9.7 

9.8 

3.2 

20.0 

2.1 

10.5 

0.2 

13.0 

5.2 

4.5 

26.5 

2.8 

13.3 

0.4 

17.0 

5.1 

6.1 

i.6 

6.2 

22.7 

2.4 

12.2 

0.3 

15.3 

5.4 

5.3 

Feesh  Green  Roughage — con, 
Green  legumes 

Alfalfa,  all  analyses 

Alfalfa,  before  bloom  * 

Alfalfa,  in  bloom  * 

Alfalfa,  after  bloom  * 

Beggarweed  * 

Clover,  alsike  * 

Clover,  alsike,  in  bloom  * 

Clover,  bur  * 

Clover,  crimson 

Clover,  mammoth  red  * 

Clover,  red,  all  analyses 

Clover,  red,  in  bloom  * 

Clover,  red,  rowen 

Clover,  sweet  * 

Clover,  white  * 

Cowpeas 

Flat  pea  * 

Jack  bean  * 

Horse  bean  * 

Kudzu  vine  * 

Lespedeza  or  Japan  clover  * 

Lupines 

Peas,  field,  Canada 

Peas,  field,  miscellaneous  * 

Sanf oin 

Serradella  * 

Soybeans,  all  analyses 

Soybeans,  in  bloom  * 

Soybeans,  in  seed  * 

Trefoil,  yellow,  or  black  medic  ■'. . 

Velvet  bean  * 

Vetch,  common 

Vetch,  kidney  * 

Vetch,  hairy 

Vetches,  wild  * 

Mixed  legumes  and 
Clover  and  mixed  grasses 
Cowpeas  and  com  * .  .  .  . 

Cowpeas  and  oats  * 

Cowpeas  and  sorghum  * . 

Peas  and  millet  * 

Peas  and  barley 

Peas  and  oats 

Peas,  oats,  and  rape  * . . . 
Soybeans  and  com  * .  .  .  . 
Soybeans  and  kafir  *. .  .  . 

Vetch  and  barley  * 

Vetch  and  oats 

Vetch  and  wheat 


APPENDIX 


665 


Table  III.    Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents — con. 


Feeding  stnf 


Total  dry 


Digestible  nntrients  in  100  lbs. 


protein  hydrates 


Nutritiye 
ratio 


Fertilizing  oonstitaents 
in  1000  lbs. 


phorio    Potash 


Fresh  Green  Roughage — con. 
Roots  and  tubers 

Artichokes  * 

Beet,  common  * 

Beet,  sugar 

Carrot 

Cassava  * 

Chufa* 

Mangel 

Onion  * 

Parsnip  * 

Potato 

Rutabaga 

Sweet  potato  * 

Turnip 

Miscellaneous 

Alfilaria  * 

Apple  * 

Apple  pomace  * 

Burnet  * 

Cabbage 

Cabbage  waste,  outer  leaves.  . . . 
Cactus,  cane,  entire  plant  * 

Cactus,  cane,  fruit  * 

Cactus,  cane,  stems  * 

Cactus,  prickly  pear 

Cactus,  prickly  pear,  old  joints  * 
Cactus,     prickly     pear,     yoimg 

joints  * 

Kale 

Kohlrabi* 

Melon,  pie,  or  stock  * 

Mustard,  white  * 

Potato  pomace,  wet  * 

Prickly  comf rey  * 

I*umpkin,  field 

Purslane  * 

Rape 

Russian  thistle  * 

Saltbush,  Austrahan  * 

Saltbushes,  miscellaneous  * 

Sugar  beet  leaves  * 

Sugar  beet  tops  * 

Sunflower,  whole  plant  * 

Turnip  tops  * 

Silage 
Silage  from  com,  the  sorghums,  etc. 
Com,      well     matured,      recent 

analyses 

Com,  immature 

Com,  early  analyses 

Com,  from  frosted  com  * 

Com,  from  field-cured  stover  * . . .  . 


Lbs. 

20.5 
13.0 
16.4 
11.7 
32.6 
20.5 

9.4 
12.4 
16.6 
21.2 
10.9 
31.2 

9.5 

16.3 
18.2 
23.3 
19.9 
8.9 
14.1 
10.4 

18.6 
21.7 
16.5 
16.4 

12.9 
11.3 

9.0 

6.1 
14.0 

8.3 
12.8 

8.3 
10.3 

16.7 
20.4 
23.3 
24.3 
11.6 
11.4 
23.7 
15.0 


26.3 
21.0 
23.1 
25.3 
19.6 


Lbs. 

1.0 
0.9 
1.2 
0.9 
0.6 
0.4 

0.8 
0.8 
1.3 
1.1 
1.0 
0.9 
1.0 

2.2 
0.4 
1.2 
2.7 
1.9 
1.7 
0.4 

0.8 
0.8 
0.4 
0.3 

0.4 
1.9 

1.7 
0.5 
3.6 
0.4 
2.2 
1.1 
2.0 

2.6 
2.2 
2.8 
2.9 
1.2 
1.7 
2.2 
1.8 


1.1 
1.0 
1.0 
1.2 
0.5 


Lbs. 


14.6 
9.1 

12.6 
8.6 

26.4 

10.2 

6.4 


12.5 
15.8 

7.7 
24.2 

6.0 

7.0 
15.6 
15.6 
12.8 
5.6 
6.5 
5.8 

9.9 
11.8 
8.9 
9.1 

6.9 

4.7 

5.6 
3.9 
6.5 
6.0 
7.0 
4.5 
5.4 

10.0 
7.6 
5.9 
6.6 
6.3 
5.4 

10.7 
7.3 


15.0 
11.4 
12.6 
13.7 


0.1 
0.2 
0.4 
0.1 
0.3 
0.3 
0.2 

0.2 
0.2 
0.8 
0.3 
0.2 
0.1 
0.1 

0.5 
0.3 
0.2 
0.2 

0.3 
0.3 

0.1 
0.2 
0.3 
0.1 
0.1 
0.5 
0.1 

0.3 
0.2 
0.2 
0.1 
0.1 
0.1 
1.3 
0.1 


0.7 
0.4 
0.6 
0.6 
0.4 


15.8 
10.2 
14.0 
9.9 
27.4 
18.0 

7.4 
10.8 
14.7 
17.1 

9.4 
25.8 

7.4 

9.6 
16.4 
18.6 
16.2 
7.9 
8.4 
6.4 

11.8 
13.3 
9.7 
9.8 

8.0 
7.3 

7.5 
4.8 
10.8 
6.6 
9.4 
8.7 
7.6 

13.3 
10.2 
9.1 

9.7 
7.7 
7.3 
15.8 
9.3 


17.7 
13.3 
15.0 
16.3 
11.3 


1: 

14.8 
10.3 
10.7 
10.0 
44.7 
44.0 

8.2 
12.5 
10.3 
14.5 

8.4 
27.7 


3.4 
40.0 
14.5 
5.0 
3.2 
3.9 
15.0 

13.8 
15.6 
23.2 
31.7 

19.0 

2.8 

3.4 
8.6 
2.0 
15.4 
3.3 
5.1 
2.8 

4.1 
3.6 
2.2 
2.3 
5.4 
3.3 
6.2 
4.2 


15.1 
12.3 
14.0 
12.6 
21.6 


3.2 

2. 

2. 

1.9 

1.8 

1.1 

2.2 
2.1 
2.7 
3.5 
1.9 
2.9 
2.i 

5.1 
O.S 
2.f 
4.8 
3.5 
4.3 
1.4 

2.4 
2.4 
1.3 
1.0 

1.4 
3. 

3.2 
1.1 
6.6 
1.1 
4.0 
2.2 
3.5 

4. 

4. 

5. 

6.2 

3.0 

4.2 

5.8 

4.5 


3.4 
3.0 
3.0 
3.5 

2.2 


Lbs. 

1.4 
1.0 
0.8 
1.1 
1.0 

0.4 
0.9 
1.3 
1.2 
1.2 
0.9 
1.3 


0.3 
0.6 
2.1 
0.7 

6.3 


0. 

0.7 

0. 

0.5 


1.3 
1. 
0. 
1.0 

1.1 

3.4 

i'.2 
1.0 

i'.5 


1. 
1.2 
1.4 
1.5 


666  FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 

Table  III.    Digestible  nutrients  and  fertilizing  constituents — con. 


Total  dry 
matter  in 
100  lbs. 

Digestible  nutrients  in  100  lbs. 

Nutritive 
ratio 

Fertilizing  constitaents 
in  1000  lbs. 

Feeding  staff 

Grade     Cirbo- 
protein  hydrates 

Fat 

Total 

Nitro- 
gen 

Phos- 
phoric 
acid 

Potash 

Silage— con. 

Silage  from  com,  the  sorghums, 

etc. — con. 

Lbs. 

20.3 
30.8 
22.8 
22.4 
23.5 

24.6 
20.6 
25.0 
27.8 
28.6 
19.4 

24.7 
22.0 
28.5 
27.9 
31.6 
21.0 

30.7 
28.3 
27.5 
23.2 
27.2 
32.3 

27.1 
23.0 
10.0 
30.1 
29.8 

Lbs. 

0.6 
0.8 
0.6 
0.6 
0.5 

1.2 
0.9 
2.0 
1.3 
2.1 
1.1 

1.6 
1.8 
1.9 
2.8 
1.6 
1.6 

1.3 
1.5 

2.8 
1.6 
2.4 
0.9 

2.6 
2.1 
0.8 
2.0 
5.2 

Lbs. 

9.9 
15.3 
11.6 
11.2 
12.2 

7.8 
15.0 
12.0 

9.5 
15.9 
10.0 

13.8 
10.1 
13.2 
13.1 
15.3 
9.2 

15.0 
13.8 
12.6 
11.6 
16.1 
16.6 

11.0 
10.0 
6.5 
15.2 
11.1 

Lbs. 

0.4 
0.6 
0.5 
0.3 
0.2 

0.6 
0.6 
0.8 
0.5 
0.7 
1.0 

0.8 
0.6 
0.7 
0.9 
0.8 
0.7 

0.6 
0.9 
1.0 
0.8 
0.5 
0.6 

0.7 
0.4 
0.3 
0.8 
1.9 

Lbs. 

11.4 
17.5 
13.3 
12.5 
13.1 

10.4 
17.3 
15.8 
11.9 
19.6 
13.3 

17.2 
13.3 
16.7 
17.9 
18.7 
12.4 

17.7 
17.3 
17.6 
15.0 
19.6 
18.9 

15.2 
13.0 
8.0 
19.0 
20.6 

1: 

18.0 
20.9 
21.2 
19.8 
25.2 

7.7 
18.2 
6.9 
8.2 
8.3 
11.1 

9.8 
6.4 
7.8 
5.4 
10.7 
6.8 

12.6 
10.5 
5.3 

8.4 

7.2 

20.0 

4,8 
5.2 
9.0 
8.5 
3.0 

Lbs. 

1.9 
2.9 
2.4 
2.4 
1.9 

5.6 
2.6 
4.2 
5.9 
5.3 
3.4 

4.0 
5.1 
5.4 
6.1 
4.5 
4.5 

3.7 
3.2 
6.1 
4.5 

4.8 
3.8 

6.2 
4.5 
2.4 
5.6 
10.2 

Lbs. 
1.5 
0.8 

1.6 
1.8 
1.7 
2.9 

1.7 
1.7 

1.7 

Lbs. 

Kafir 

Sorghum 

Japanese  cane  *         

1.9 

Sugar-cane  tops  *                

Miscellaneous  silage 

Alfalfa* 

Apple  pomace  * 

Barley  *                              

2'2 

Clover 

Com  and  clover  * 

4  5 

3  8 

5  6 

Field  pea*.             

2  3 

Millet  *                  

Millet,  barnyard,  and  soybean.  .  . 

Oat  *             

Oat  and  pea              

7  0 

Pea-cannery  refuse  *          

Rye  *                                   

6  9 

Sorghum  and  cowpea  * 

Soybean                         

7  1 

Sugar  beet  leaves  *             

Sugar  beet  pulp  * 

Vetch 

Wet  brewers'  grains  * 

APPENDIX 


667 


Table  IV.  Wolpf-Lehmann  Feeding  Standakds  for  Farm  Animals 

The  "Wolff -Lehmann  Feeding  Standards  have  been  fully  discussed  in 
a  preceding  chapter.  (156-7,  168,  187-8)  It  is  there  pointed  out  that  we 
now  have  more  accurate  data  on  the  nutrient  requirements  of  various 
classes  of  animals  than  was  possessed  by  scientists  when  these  standards 
were  formulated.  For  students  and  stockmen  who  desire  to  compute 
rations  substantially  in  accordance  with  the  Wolff-Lehmann  system,  but 
taking  into  consideration  the  results  of  recent  feeding  trials  at  the 
Experiment  Stations,  the  authors  have  drawn  up  the  "Modified  Wolff- 
Lehmann  Feeding  Standards"  given  in  Appendix  Table  V,  The  WoLff- 
Lehmann  Standards,  as  last  presented  by  Lehmann  in  the  Mentzel  and 
Lengerke  Agricultural  Calendar  for  1906,  are  here  given,  however, 
because  historically  this  table  is  worthy  of  a  place  in  any  book  on  the 
feeding  of  farm  animals,  and  further  because  no  matter  what  line  one 
may  ultimately  follow  in  these  matters,  he  should  know  and  understand 
the  teachings  of  "Wolff  and  Lehmann. 

The  standards  for  milch  cows  are  given  for  the  middle  of  the  lacta- 
tion period  with  animals  yielding  milk  of  average  composition.  The 
standards  for  growing  animals  contemplate  only  a  moderate  amount  of 
exercise;  if  much  is  taken,  add  15  per  cent — mostly  non-nitrogenous 
nutrients — to  the  ration.  If  no  exercise  is  taken,  deduct  15  per  cent 
from  the  standard.  The  standards  are  for  animals  of  normal  size.  Those 
of  small  breeds  will  require  somewhat  more  nutrients,  amounting  in 
some  cases  to  0.3  of  a  pound  of  nitrogenous  and  1.5  pounds  of  non- 
nitrogenous  digestible  nutrients  daily  for  1,000  pounds  of  live  weight  of 
animals. 


Per  day  per  1,000  lbs,  live  weight 


Dry 

matter 

Digestible  nutrients 

Crude 
protein 

Carbo- 
hy- 
drates 

Fat 

Nutri- 
tive 
ratio 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

1: 

18 

22 
25 
28 

0.7 
1.4 

2.0 

2.8 

8.0 
10.0 
11.5 
13.0 

0.1 
0.3 
0.5 
0.8 

11.8 

7.7 
6.5 
5.3 

30 
30 
26 

2.5 
3.0 

2.7 

15.0 
14.5 
15.0 

0.5 
0.7 
0.7 

6.5 
5.4 
6.2 

25 
27 
29 
32 

1.6 
2.0 
2.5 
3.3 

10.0 
11.0 
13.0 
13.0 

0.3 
0.4 
0.5 
0.8 

6.7 
6.0 
5.7 
4.5 

20 
23 

1.2 
1.5 

10.5 
12.0 

0.2 
0.3 

9.1 

8.5 

1.  Oxen 

At  rest  in  stall 

At  light  work 

At  medium  work 

At  heavy  work 

2.  Fattening  cattle 

First  period 

Second  period 

Third  period 

S.  Milch  cows,  yielding  daily 
11 .0  poimds  of  milk.  . 
16.6  pounds  of  milk.  . 
22 .0  pounds  of  milk .  . 
27 .5  pounds  of  milk .  . 

4.  Sheep 

Coarse  wool 

Fine  wool 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Table  IV.    Wolff-Lehmann  feeding  standards  for  farm  animals  —  continued. 


Per  day  per  1.000  Iba.  live  weight 


Dry 

matter 


Digestible  nutrients 


Crude    Carbo- 
protein    ,'^y" 
drates 


6.  Breeding  ewes 
With  lambs... 

6.  Fattening  sheep 

First  period . . . 
Second  period. 

7.  Horses 

Light  work .  .  . 
Medium  work . 
Heavy  work.  . 

8.  Brood  sows 


9.  Fattening  swine 
First  period... 
Second  period. 
Third  period. . 


12 


10.  Groxving  cattle,  dairy  breeds 

Age  in                                    Av.  live  wt. 
months                                 per  head,  lbs. 
2-  3 150 

3-6 300 

6-12 500 

12-18 700.... 

lS-24 900 

11.  Gromng  cattle,  beef 

2-3 

3-6 

6-12 

12-18 

18-24 


.160. 
.330. 
.550. 
.750. 
.950. 


wool  breeds 


75. 


Growing  i 

4-  6. 
6-  8. 
8-11 80. 

11-15 90. 

15-20 100. 

tS.  Growing  sheep,  mutton  breeds 

4r-  6 60. 

6-8 80. 

8-11 100. 

11-15 120. 

15-20 150. 

lA.   Growing  swine,  breeding  stock 

2-3.  50. 

3-5 100. 

5-  6 120. 

6-8 200. 

8-12 250. 

15.  Growing,  fattening  swine 

2-  3 

3-5 

5-6 

6-8 

9-12 


.  50. 
.100. 
.150. 
.200. 
.300. 


Lbs. 

25 


23 

24 
27 
26 
26 

23 
24 
25 
24 
24 

25 
25 
23 

22 

22 

26 
26 
24 
23 
22 

44 
35 
32 

28 
25 

44 
35 
33 
30 
26 


3.0 
3.5 

1.5 
2.0 
2.5 

2.5 


4.5 
4.0 

2.7 


4.0 
3.0 

2.0 
1.8 
1.5 

4.2 
3.5 
2.5 
2.0 
1.8 


Lbs. 
15.0 


15.0 
14.5 

9.5 
11.0 
13.3 

15.5 


25.0 
24.0 
18.0 


13.0 
12.8 
12.5 
12.5 
12.0 

13.0 
12.8 
13.2 
12.5 
12.0 


3.4 

15.4 

2.8 

13.8 

2.1 

11.5 

1.8 

11.2 

1.5 

10.8 

4.4 

15.5 

3.5 

15.0 

3.0 

14.3 

2.2 

12.6 

2.0 

12.0 

7.6 

28.0 

4.8 

22.5 

3.7 

21.3 

2.8 

18.7 

2.1 

15.3 

7.6 

28.0 

5.0 

23.1 

4.3 

22.3 

3.6 

20.5 

3.0 

18.3 

Lbs. 

0.5 


0.5 
0.6 

0.4 
0.6 
0.8 

0.4 


0.7 
0.5 
0.4 


2.0 
1.0 
0.5 
0.4 
0.3 

2.0 
1.5 
0.7 
0.5 
0.4 

0.7 
0.6 
0.5 
0.4 
0.3 

0.9 
0.7 
0.5 
0.5 
0.4 

1.0 
0.7 
0.4 
0.3 
0.2 

1.0 
0.8 
0.6 
0.4 
0.3 


APPENDIX 


Table  V.     Modified  "Wolfp-Lehmann  Feeding  Standards  for  Farm 

Animals 

It  has  been  pointed  out  on  previous  pages  that  the  recent  investigations 
of  the  experiment  stations  of  this  and  other  countries  have  shown  that  the 
original  WolJff-Lehmann  standards  are  in  many  instances  inaccurate. 
(187-90)  To  provide  a  means  by  which  rations  can  be  computed  sub- 
stantially in  accordance  with  the  "Wolff-Lehmann  system,  while  taking 
into  consideration  the  results  of  the  recent  scientific  work  on  live  stock 
feeding,  the  following  standards  are  presented.  The  recommendations  for 
dairy  cows  are  based  on  the  standards  of  Haecker  and  Savage.  (182,  184, 
186)  The  standards  for  growing,  fattening  steers  are  hitherto  unpub- 
lished recommendations  by  Haecker,  based  upon  his  extensive  investiga- 
tions at  the  Minnesota  Station.  (123)  In  the  recommendations  for 
fattening  lambs  the  Bull-Emmett  standards  have  been  chiefly  used.  (175) 
The  standards  for  the  other  classes  of  farm  animals  are  based  upon  studies 
by  the  authors,  of  feeding  trials  at  the  various  experiment  stations,  and 
upon  the  standards  of  Kellner,  Armsby,  and  Pott.  The  method  of  com- 
puting rations  in  accordance  with  these  standards  has  been  fully  ex- 
plained in  the  text.  (190,  193-5) 

In  most  instances  a  minimum  and  a  maximum  are  indicated  for  dry 
matter,  digestible  crude  protein,  and  total  digestible  nutrients.  As  has 
been  pointed  out  in  the  text  (146),  when  protein-rich  feeds  are  cheaper 
than  carbonaceous  feeds,  somewhat  more  digestible  crude  protein  may  be 
supplied  than  is  stated  in  the  standards.  This  will  narrow  the  nutritive 
ratio  beyond  the  limits  here  indicated.  On  the  other  hand,  the  amount  of 
protein  should  not  fall  much  below  the  lower  amount  indicated. 

These  recommendations  are  presented,  not  as  final,  arbitrary  standards, 
but  as  approximations,  based  on  the  older  standards,  on  the  data  of  recent 
experimental  trials,  and  on  the  rations  which  have  given  excellent  results 
in  practice.  It  is  hoped  that  in  the  present  form  they  may  be  helpful 
until  future  investigations  have  thrown  further  light  upon  the  nutrient 
requirements  of  the  various  classes  of  farm  animals.  Modified  standards 
are  not  presented  for  growing  dairy  cattle,  growing  sheep,  and  growing 
pigs  (breeding  stock)  on  account  of  the  lack  of  sufficient  data. 


Digestible  crude 

Total  digestible 

protein 

nutrients 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

0.700 

7.925 

0.045-0.053 

0.256 

0.047-0.057 

0.286 

0.049-0.061 

0.316 

0.054-0.065 

0.346 

0.057-0.069 

0.376 

0.060-0.073 

0.402 

0.064r-0.077 

0.428 

0.067-0.081 

0.454 

0.072-0.085 

0.482 

0.074r-0.089 

0.505 

Dairy  cows 
For  maintenance  of  1000-lb.  cow .  . 
To  allowance  for  maintenance  add. 
For  each  lb.  of  2.5  per  ct.  milk.  . .  . 
For  each  lb.  of  3.0  per  ct.  milk.  . . . 
For  each  lb.  of  3.5  per  ct.  milk.  . .  . 
For  each  lb.  of  4.0  per  ct.  milk.  . .  . 
For  each  lb.  of  4.5  per  ct.  milk.  . .  . 
For  each  lb.  of  5.0  per  ct.  milk. . . . 
For  each  lb.  of  5.5  per  ct.  milk.  . .  . 
For  each  lb.  of  6.0  per  ct.  milk.  . .  . 
For  each  lb.  of  6.5  per  ct.  milk.  . .  . 
For  each  lb.  of  7.0  per  ct.  millc.  . .  . 


670 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


The  amount  of  dry  matter  to  be  fed  daily  per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight  to 
dairy  cows  may  range  from  15.0  lbs.  or  even  less  with  dry  cows  to  30.0  lbs. 
with  cows  yielding  2.0  lbs.  of  butter  fat  per  head  daily.  Cows  producing 
1.0  lb.  of  fat  per  head  daily  should  receive  about  21.0  to  25.0  lbs.  of  dry 
matter  daily  per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight.  The  nutritive  ratio  may  readily 
be  found  by  computation ;  for  example,  a  1,200-lb.  cow  yielding  daily  30.0 
lbs.  of  3.5  per  ct.  milk  will  require  for  maintenance  and  production  2.31 
to  2.67  lbs.  digestible  crude  protein  and  18.99  lbs.  total  digestible 
nutrients.  The  nutritive  ratio  should  hence  not  be  wider  than  1 : 6.1  to 
1:7.2. 


Live  weight 


Actual,  per  head  daily 


Dry 
matter 


Digestible 
crude 
protein 


Total 
digestible 
nutrients 


Per  1000  lbs.  Uve  weight 


Dry 

matter 


Digestible 
crude 
protein 


Total 
digestible 

nutrients 


Nu- 
tritive 
ratio 


2.  Growing,  fattening  steers 

100  lbs 

150  lbs 

200  lbs 

250  lbs 

300  lbs 

350  lbs 

400  lbs 

450  lbs 

500  lbs 

550  lbs 

600  lbs 

700  lbs 

800  lbs 

900  lbs 

1000  lbs 

1100  lbs 

1200  lbs 


Lbs. 

1.41 
3.11 
4.81 
6.40 
8.00 
8.87 

9.72 
10.83 
11.95 
12.95 
13.94 
15.83 

17.13 
18.17 
19.66 
19.92 
20.76 


Lbs. 

0.32 
0.49 
0.67 
0.74 
0.80 
0.84 

0.87 
0.96 
1.04 
1.13 
1.22 
1.41 

1.61 
1.78 
1.80 
1.73 
1.84 


Lbs. 

1.66 
2.58 
3.48 
4.42 
5.36 
5.87 

6.32 

7.23 
7.88 
8.55 
9.25 
10.35 

11.43 
12.22 
13.51 
13.91 
14.71 


Lbs. 

14.1 
20.7 
24.0 
25.6 
26.7 
25.3 

24.3 
24.1 
23.9 
23.6 
23.2 
22.6 

21.4 
20.2 
19.7 
18.1 
17.3 


3.2 
3.3 
3.4 
3.0 

2.7 
2.4 

2.2 
2.1 
2.1 
2.0 
2.0 
2.0 

2.0 
2.0 
1.8 
1.6 
1.5 


Lbs. 

16.6 
17.2 
17.4 
17.7 
17.9 
16.8 

15.8 
16.1 
15.8 
15.6 
15.4 
14.8 

14.3 
13.6 
13.5 
12.6 
12.3 


4.2 
4.2 
4.1 
4.9 
5.6 
6.0 

6.2 
6.7 
6.5 
6.6 
6.7 
6.4 

6.2 
5.8 
6.5 
6.9 
7.2 


On  comparing  the  foregoing  standards  for  growing,  fattening  steers 
with  the  original  Wolff-Lehmann  standards  for  growing  beef  cattle,  it 
will  be  seen  that  for  the  later  stages  of  growth  these  standards  are  some- 
what lower  in  dry  matter  and  digestible  nutrients.  The  standards  here 
given  for  steers  weighing  1,000  to  1,200  lbs.  are  markedly  lower  in  dry 
matter  and  digestible  nutrients  than  the  original  Wolff-Lehmann  stand- 
ards for  fattening  cattle.  They  are  also  lower  than  the  following 
standards  for  fattening  2-yr.-old  steers  on  full  feed,  which  contemplate 
the  feeding  of  all  the  concentrates  the  steers  will  eat.  Tho  cattle  fed  as 
indicated  in  the  preceding  standards  will  not  make  maximum  gains,  the 
gains  are  produced  with  a  smaller  amount  of  feed  than  if  a  heavier 
ration  were  fed.  For  example,  1,000-lb.  steers  fed  by  Haecker  according 
to  this  system  until  they  reached  a  weight  of  1,200  lbs.  required  only 
8.0  lbs.  of  total  digestible  nutrients  per  pound  of  gain. 


APPENDIX 


671 


Per  day 

per  1,000  lbs.  live  weight 

Animal 

Dry 

matter 

Digestible 
crude 
protein 

Total 

digestible 
nutrients 

Nutritive 
ratio 

S.  Fattening  2-yr.-old   steers   on 
full  feed 
First  50-60  davs 

Lbs. 

22.0-25.0 
21.0-24.0 
IS. 0-22.0 
13.0-21.0 
14.0-25.0 

13.0-18.0 
15.0-22.0 
16.0-24.0 
18.0-26.0 

15.0-22.0 
18.0-22.0 

27.0-30.0 
28.0-31.0 
27.0-31.0 

18.0-23.0 
20.0-26.0 
23.0-27.0 

46.2-51.0 
37.0-40.8 
32.4-35.8 
29.0-32.0 
25.5-28.1 
22.4^24.8 
20.0-24.0 

Lbs. 

2.0-2.3 
1.9-2.3 
1.8-2.1 
0.6-0.8 
0.7-0.9 

0.^1.0 
1.1-1.4 
1.4-1.7 
2.0-2.2 

1.2-1.5 
1.6-1.8 

3.1-3.3 

2.5-2.8 
2.3-2.5 

1.1-1.3 
1.4-1.6 
2.6-2.9 

7.8-8.5 
5.5-6.0 
4.4-4.9 
3.5-3.9 
3.0-3.4 
2.6-2.9 
2.4-2.7 

Lbs. 

18.0-20.0 
17.0-19.5 
16.0-18.5 
8.4-10.4 
9.0-12.0 

7.0-9.0 
10.0-13.1 

12.8-15.6 
15.9-19.5 

9.0-12.0 
11.0-13.0 

19.0-22.0 
20.0-23.0 
19.0-23.0 

11.0-13.0 
12.0-14.0 
18.0-20.0 

41.0-45.4 
32.9-36.4 
28.8-31.9 

25.8-28.5 
22.7-25.0 
20.0-22.0 
18.0-21.0 

1: 
7  0-78 

Second  50-60  days 

7  0-78 

Third  50-60  daj's 

7  0-78 

4.  Ox  at  rest  in  stall 

10  0-16  0 

6.  Wintering  beef  cows  in  calf. . .  . 
6.  Horses 

Idle 

10.0-15.0 

8  0-9  0 

At  light  work 

8  0-8  5 

At  medium  work 

At  heavy  work 

7.  Brood   mares   suckling  foals, 
but  not  at  work 

7.8-8.3 
7.0-8.0 

6  5-7  5 

8.  Growing  colts,  over  6  months.  . 

6.0-7.0 

Weight  50-70  lbs 

5  0-6  0 

Weight  70-90  lbs 

6  7  7  2 

Weight  90-110  lbs 

7  0-8  0 

10.  Sheep,  maintaining  mature 
Coarse  wool 

8.0-9.1 
7  5-8  5 

11.  Breeding  ewes,  with  lambs 

12.  Growing,  fattening  pigs 

Weight  30-50  lbs 

5.&-6.5 
4  0-4  5 

Weight  50-100  lbs     . 

5  0-5  6 

Weight  100-150  lbs 

Weight  150-200  lbs 

Weight  200-250  lbs 

Weight  250-300  lbs 

IS.  Brood  sows,  with  pigs 

5.5-6.2 
6.2-7.0 
6.5-7.3 
6.7-7.5 
6.0-7.0 

672 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Table  VI.   Mineral  IVIatter  in  1,000  Lbs.  op  Representative  Feeding 

Stuffs 

The  data  presented  in  the  following  table  have  been  compiled  from 
analyses  by  the  American  Experiment  Stations,  especially  the  analyses 
reported  by  Forbes  in  Ohio  Bulletin  255,  supplemented  by  others  from 
Grerman  sources. 


Com 

Gluten  feed 

Wheat 

Wheat  flour 

Red  dog  flour 

Standard  wheat  middlings 

Wheat  bran 

Oats 

Malt  sprouts 

Brewers'  grains,  dried. .  . . 

Rough  rice 

Polished  rice 

Rice  polish 

Kafir  grain 

Cottonseed  meal 

Linseed  meal,  old  process. 

Bean,  navy 

Cowpea 

Soybean 

Skim  milk 

Whey 

Beet  pulp,  dried 

Distillers'     grains,     dried 

from  com 

Com  stover 

Sorghima  fodder 

Bluegrasshay 

Timothy  hay 

Alfalfa  hay 

Red  clover  hay 

Cowpea  hay 

Soybean  hay 

Wheat  straw 

Mangel 


Potash 
K  O 


Lbs. 
4.0 
2.3 
5.3 
1.0 
7.6 

11.8 
16.2 

5.6 
18.3 

0.9 

2.6 
0.6 

11.7 
3.1 

18.1 

12.7 
13.7 
14.9 
24.7 
1.7 

2.6 
3.8 

1.7 
12.9 

25.3 
21.0 
13.6 
22.3 
16.3 

41.3 

23.3 

7.4 

2.2 


Soda 
NajO 


Lbs. 
0.4 
5.7 
1.6 
1.5 


1.4 
2.4 
2.3 
1.1 
3.5 

1.0 
0.4 
1.5 
0.8 
3.5 

3.4 
1.0 
2.2 
6.1 
0.6 

0.4 

2.2 

1.9 
6.5 


1.7 
4.3 
5.6 
1.2 

2.5 
1.8 
3.0 
1.1 


Lime 
CaO 


Lbs. 
0.2 

3.5 
0.6 
0.3 
1.7 

0.8 
0.9 
1.4 
2.1 
2.2 

0.2 
0.1 
0.4 
0.2 
3.6 

5.1 
2.8 
1.4 
2.9 

1.8 

0.6 
9.2 

0.6 


3.9 
4.3 
2.5 
19.5 
16.0 

25.4 
17.2 
2.9 
0.2 


Mag- 
nesia 


MgO 


Lbs. 
1.8 
3.6 
2.2 
0.3 
4.8 

5.4 
7.3 
2.0 
3.0 
2.6 

1.2 
0.4 
10.9 
2.1 
8.6 

8.1 
2.9 
3.4 
3.8 
0.2 

0.1 

4.2 

0.8 
1.4 

2.9 
3.6 
1.7 
5.9 

4.5 

16.2 

10.3 

1.0 

0.7 


Iron 
oxide 


Lbs. 
0.11 


0.23 


0.34 
0.38 
0.95 
0.39 

0.31 


0.84 
1.44 


0.71 
0.79 


0.37 
1.68 
0.67 


0.26 
0.08 


Sul- 
phuric 
acid 


Lbs. 
3.8 

14.6 
5.4 
3.6 
6.5 

5.8 
6.7 
4.9 
20.0 
9.7 


2.6 
4.2 
4.1 
12.4 

10.2 
4.8 
6.0 

10.3 
0.8 

0.2 
3.1 

11.7 
4.3 


7.7 
3.7 
7.8 
4.4 

7.9 
5.8 
3.8 
0.6 


Phos- 
phoric 
acid 


2.0 
20.0 

21.1 
29.5 

8.1 
16.5 

9.9 

4.9 
1.7 

30.8 
5.7 

26.7 

17.0 
7.8 
10.1 
13.7 
2.2 

1.2 

2.4 


4.5 

2.3 
5.4 
3.1 
5.4 
3.9 


Silica 
SiOj 


Lbs. 
0.3 


0.3 
12.5 
13.5 
12.3 

41.6 


5.5 


9.0 


9.1 

5.9 

14.2 
8.1 
1.7 


28.4 
0.2 


APPENDIX 
Table  VII.    Weight  of  Various  Concentrates 


673 


In  computing  rations  for  farm  animals  it  is  desirable  to  know  the 
weight  per  quart,  or  the  bulk,  of  the  different  concentrates.  The  following 
table,  compiled  from  Massachusetts  Bulletin  136  by  Smith  and  Perkins, 
Louisiana  Bulletin  Hi  by  Halligan,  and  Indiana  Bulletin  141  by  Jones, 
Haworth,  Cutler,  and  Summers  is  therefore  presented. 


Feeding  stuff 


Whole  com 

Com  meal 

Com-and-cob  meal 

Hominy  feed 

Gluten  feed 

Gluten  meal 

Gema  oil  meal 

Com  bran 

Wheat 

Wheat,  ground 

Flour  wheat  middlings 

Standard  wheat  middlings.  .  . 

Wheat  bran 

Wheat  feed  (shorts  and  bran) 
Wheat  screenings 

Rye 

Rye  meal 

Rye  middlings 

Rye  bran 

Rye  feed  (shorts  and  bran) .  .  . 

Oats 

Oatmeal 

Oats  ground 

Oat  feed 

Oat  middlings 

Oat  hulls 

Barley 

Barley  meal 

Malt  sprouts 


One 
quart 
weighs 


Lbs. 

1.7 
1.5 
1.4 
1.1 
1.3 

1.7 
1.4 
0.5 
1.9 
1.7 

1.2 
0.8 
0.5 
0.6 
1.0 

1.7 
1.5 
1.6 
0.8 
1.3 

1.0 
1.7 
0.7 
0.8 
1.5 

0.4 
1.5 
1.1 
0.6 


One 
pound 
meas- 
ures 


Qts. 

0.6 
0.7 
0.7 
0.9 
0.8 

0.6 
0.7 
2.0 
0.5 
0.6 

0.8 
1.3 
2.0 
1.7 
1.0 

0.6 
0.7 
0.6 
1.3 
0.8 

1.0 
0.6 
1.4 
1.3 
0.7 

2.5 
0.7 
0.9 
1.7 


Feeding  stuff 


Brewers'  grains,  dried 

Millet,  foxtail 

Rice  polish 

Rice  bran 

Buckwheat 

Buckwheat  flour 

Buckwheat  middlings 

Buckwheat  bran 

Buckwheat  hulls 

Cotton  seed 

Cottonseed  meal 

Cottonseed  hulls 

Flaxseed 

Linseed  meal,  old  process . . .  . 
Linseed  meal,  new  process . .  . 

Flax  feed 

Flax  screenings 

Beans,  navy 

Cowpeas 

Peas,  field 

Soybeans 

Cocoanut  meal 

Cocoanut  cake 

Sunflower  seed 

Beet  pulp,  dried 

Distillers'  grains,  dried 

Molasses,  cane,  or  blackstrap 

Molasses  feed 

Alfalfa  meal 


One 
quart 
weighs 


Lbs. 
0.6 
1.6 
1.2 
0.8 
1.4 

1.6 
0.9 
0.6 
0.5 
0.8 

1.5 
0.3 
1.6 
1.1 
0.9 

0.8 
1.1 
1.7 
1.7 
2.1 


One 
pound 
meas- 
ures 


Qts. 
1.7 
0.6 

0.8 
1.3 
0.7 

0.6 
1.1 

1.7 
2.0 
1.3 

0.7 
3.3 
0.6 
0.9 
1.1 

1.3 
0.9 
0.6 
0.6 
0.5 

0.6 
0.7 
0.8 
0.7 
1.7 

1.7 
0.3 
1.3 
1.7 


INDEX 


The  References  are  to  Pages 


Abomasum,  18 

Absorption  of  nutrients.  32-3 

Acid,  effect  of,  on  digestibility  of  feed.  52 

Acid  in  gastric  juice.  20,  28 

Acorns,  188 

effects  on  pork,  188 
Adulteration  of  feeds,  190 
Aftermath,  219 
Age,  influence  on  digestibility,  52 

gain  of  pigs,  568-70 
sheep,  512 
steers,  432-6 
milk  yield  of  cows,  346 
Age  to  breed  heifers,  427 
mares,  321 
sows,  626 
Air,  heat  carried  off  by  expired,  57 

required  by  farm  animals,  67 
Albumin  in  milk,  77,  344.  346 
Alfalfa,  223-9 

compared  with  other  forages,  224 
types  of,  228 

value  of  different  cuttings,  225,  371 
Alfalfa  feed,  229 
Alfalfa  hay,  224-6 

cut  at  various  stages,  50 
for  brood  sows,  622,  625 
calves,  420 
cows,  370-3 
ewes,  551 
horses,  314-6 
pigs,  226,  621-3 
sheep,  533-5 
steers,  467-70,  490,  491 
groixnd,  see  Alfalfa  meal 
in  place  of  concentrates  for  cows,  371-3 
losses  of  feeding  value  in  hay-making, 

218,220,225 
loss  of  leaves  in  haj--making,  220 
making,  218-21 

yield  compared  with  corn  crop,  224 
Alfalfa  meal,  229 

for  cows,  229,  374 
horses,  315 
sheep,  515 
vs.  wheat  bran  for  cows,  374 
Alfalfa  pasture,  226 
for  cows,  373 

horses,  226,  316 
pigs,  610-1 
sheep,  226,  545 
Alfalfa  silage,  228,  258 
Alfalfa  soilage,  227.  266 
Alfalmo,  229,  304 
AUmentary  tract,  17 
Alsike  clover,  see  Clover,  alsike 
Amber  cane,  202 
Amids,  6 

digestion  of,  28 
in  corn  crop,  12 
in  various  feeds,  62 
use  by  animals,  62 
Amino  acids,  6,  27 

absorption  of.  from  intestine,  33 
Amylase,  23 
Amylopsin,  23 
AnaboUsm,  31 
Animal,  as  a  machine,  103 

composition  of,  14-7 
influence  of  kind  on  digestibility,  52 
nitrogen  and  mineral  matter  in,  16 
not  a  heat  machine,  104 


Animals,  checking  growth  of,  99 

nutrients  stored  by  yoimg,  76 
Animals  and  plants  compared,  16 
Apples,  247 

for  pigs,  247 
Apples  and  corn  silage  compared,  247 
Apple  pomace,  247 
Apple  pomace  silage,  258 

for  cows,  383 
Armsby's  energy  values  for  feeds,  120 
Artichokes,  244 

for  horses,  317 
pigs,  619 
Ash  in  bodies  of  farm  animals,  16 

in  corn  crop  at  different  stages,  12 

in  corn  kernel,  152 

in  feeds,  how  determined,  9 

retained  and  voided  by  farm  animals,  273 

see  Mineral  matter 
Ashes,  wood,  for  farm  animals,  66 
Assimilation  of  food,  energy  lost  in,  47 
Available  energy,  45 

Baby  beef,  504-6 
Bacon,  soft,  585 
Bacon  hogs,  582 

see  Pigs 
Bacon  production,  584 
Bacteria,  action  in  digestion,  22,  27 
Bagasse,  sorghum,  for  silage,  203,  258 
Balanced  ration,  17 

see  Ration 
Bamboo  leaves  for  horses,  299 
Barium  salts,  cause  of  loco  poisoning,  252 
Barley,  161 

for  calves,  414 

cows,  360 

horses,  303 

pigs,  590,  615 

sheep,  525,  529 

steers,  454 

Barley  and  by-products  in  brewing,  161 
Barley  feed,  164 
Barley  hay,  210 
Barley  pasture,  210 
Barley  soilage,  210 
Barley  straw,  216 
Barrows  and  sows,  gains  of,  583 
Beans,  castor,  252 
field.  180 

for  horses,  305 
pigs,  605 
sheep,  180 
produce  a  soft  pork.  180,  605 
horse,  see  Horse  bean 
hyacinth,  238 
moth,  238 

table,  see  Beans,  field 
velvet,  see  Velvet  bean 
Bean  straw  for  sheep,  216-7,  535 
Beef,  baby,  504-6 

effects  of  cottonseed  meal  on,  174 
feed  consumed  in  producing,  432-5 
Beef  calves,  see  Calves,  beef 
Beef  cattle,  see  Steers 

fattening  ca'ves,  433-5,  504-6 
yearUngs.  433-5,  506 
2-yr.-olds.  433-5,  506 
raising,  484-492 
summer  care  of,  484,  489 
wintering,  484-6,  489-92 


674 


INDEX 


675 


Beef  cows,  see  Cows,  beef 
Beef  production,  430-506 
cost  of,  433-5,  497 
labor  cost  of,  497 
methods  of,  501-6 
Beet,  mangel,  see  Mangel 
stock,  for  steers,  481 
sugar,  see  Sugar  beet 
Beet  leaves  and  tops,  186,  243 

silage  from,  243,  258 
Beet  molasses,  see  Molasses,  beet 
Beet  pulp,  dried,  185 
for  cows,  361 
horses,  305 
sheep,  530 
steers,  458 
Beet  pulp,  molasses.  186 
for  cows,  361 
horses,  304 
sheep,  530 
Beet  pulp,  wet,  184 
for  cows,  386 
horses,  318 
pigs,  618 
sheep,  544 
steers,  457 
Beet  pulp  silage,  185,  258 
Beet  tops,  186 
Beggar  weed,  238 
Bermuda  grass,  211 

rootstocks  for  pigs,  212 
Bermuda  hay  for  cows,  379 
horses,  310 
steers,  211 
Bile,  23 

Blanketing  horses,  296 
Bloat,  in  cattle,  cause  of,  22 

how  prevented,  226,  232 
Blood,  circulation  of,  31 

influence  of  light  on,  74 
Blood  meal,  or  dried  blood,  184 
for  calves,  416 


pigs,  602 
sheep,  533 
Blood  of  pigs,  influence  of  corn  feeding  on. 

92-6 
Bluegrass,  Canada,  211 

Kentucky,  205 
Bluegrass  pasture  vs.  rape  for  lambs,  546 
Bluegrass  hay  for  sheep,  536 
Body,  growth,  under  scant  feeding,  96 
Body  of  horse,  energy  expended  in  lifting,  289 
Body  temperature  of  farm  animals,  54 
Body  waste,  disposal  of,  28,  34 
Bonavist,  238 

Bone,  increase  of,  in  young  animals,  76,  81 
Bone  ash  for  farm  animals,  66 

pigs,  81-2 
Bone  meal,  184 

for  calves,  416 
foals,  326 
pigs,  573 
Bones,  brittle  because  lacking  lime,  64 
of  pigs,  influenced  by  feed,  92-6 
strengthened  by  calcium  phosphate, 
66,  81,  573 
Bran,  see  Wheat  bran.  Rice  bran,  etc. 
Bran  disease,  157 
Bread,  157,  270 

for  horses,  157,  270 
Breed,  influence  of,  on  digestibility,  52 

value  in  beef  production.  439-44 
Breed  tests  of  cows,  391-3 

sheep,  509-10,  554 
steers,  439-45 
swine,  582-3 
Brewers'  grains,  dried,  163 
for  cows,  363 
horses,  306 
pigs,  163 
sheep,  632 
steers,  466 
pentosans  in,  163 


Brewers'  grains,  wet,  163 

for  cows,  163 
British  feeding  trials  with  sheep,  538 
steers,  482 
Brome  grass,  208 
Brome  hay  for  horses,  310 
Brood  mare,  see  Mare,  brood 
Brood  sow,  see  Sow 
Broom-corn  seed,  170 
Buckwheat.  171 

effects  on  butter,  171 
for  pigs,  595 
wild,  for  lambs,  528 
Buckwheat  bran,  value  of,  171 
Buckwheat  hulls,  feeding  value,  171 
Buckwheat  middlings,  feeding  value,  171 

for  cows,  363 
Buffalo  Exposition,  tests  of  dairy  cows  at,  391 
Bull,  beef,  feed  and  care  of,  486 
Bull,  dairy,  feed  and  care  of,  428-9 
Butter,  effects  of  buckwheat  on,  171 

cocoanut  meal  on,  179 
cottonseed  meal  on,  174 
linseed  meal  on,  176 
potatoes  on,  244 
soybeans  on,  178 
yellow  color,  cause  of,  356 
Buttermilk,  182 

for  calves,  422 
pigs,  599 

Cabbage,  245 

marrow,  247 
Cacti,  249 

for  cows.  250 

steers.  249-50 
spineless,  250 
Caecum,  18,  24 
Calcium,  in  blood,  63 

in  skeleton,  64 

needed  by  pregnant  animals,  82 

required  for  maintenance,  64-5 

growth,  81 
see  Lime 
Calcium  carbonate  utilized  by  animals,  66 
Calcium  phosphate,  for  farm  animals,  66 

pigs,  81-2,  573 
Calorie,  44 
Calorimeter,  44 

respiration,  46 
Calves,  beef,  feed  and  care  of.  487-9 

wide  and  narrow  ration  for,  91 
wintering,  489 
Calves,  dairy,  412-26 

(For  the  value  of  the  various  feeds  for 
calves,    see   the   different   feeds;    i.e.. 
Corn,  Oats,  etc.) 
advantage  of  fall-dropped,  425 
birth  weight,  424 
calf  meals  for,  423-4 
chalk  for,  417 

compared  with  lambs  and  pigs,  425 
concentrates  for,  413-6,  419 
cost  of  rearing,  427 
fall  vs.  spring,  425 
feed  and  gain  by,  425,  427 
feeding  concentrates  only,  72 
gains  made  by,  421 
grinding  grain  for,  415 
ground  bone  for,  417 
ground  rock  phosphate  for,  417 
hay  for,  420 
hay  tea  for,  423 
mineral  matter  for,  416 
percentage  of  food  nutrients  stored  by, 

75-6 
raising  on  minimum    amount    of    milk, 

skim  milk,  412-21 

skim  milk  substitutes,  421-4 

returns  from,  compared  with  other  farm 
animals.  90,  425 

rich  and  poor  milk  for,  78 

salt  for.  417 

scours,  426 


676 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Calves,  dairy,  continued 

substitutes  for  milk  for,  423 
succulent  feeds  for,  420 
variety  of  feeds,  effect  of,  416 
water  for,  417 
Canada  field  pea,  see  Pea,  field 
Cane  molasses,  see  Molasses,  cane 
Cane  sugar,  4 
Capillaries,  32 
Carbohydrates,  3 

absorption  of,  32 
a  soiu-ce  of  muscular  energy,  102 
compared  with  other  nutrients  for  pro- 
ducing work,  102 
determination  in  feeding  stuffs,  10 
digestion  of,  25 
effect  on  digestibility  of  other  nutrients, 

51 
effects  of  feeding  only,  59 
energy  lost  in  digesting,  46-8 
fat  formed  from.  86 
feeding  in  excess  to  pigs,  92 
in  ripening  clover,  231 
corn,  11-2 
grasses,  206 
what  the  term  embraces,  40 
Carbonaceous  feed,  41 
Carbon  dioxid,  amount  in  air,  2 

amount   produced   by   horse 

during  work,  101 
danger  from,  in  silo  filling,  262 
how  taken  up  by  plants,  2 
the  great  food  of  plants,  2 
Carbonic  acid  gas,  see  Carbon  dioxid 
Carnivora,  ability  to  withstand  hunger,  56 
Carotin  causes  color  of  butter,  356 
Carpet  grass,  213 
Carrots,  243 

for  horses,  317 
Casein  in  milk,  181,  344,  346 
Cassava,  245 

for  pigs,  621 
steers,  482 
Castor  bean,  252 
Catabolism,  31 

Cattle,  see  Steers,  Beef  production.  Cows 
Cellulose,  4 

decomposition  of,  28 
digestion  of,  26 
nutritive  value  of,  26 
Cereal  by-products  for  dairy  cows,  369 
Cereal  hay,  209 

for  horses,  309 
Cereal  pasture,  209 
for  cows,  210 
pigs,  615 
sheep,  545 
Cereal  silage,  210 
Cereal  soilage,  209 
Cereals,  149-71 
Chaff  from  the  cereals,  216 
ChafHng  hay  and  straw,  268 
for  horses,  293 
sheep,  515 
Chalk  for  calves,  79,  417 
Charcoal  for  pigs,  580 
Cherry  leaves,  prussic  acid  in  wild,  251 
Christmas  lambs,  see  Hot-house  lambs 
Chufas,  245 

for  pigs,  621 
Chyle,  32 

Clipping  horses,  296 
Clover,  alsike,  232 

for  sheep,  534 
bloat  from,  how  prevented,  232 
bur,  234 

combined  with  timothy,  206,  231 
crimson,  234 
for  soilage,  232 
Japan,  see  Lespedeza 
mammoth,  232 
Mexican,  248 
red,  230-2 

development    of  nutrients  in, 
230 


Clover,  red,  continued 

losses  in  curing,  218 

methods  of  making  hay  from 

218-21 
pasture,  232 
silage,  232 

for  cows,  382 
soilage,  232 
time  to  cut,  231 
sweet,  233 

pasture,  for  pigs,  612 
white,  233 
Clover  hay,  crimson,  dangerous    to    horses, 

for  cows.  374 
Japan,  see  Lespedeza  hay 
red,  for  calves,  420 
cows,  374 
ewes,  551 
horses,  313 
pigs,  623 
sheep,  534 
sows,  621,  625 
steers,  468-9.  491 
rich  in  lime,  65.  82.  232 
sweet,  for  sheep.  535 
steers,  471 
Clover  pasture,  for  pigs.  611 
Coarse  forage,  see  Roughage 
Cocoanut  meal  or  cake,  179 
for  cows,  367 
horses,  308 
Cocoa  shells,  189 
Cocoa-shell  milk  for  calves,  423 
Cod  liver  oil  for  calves,  414 
Coefficients  of  digestibility,  36-9,  Appendix 

Table  II 
Colic  in  horses,  due  to  changes  in  feed,  297 

corn  meal,  301 
Colostrum,  77,  417 
Colts,  daily  gains  of,  323,  328 
education  of,  326 
see  Foals 
Columbian  Exposition,  tests  of  dairy  cows, 

Comfrey,  prickly,  248 
Common  salt,  see  Salt 

Composition  of  feeding  stuffs,  8-10,  Appen- 
dix Table  I 
factors  infiuencing,  48-50 
Concentrates,  10 

adapting  amount  fed  to  local  conditions, 

146 
feeding  animals  exclusively  on,  71-3 
proper  amount  for  dairy  cows,  399 
horses,  292,  330 
pigs,  573,  631 
sheep,  561 
steers,  438,  479,  494 
Condimental  stock  foods,  see  Stock  foods 
Cooked  feed,  269-71 
digestibility  of,  51 
digestion  trials  with,  269 
for  pigs,  269,  576 
horses,  294 
stock,  269-71 
Corn,  Indian,  149-53 

by-products  of,  153-5 
characteristics  of,  149 
composition  of,  152 
dent,  characteristics  of,  150 
ear,  for  cows,  359 
horses,  301 
pigs,  574-6 
sheep,  523 
steers,  451-3 
shrinkage  in  drying,  151 
effects  of  thick  planting  on,  194 
Federal  grades,  151 
feeding  exclusively  to  pigs,  92 
field  feeding  to  pigs,  588 
flint,  characteristics  of,  150 
for  cows,  358 
horses,  300-3 
pigs,  587-90 


INDEX 


677 


Com,  Indian,  continued 
for  sneep,  521-5 

steers,  449-54 
grinding,  see  Corn,  preparation  of 
heavy  vs.  light  feeding  to  sheep,  561 
steers,  451 
lacks  protein  and  mineral  matter,  150 
loses  palatability  after  grinding,  153 
preparation  of,  for  cows,  359 
horses,  301 
pigs,  573-7 
sheep,  523 
steers,  451-3 
races  of,  150 
shelled,  for  pigs,  574 

sheep,  521-4 
steers,  451—3 
weight  of  1  bu.,  150 
soaked,  for  pigs,  576,  577 

steers,  452 
soft,  151 

for  pigs,  588 
steers,  454 
som"ce  of  starch  and  glucose,  150 
sweet,  characteristics,  150 
water  in  green  and  dry,  151 
weight  of  1  bushel,  150 
yellow  compared  with  white,  150 
see  Corn  crop  and  Corn  plant 
Com-and-cob  meal,  153 
for  cows,  359 
horses,  301 
pigs,  588 
sheep,  523 
steers,  452 
Com  bran,  155 
Corn  chop,  see  Corn  meal 
Com  cobs,  weight  and  composition  of,  150 
Corn  crop,  changes  in  carbohydrates  during 
ripening,  12 
changes  in  crude  protein  during 

ripening,  12 
composition      of,      at      different 

stages,  11 
distribution  of  nutrients  in  ears 

and  stover,  194 
increase  in,  during  ripening,  13 
losses  in  field  curing,  195,  198 
proportion    of    ears    and    stover, 

194-5 
jield  of  nutrients  in  1  acre,  11,13 
Com  feed-meal,  153 
Corn  fodder,  193,  196 
for  cows,  376-7,  380 
horses,  311 
sheep,  536 
silage,  198,  200 
steers.  471 
green,  193 

for  soilage,  201 
preserving,  195 
pulling,  197 
saltpeter  in,  253 
shocking  or  stooking,  195-6 
shredding,  197 
vs.  corn  silage  for  cows,  380 
Corn  fodder  silage,  200 
Corn    forage,    see    Corn    fodder    and    Corn 

stover 
Corn  gluten  feed,  see  Gluten  feed 
Corn  kernel,  parts  and  composition,  152 
Corn  meal,  153 

as  sole  feed  for  cows,  72 
for  calves,  414 
cows,  359 
horses,  301 
pigs,  588 
sheep,  523-5 
steers,  451-3 
Cora  plant,  11,  193 

changes  in  maturing,  11 

crude  protein  at  different  stages,  12 

distribution  of  nutrients,  195 

for  silage,  198-201 

losses  by  ensiling  and  field  curing,  198 


Corn  plant,  continued 

nitrogen-free  extract  at  different  stages, 

12 
number  of  stalks  per  acre,  194 
nutrients  at  different  stages,  11 
removing  ears  before  ensiling,  201 
requirements  for  growth,  149 
southern  for  silage,  199 
Com  oil,  154 

for  calves,  414 
Corn  product,  new,  198 
Corn  silage,  see  Silage,  corn 
Corn  smut,  feeding  experiments  with,  252 
Corn  soilage,  201 
Corn  stalk  disease,  251 
Corn  stover,  193,  197 
ensiled,  200 

for  cows,  377 

horses,  311,  312 
sheep,  536 
steers,  471,  491 
percentage  of  nutrients  of  crop  in,  195 
shredded,  197 

for  cows,  197 
steers,  491 
vs.  mixed  hay  for  cows,  377 
vs.  timothy  hay  for  horses,  311 
Com  stover  silage,  200 
Correctives  for  pigs,  579 
Cost    of   feeds,    considering    in    formulating 

rations,  114,  139-48 
Cotton  seed,  171 
as  a  feed,  172 
for  cows,  365 
steers,  462 
poison  in,  173 
products  from  1  ton,  171 
roasted,  172 
Cottonseed  cake,  172,  174 
cold-pressed,  173 
see  Cottonseed  meal 
Cottonseed  hulls,  175 
for  cows,  379 

steers,  472-4,  492 
Cottonseed  meal,  172,  174 

effects  on  animal  fats,  174 
for  beef  cows,  485 
calves,  415 
dairy  cows,  364-5 
horses,  307-8 
pigs,  173,  605 
sheep,  531 

steers,  460-2,  468,  472-4,  476-7,  492, 
503 
makes  hard  butter,  174 
poison  in,  173 
Cottonseed  oil  for  calves,  414 
Cowpea,  180,  235 
for  pigs,  606 
horses,  305 
steers,  464 
Cowpea  hay,  235 
for  cows,  375 
horses,  316 
sheep,  534 
steers,  471,  491 
Cowpea  pasture.  236 
for  pigs,  613 
steers,  471 
Cowpea  silage,  235,  258 
for  cows,  374.  382 
steers,  481 
Cowpea  vine,  235 
Cows,  beef,  feed  and  care  of,  484-6 

vs.  dairy  cows  for  butter  fat,  340 
wintering,  484-6 
Cows,  dairy,  338-429 

(For  the   value  of    various  feeds  for 
cows,    see    the    different  feeds;  i.e.. 
Corn,  Clover  hay,  etc.) 
advanced  registry,  388 
amount  of  heat  given  off  daily,  68 
annual  feed  requirements,  395 
as  producers  of  human  food,  338—43 
basis  of  profitable  dairying,  343 


678 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Cows,  dairy,  continued 
breed  tests.  391-3 
burden  of  dairying,  409 
calculating    rations    for,     112-6,     130, 

140-5,  410 
care  before  and  after  calving,  407-9 
censuses,  390 
changing  milkers,  354 
comfort,  importance  of,  405 
compared  with  heifers,  346 
composition  of  milk  of  various  breeds, 

344 
concentrate  allowance  for,  399 
concentrates  for,  358-70 
cooking  feed  for,  405 
cost  of  keep,  396 

milk,  by  months,  395 
dairy  vs.  beef  type,  340 
dehorning,  353 
disposition  of  feed  by,  340 
drv  feed  for.  405 
drying  ofif.  407-8 
economy  of,  338-40 

effects  of  advancing   lactation   on   milk 
yield,  347 
age  on  milk  yield.  346 
cattle  ticks  on  milk  yield,  355 
dehorning  on  milk  yield,  353 
drought  on  milk  yield,  352 
exercise  on  milk  yield,  353 
milking     machines     on     milk 

yield,  354 
spaying  on  milk  yield,  353 
temperature  on  milk  yield,  352 
tuberculin     testing     on     milk 

yield,  353 
turning    to   pasture    on   milk 

yield,  352 
work  on  quality  of  milk,  353 
excessive  and  low  feeding,  348,  349 
exercise  for,  353 
feed  and  care  of,  398-411 

yield  of  great,  393-5 
feeding  as  individuals,  400 

concentrates  on  pasture,  401-3 
exclusively  on  concentrates,  72 
fat,  350 
feeds  for,  358-86 

required  by,  for  1  year,  395 
when  dry,  408 
forced  feeding,  393 
frequency  of  feeding,  355,  406 
milking,  346,  355 
freshening  in  fall  vs.  spring.  409 
generous  feed  and  care  for,  398 
gestation  period.  408 
good  and  poor  producers.  341 
great,  feed  and  yield  of,  393-5 
grinding  grain  for,  268,  405 
grooming,  353 

Hegelund  method  of  milking,  355 
herd  records.  388-9 
inefficient,  causes  of,  342 
kindness  in  care  of.  354.  406 
liberal  and  meager  feeding,  348,  349 
lime  withheld  from,  64,  351 
loss  in  weight,  349 
milk,  see  Milk,  cow's 
milk  and  fat  records,  387-96 
milking  machines,  354 

three  times  daily,  355 
official  tests.  388 
order  of  feeding.  406 
palatable  feed,  importance  of,  403 
pasture,  supplementing  short,  403 
pasturage  vs.  soilage  for,  385 
preparation  of  feed  for,  405 
profitable  and  unprofitable,  342 
ration  for.  should  be  well  balanced,  400 
rations  for,  examples     of    economical, 
140-5.  409-11 
when  on  test.  393-5 
records,  keeping  on  farm,  388 
of  great  cows.  393-5 
regularity  in  care  of,  354,  406 


Cows,  dairy,  continued 

rest,  importance  of,  407 
returns  from,  compared  with  other  farm 
animals, 
90, 338-40 
steers, 
338-40 
in    Swedish   test    associa- 
tions, 129 

good  and  poor  producers, 
341-3 
roughages  for,  370-86 
salt  for,  405 
shelter  for,  405 

shredding  corn  fodder  for,  268 
spaying,  353 

substituting    legume    hay    for    concen- 
trates, 372-6 
succulent  feed,  importance  of,  403 
succulent  feeds  for,  379-86 
tests  of,  at  expositions.  391.  392 

unreliabiUty  of  short,  389 
tuberculin  testing,  353 
turning  to  pasture,  352 
use  of  feed  by,  340 
variations  in  fat  in  milk,  345-53 
water  for,  404 
wet  and  dry  feed  for,  355 
see  Heifer 
Cow-testing  associations,  387-8 
Crab  grass.  213 
Creep  for  foals.  324 

lambs,  558 
Crimson  clover,  see  Clover,  crimson 
Crops  for  the  silo,  257 
Crude  protein,  see  Protein,  crude 
Cud,  chewing  the,  19 
Cull  beans,  180 

Cutting  hay  and  straw,  see  Chaffing 
Cylindrical  silo.  256 

capacity  of  different  sizes,  262 

Dairy  and  beef  breeds,  internal  fat  from,  443 
Dairy  by-products,  181-3 
for  pigs,  596 

spreading  disease  thru,  182 
Dairy  calves,  see  Calves,  dairy 
Dairy  cows,  see  Cows,  dairy 
Dairying,  the  burden  of.  409 

based  on  maternity  of  cow,  338 
the  individual  cow.  343 
Darkness,  see  Light 
Dehorning,  effects  on  cows,  353 
Depression  of  digestibility,  51-2 
Diastase.  162 
Digestibilitv,  36-41 

coefficients  of,  36-9,  Appendix  Table  IT 

depression  of,  51,  291 

effect  of  acid  on,  52 

effects  of  work  on,  284 

factors  influencing,  50-3 

general  discussion  of,  37-9,  50-3 

influence  of  age  on,  53 

amount  of  feed  eaten  on,  50 
breed  on.  52 

frequency  of  feeding  on,  51 
kind  or  class  of  animal  on, 

52 
palatability  of  feed  on,  30 
preparation  of  feed  on,  51, 

267-71,  575 
proportion  of  different  nu- 
trients on,  51 
starvation  on,  50 
water  on,  51 
work  on,  51 
method  of  determining,  37 
of  coarse  forage,  39 
of  cooked  food.  51,  269-70 
of  fat,  38 
of  feeds,  36-41 
of  feeds  high  in  fiber,  39 
of  food  by  horse,  52,  283 
pig.  52 
ruminants,  52 


INDEX 


679 


Digestibility,  continued 

of  grasses  affected  by  matxirity,  50 
of  ground  grain,  51 
of  nitrogenous  feeds,  52 
of  silage,  51 
Digestible  nutrient,  17 
Digestible   nutrients   in   feeding   stuffs.    39, 

Appendix  Table  III 
Digestion,  17 

heat  evolved  in,  45,  47 
in  stomach,  20-2 

of  fiber  involves  much  work,  47,  55 
studies  of  Pawlow  on,  29-30 
trials  with  cooked  feed,  51,  269-70 
horses,  283 
sheep,  36 
work  involved  in,  45,  47,  55,  285 
Digestion       coefficients,      37-9,      Appendix 

Table  II 
Digestive  glands,  work  of,  29 
Digestive  tract  of  farm  animals,  17 
Dipping  sheep,  561 
Distillers'  grains,  dried,  188 
for  cows,  368 
horses,  308 
pigs,  607 
sheep,  532 
steers,  465 
Distillery  slop,  188 
for  steers,  465 
Draft,  energy  expended  by  horses  in,  290 

required  on  different  road  beds,  283 
Dressed  carcass,  composition  of,  from  farm 
animals,  15 
yielded  by  pigs,  584 
sheep,  518 
steers,  440,  442 
Dried  beet  pulp,  see  Beet  pulp,  dried 
Dried  blood,  see  Blood  meal 
Dried  brewers'  grains,  see  Brewers'  grains, 

dried 
Dried  distillers'  grains,  see  Distillers'  grains, 

dried 
Dried  fish,  see  Fish  meal 
Drought,  effects  of,  on  milk,  352 
Durra,  168 
Dynamometer,  282 

Earth  nut,  see  Peanut 

Economy  in  feeding  live  stock,  139-48 

Egyptian  corn,  see  Milo 

Emmer,  164 

for  cows,  360 
pigs,  592 
sheep,  529 
steers,  456 
Energy,  45-8 

available  and  net,  45 

expended  by  dairy  cows,  340 

factors  influencing  amount  appearing  as 

useful  work.  103,  288-90 
for  animals  derived  from  sun,  7 
for  work  furnished  by  carbohydrates,  102 
fat,  102 
protein,  102 
in  common  feeds,  44,  46 
in  pure  nutrients,  44 
in  urea,  45,  46 

losses  of,  depend  on  body  surface,  58 
muscular,  may  come  from  protein,   56, 
100,  102 
produced  by  oxidation  of  car- 
bohydrates and  fat,  101-2 
production  of,  101 
source  of,  102 
net,  46 

in  feeding  stuffs,  46 

in  feeds  determines  amount  of  work  pro- 
duced, 102,  2S4 
lost  in  chewing  feeds,  48 
part  expended  which  is  utilized  in  work, 

103 
required  for  maintenance,  57 
required  for  work,  decreases  with  prac- 
tice, 103 


Energy  required  for  work,  continued 

factors   influencing, 

103,  288-9,  292 
increases     with      fa- 
tigue, 103 
increases  with  speed, 
103,  288 
of  animal  machine  compared  with  steam 

engine,  104 
of  feeds,  loss  of,  in  assimilation,  45—8 
digestion,        45-8, 

284-5 
feces,  45,  47 
mastication,    45,  47, 

284-5 
production  processes, 

46-8 
urine,  45-7 
see  Work 
Energy  values  of  feeds,  Armsby's,  121 
Engine  compared  with  animals,  44,  45,  104 
English    system    of    allowing    for    manurial 

value  of  feeds,  277 
Ensilage,  see  Silage 
Ensiling,   manner  in  which  green  forage  is 

preserved  by,  254 
Enzymes,  20 
Erepsin,  24 
Ergot,  251 

Ether  extract,  see  Fat 
Ewes,  breeding,  feed  and  care  of,  548-59 

care  of,  at  lambing  time,  553 

after  lambing,  554 
when  raising  winter  lambs, 
565 
concentrates  for,  551 
date  of  lambing,  548 
feed  required  for  100  lbs.  milk,  556 
flushing,  549 

milking  qualities  of,  555-6 
roughages  for,  551-3 
succulent  feeds  for,  551-3 
turning  to  pasture,  558 
wintering.  550-3 
Ewe's  milk,  composition  of,  77,  555 

value  for  lambs,  556 
Excrement,  see  Manure 
Exercise  for  brood  sows,  582,  625 

carriage  horses,  295,  335 
colts,  296 
dairy  cows,  353 
fattening  animals,  74 
horses,  295 
lambs,  514,  564 
pigs,  582,  625 
stallions,  329 
Exposure  for  lambs,  513 
steers,  445 

Farm  animals,  calculating  rations  for,  1 1 2—8, 
124,  136-45 
comparative   fattening   qual- 
ities of,  89-91 
composition     of    bodies     of, 

14-6 
importance  of,  to  agriculture, 

vii-x 
manure  voided  by,  278 
nitrogen    and    ash    retained 

and  voided  by,  273 
relative     economy     of,      90, 

338-9,  425,  568 
see  Live  stock 
Farming,  adapt  type  of,  to  local  conditions, 

147 
Farm  manure,  see  Manure 
Fat,  4 

absorption  of,  32 

amount  formed  from  various  nutrients, 

88 
a  source  of  muscular  energy,  102 
compared  with  other  nutrients  for  pro 

ducing  work,  102 
digestion  of,  25 
effect  of  cottonseed  meal  on,  174 


680 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Fat,  continued 

feeding,  effect  on  digestibility,  52 
feeding  to  dairy  cows,  350 
formed  by  ox  in  1  day,  43 

from  carbohydrates,  86 
pentosans,  87 
protein,  87 
in  animal  may  resemble  that  in  veget- 
able, 86 
in  milk,  factors  influencing  composition 
and  yield.  344-57 
globules  in,  345 
origin  in  body,  85 
possible  amount  produced  in  body  by 

nutrients,  88 
source  of,  in  milk,  105 
vegetable,  4-5 

yielded  by  great  dairy  cows,  393 
wool,  107 
Fatten  animals  to  meet  demands  of  market, 

147 
Fattening,  83-91 

composition  of  increase  during,  83-5 
factors  influencing,  89 
influence  of  age  on,  89 

ample  food  on,  89,  97-8 
breed  on,  89 
exercise  on,  89 
palatability  on,  89 
temperament  on,  89 
object  of,  83 
ration  for,  88 
Fattening  period,  cost  of  gain  increases  with 
length,  436,  568,  630 
length  for  pigs,  630 

sheep,  561,  562 
steers,  437-9 
Fattening  process,  what  it  is,  83 
Fattening   qualities   of  ox,    sheep,   and   pig 

compared,  90 
Fattening  the  horse,  332-4 
Fatty  tissues,  storage  of,  see  Fattening 
Feces,  28 

heat  lost  in,  45,  47,  57 
Feed,  administration  to  cows,  405-7 
horses,  297-8 
lambs,  560 
pigs,  624-5 
steers,  500-1 
Feed,  consumed  daily    by    pigs    of    various 
weights,  568-9 
from  birth  to  maturity  by 

steers,  432 
yearly  by  calves,  427 
cows,  395-6 
horses,  318 
cooking,  for  farm  animals,  269-71 
horses,  294 
pigs,  269,  576 
effects  on  butter  fat,  351 
influence  on  body  of  pig,  81,  92-6 

milk  fat,  349-51 
long  and  short  for  steers,  437 
preparation  for  farm  animals,  267-71 
calves,  415 
cows,  405 
horses,  293-4 
pigs,  573-7 
sheep,  515 
steers,  451-3 
relation  to  work  of  horse,  282 
regulation  of  sale,  190 
returns  from  by  various  farm  animals, 

90 
soaking,  51,  271 

for  horses,  294 
swine,  577 
see  Feeds,  also  Feeding  stuffs 
waste,  utilized  by  livestock,  \ili 
Feed  adulteration,  190 
Feeding  standards,  109-38 
flrst,  109 

for  dairy  cows,  comparison  of,  133 
Eckles,  132,  133 
Haecker's,  130 


Feeding  standards,  continued 

for  dairy  cows,  Savage's,  132 

Scandinavian,  126 
Woll-Humphrey,  131 
for  farm  animals,  109-38 
Armsby's,  120-6 
Kellner's,  118-20 
Modified    Wolff-Lehmann.     134-8, 

Appendix  Table  V 
Wolff,  110 

Wolff-Lehmann,    110-2,  116-8,  Ap- 
pendix Table  IV 
for  lambs,  Bull-Emmett,  123 
history  of,  109-10 
only  approximate  guides,  115 
Feeding  stuffs,  149-271 
adulteration,  190 

coefficients  of  digestibiUty,  39,   Appen- 
dix Table  II 
composition,  8,  Appendix  Table  I 
control,  190-1 
digestible    nutrients   in,    40,    Appendix 

Table  III 
fertilizing   constituents   in,    274-6,    Ap- 
pendix Table  III 
guide  in  purchasing,  191 
mineral  matter  in,  8-9,  Appendix  Table 

VI 
value  of,  to  animal,  44 
Feed  lot,  counsel  in,  493-506 

paved,  448 
Feed  racks  for  sheep,  516 
Feeds,  Armsby's  energy  value  of,  121 

cost    of,    considering   in    formulating 

rations,  140-5 
fertilizing  value  of,  274-5 

how  allowed  for  in  England,  277 
for  beef  bulls,  486 
beef  calves,  487-9 
beef  cows,  484-6 
breeding  ewes,  549-55 
brood  mares,  320-2 
brood  sows,  624—6 
carriage  horses,  335 
dairy  bulls,  429 
dairy  calves,  412-24 
dairy  cows,  358-86 
dairy  heifers,  426 
foals,  323-8 
horses,  299-319 
lambs,  558-9 
pigs,  587-623 
rams,  549 
sheep.  521-47 
stallions,  329 
steers,  449-83,  489-92 
trotting  horses,  335 
work  horses,  330 
Kellner's  starch  values,  119 
low  in  fiber,  digestibility  of,  39 
in  lime,  65 
in  phosphorus,  65 
market  prices  not  guide  to  value  of,  139 
mixed  or  proprietary,  189 
rich  in  lime,  65,  Appendix  Table  VI 

in  phosphorus,  65 
selecting,     for     economical     rations, 

139-45 
suitabiUty  of,  considering  in  formulat- 
ing rations,  112 
true  value  of,  for  work  horses,  285 
see  Feed,  also  Feeding  stuffs 
Feed  units,  126-8 

measuring  economy  of  cow  by  using, 

128 
use  in  Swedish  test  associations,  129 
Fertility,  buying,  in  purchased  feeds,  276 

selling,  in  crops,  276 
Fertilizers,  composition  and  value  of,  272 
essential  elements  in,  272 
see  Manure 
Fertilizing  constituents  in  feeding  stuffs,  274, 

Appendix  Table  III 
Fertilizing  value  of  feeds,  retained  and  voided 
by  animals,  273 


INDEX 


681 


Fermentation  in  stomach,  22 
Feterita,  168,  169 
for  pigs,  594 
Feterita  fodder,  202 
Feterita  silage  for  slieep,  543 
Fiber,  10 

changed  to  marsh  gas,  26 
digestion  of,  26 
how  determined  in  feeds,  10 
loss  of  energy  in  digesting,  48 
Field  bean,  see  Bean,  field 
Field  pea,  see  Pea,  field 
Filly,  weight  of  at  birth,  322 

time  to  breed,  321 
Fish  meal,  184 

for  dairy  cows,  369 
Flat  turnips,  see  Turnips 
Flavor  of  milk  aflfected  by  feed,  355 
Flax  feed,  177 
Flax  oil-feed,  177 
Flax  plant  by-product,  177 
Flax  seed,  175 

for  calves,  414,  416 
Flax  straw,  217 
Flesh  formation,  75 
Flesh  meal  for  dairy  cows,  369 

sheep.  532 
Flock,  see  Sheep 
Flour,  manufacture  of,  156 

red  dog,  158 
FoaUng  time,  care  of  mare  at,  321-2 
Foals,  care  of,  322-8 

cost  of  raising,  328 

cow's  milk  for,  325 

creep  for,  324 

feed  for,  after  weaning,  326-7 

fall,  322 

forcing  draft,  328 

mineral  matter  for,  326 

raising  orphan,  325 

weaning,  325 

weight  of,  at  birth,  322 

yearly  gain  of,  322,  328 

see  Colt 
Fodder,  ensilage  of,  254 
Fodder   corn,    see    Corn   fodder   and    Corn 

forage 
Food,  cooked,  digestibiUty  of,  51,  269 

coarse,  energy  lost  in  digesting,  48 

disposition  of,  in  respiration  study,  42 

of  horse,   loss  of  energy  in  digestion, 
48 

taken  by  ox  in  1  day,  42-3 

unappreciated  factors  in,  70 

see  Feeds,  also  Feeding  stuffs 
Forage,  coarse,  see  Roughage 

green,  digestibility  of,  50 
Forage  poisoning,  251 
Force,  see  Work 
Foot-ton  and  foot-pound,  282 
Fowl  meadow  grass,  211 
Frosted  corn  for  silage,  200 
Fruit,  247 

for  horses,  318 
sugar,  3 
Fuel  value  of  feed,  see  Energy 

Gain,  by  calves,  421 
foals,  322 
lambs,  556,  559 
pigs,  568-70 
sheep,  512 
steers,  432-6 
comparative,  by  ox,  sheep,  and  pig,  90 
of  growing  animals,  75-6 
Garbage  for  pigs,  596 
Gasoline  and  steam  engines  compared  with 

animals.  44,  45,  104 
Gastric  juice,  20 
Germ  oil  meal,  154 

for  cows,  362 
Gestation  period  of  cow,  408 
ewe,  548 
mare,  321 
sow,  626 


Glucose,  3-4 

disappears  from  muscles  during  work, 

102 
manufactured  from  corn,  153 
stored  in  the  muscles,  102 
Gluten  feed,  154 
for  cows,  362 
pigs,  608 
sheep,  532 
steers,  465.  503 
Gluten  meal,  154 
for  cows,  362 
horses,  308 
pigs,  608 
Gluten  of  wheat,  156 
Glycogen,  32,  102 

disappears  from   muscles  during  work, 

33,  102 
produced  continuously  in  body  tissues, 

102 
stored  in  the  muscles,  33,  102 
Goat,  Angora,  567 

milch,  567 
Goober,  see  Peanut 
Grade,    influence    on    energy    expended    in 

work,  289 
Grain,  grinding,  see  Grinding  grain 
ground,  digestibility  of,  51 
hogging  down  ripe,  615 
soaking,  for  horses,  294 

pigs,  574-6,  577 
Grass,  204-15 

changes  in  ripening,  50,  204 

curing  into  hay,  217 

dried  compared  with  fresh,  217 

effects  of  frequent  cutting  on  yield,  204 

weather  in  curing,  217-8 
for  silage,  258 
gains  of  steers  on,  501-2 
influence  of  ripeness  on  digestibility,  50 
pasture  for  pigs,  615 
quality  of  young,  204 
time  to  cut  for  hay,  205,  206 
Grasses,  mixed,  214 

the  smaller,  204-15 
see  Hay,  also  Pasture 
Greasewood,  249 

Great  Britain,  fattening  sheep  in,  538 
steers  in,  482 
Green  forage,  digestibiUty  of,  50 
Grinding  grain  for  cows,  405 

farm  animals,  268 
horses,  294 
pigs,  573-6 
sheep,  515,  523 
steers,  451-3 
oats  for  horses,  268,  294 
Grooming,  effects  on  cows,  353 
Grooming  horses,  297 
Ground  bone  for  calves,  417 
colts,  326 
pigs,  573,  580 
Ground  rock  phosphate,  see  Phosphate,  rock 
Growing  animals,  75-83 

effect  of  checldng  growth  of,  99 
milk  natural  food  for  young,  77 
roughing  thru  the  winter,  147 
Growth  of  animals,  75-83 

increase  in  protein  and  mineral  matter 

during,  75 
relation   between   composition   of  milk 

and  rate  of,  78 
mineral  matter  requirements  for,  81-2 
protein  requirements  for,  79-80 
Guinea  grass,  213 

Haecker  feeding  standard  for  dairy  cows,  130 
Hairy  vetch,  see  Vetch,  hairy 
Harness,  influence  of,  on  work  of  horse,  297 
Hay.  aids  in  curing.  220 

aroma  of,  218 

brown,  221 

digestibiUty  of,  50 

chafing  or  cutting,  see  ChafBng  hay 

changes  wtiile  curing,  218-9 


682 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Hay,  continued 

from  second  growth  grass,  219 
lime  for  curing,  219 
losses  by  stacking,  222 
making,  218-22 

under  favoralile  conditions,  220 
measurement,  222 
mixing  straw  witli,  for  curing,  219 
new  made,  laxative,  219 
salt  for  curing,  219 
shrinkage,  222 

spontaneous  combustion,  221 
time  to  cut  clover  for,  231 

grass  for,  205,  206 
vs.  corn  silage  for  dairy  cows,  381 
see  Grasses,  also  Legumes 
Hay,  alfalfa,  effects  of  rain  on,  218 

losses  by  stacking,  220 
Hay  equivalents,  109 
Hay  tea,  for  calves,  423 
Heat,  amount  given  off  by  cow  daily,  68 

in  coal,    pure    nutrients,    and 
various  feeds,  44 
controlling  loss  of,  from  body,  56 
energy  expended  in  body  takes  form 

of,  48,  55 
how  it  is  produced  in  body,  55 
loss  from  body,  56-9 

depends  on  body  surface,  58 

covering  of  body,  57 
temperament,  58 
lost  in  digestion,  47 

warming  water  drunk,  69 
manner  of  escape  from  body,  57 
manner  of  equalization  in  body,  56 
of  body  increased  by  work,  55 
produced  by  all  the  work  of  body,  55 
production  in  body,  55-6 

influenced  by  standing  and  lying,  58 
regulation  in  body,  56 
requirements  for  maintenance,  57 
see  Energy 
Heating  water  for  cows,  404 

farm  animals,  69 
Heifers,  beef,  vs.  steers,  448 
Heifers,  dairy,  advantage    of    home-reared, 
412 
age  to  breed,  427 
cost  of  rearing,  427-8 
feed  and  care  of,  426-8 
yield  of,  compared  with  cow, 
346 
Hemp  seed  cake,  367 

Herbivora,  feeding  concentrates  only  to,  72 
Herd  records  of  cows,  387-91 
Herd's  grass,  see  Timothy 
Hogs,  see  Pigs 
Hogging  down  corn,  588 
Hominy  feed,  155 

for  cows,  359 
pigs,  590 
steers,  459 
Honeycomb,  or  second  stomach,  18 
Hordein,  5 
Horse  bean,  180 

for  horses,  305 
Horse  feeding,  a  skilled  art,  320 
Horse  power,  definition,  282 
Horses,  281-337 

(For  value  of  various  feeds  for  horses, 
see  the  different   feeds;    i.    e..    Corn, 
Oats,  etc.) 
air  breathed  by,  67 
army,  feed  and  care  of,  292,  336 
blanketing,  296 
body  temperature  of,  54 
care  of,  hints  on,  297,  320-37 
carriage,  feed,  and  care  of,  335 
chaffing  hay  for,  293 
clipping,  296 
concentrates  for,  299-309 
cooked  feed  for,  294 
cost  of  feed,  318 

raising,  328 
digestibility  of  food  by,  52,  283 


Horses,  continued 

effects  of  exercise  and  work  on,  284 
energy  expended  in  carrying  load,  289 
draft,  290 
hfting  body,  289 
locomotion,  289 
excess  of  roughage  injurious,  309 
exorcise  for,  295 
fattening,  332-4 
feed  and  care  of,  320-37 

work,  relation  of,  282-93 
feed  consumed  yearly,  318 

preparation  of.  for,  268-70,  293-4 
required  for  maintenance,  285 
feeding,  supervision  of,  298 
feeds  for,  299-319 
fitting  for  shows,  335 
grade,    effect    on    energy    expended    in 

work,  289 
grinding  grain  for,  268,  294 
grooming,  297 
hints  on  feeding,  297 
locomotion  of,  289 
magnitude  of  horse  industry,  281 
maintenance  requirements,  285 
measuring  work  performed  by,  282 
nutrients,  net,  needed  in  work,  287 
nutritive  ratio  for,  290 
power  exerted  by,   of  varying  weights, 

282 
preparing  feed  for,  293-4 
protein  requirements  of,  286,  290 
rations  for,  331 
relation  of  feed  to  work,  282 

speed  to  feed  and  work,  288 
roughage,  amount  for,  at  hard  work,  292 
excess  of,  injurious,  309 
necessity  of,  73 
roughages  for,  309-18 
saddle  horse,  care  and  feed  of,  335 
salt  for,  295 
severe  work  by,  292 
soaking  grain  for,  294 
speed  influences    energy     required     for 

work,  288 
stables  for,  296 
succulent  feeds  for,  316-8 
sudden  changes  in  feed  dangerous,  297 
supervision  of  feeding,  298 
teeth,  care  of,  297 
temperature  of,  55 
trotting,  feed  and  care  of,  335 
unusual  feeds  for,  299 
water  drunk  by,  295,  318 
evaporated  by,  292 
watering,  time  of,  294 
weight,  variations  in,  292 
wintering,  332 

work,  factors  influencing,  281-98 
feed  and  care  of,  330 
value  of  feeds  for,  284 
wide  and  narrow  rations  for,  291 
work  performed  by,  282 

influence  of  speed  on,  288,  292 

grade  on,  289 
in  relation  to  feed,  282 
types  of,  287 
Hothouse  lambs,  see  Lambs,  hot-house 
Hungarian  grass,  see  Millet 
Hydrochloric  acid  in  gastric  juice,  20 
in  stomach,  21,  63 
influence     on     pancreatic 
secretion,  23 

Increase  during  fattening,  composition  of, 

83-5 
Indian  corn  plant,  see  Corn 
Inorganic    phosphorus,    see    Oalcium    phos- 

fhate 
secretion,  24 
Intestine,  large,  digestion  in,  24 

small,  digestion  in,  22-4 
Intestines,  length  and  capacity  of,  18 

of  pigs,  length,  584 
Invertases,  24 


INDEX 


683 


Iron  in  blood,  63 
plants,  2 

Japan  clover,  see  Lespedeza 
Japanese  millet,  see  Millet,  Japanese 
Japanese  cane,  213 
for  pigs,  616 
steers,  482 
Jerusalem  artichoke,  see  Artichoke 
Johnson  grass,  212 
Johnson  grass  hay  for  cows,  379 

horses,  310 
Johnson  grass  and  cowpea  silage  for  steers, 

481 
June  grass,  see  Bluegrass 

Kaflr,  168,  169 

for  calves,  414 
cows,  360 
horses,  303 
pigs.  593-4 
steers,  455-6 
may  contain  poison,  251 
Kaflr  fodder,  201-2 

for  beef  cows,  486 
Kaflr  silage,  203 

for  beef  cows,  486 
dairy  cows,  382 
steers.  480 
Kaflr  stover,  202 

for  beef  cows.  486 
steers,  472 
Kale.  247 
Kaoliang,  168,  169 

for  pigs,  594 
Kaoliang  fodder  and  stover,  202 
Kellner's  starch  values  and  feeding  standard, 

118-20 
Kentucky  bluegrass,  see  Bluegrass 
Kidneys,  elimination  of  waste  thru,  34 
Kidneys  of  pigs,  influence  of  corn  feeding  on, 

93-4 
Kindness,  effect  of,  on  digestion,  51,  354 
Kohlrabi,  246 
Kudzu  vine,  239 

Labor,  see  "Work 

Labor,  distribution  of  in  livestock  farming,  ix 

Lactase,  24 

Lactation,  effects  of  advancing,  347 

Lacteals,  32 

Lambing,  date  of,  548 

Lambs,  see  Sheep 

assimilate  calcium  phosphate,  66 
compared  with  calves,  425 

pigs,  425,  557 
economy  of,  compared  with  pigs,  557 
fattening,  560-4 

feed  and  care  of,  553,  554,  558-60 
feeding  grain  before  and  after  weaning, 

510 
gains  by,  512,  556 
gain  from  ewe's  milk,  556 
hot-house,  564-6 
returns  from,  compared  with  other  farm 

animals,  90-1,  557 
rich  and  poor  milk  for,  78 
spring,  566 

teaching  young,  to  eat,  558 
weaning,  559 
weight  of,  at  birth,  554 
winter,  564-6 
Lamb's-quarter  seed  for  pigs,  596 
Leaves  and  twigs,  248 
Legumes  for  forage,  223-39 
for  silage,  258,  382 
importance  in  feeding,  64,  223 
in  place  of  concentrates  for  cows, 

371-6 
rich  in  lime,  223 
Legume  hay,  importance  of,  for  cows,  370 
horses,  313 
pigs,  621 
sheep,  533-4 
steers,  466-8 


I  Legume  roughages  for  pigs,  621-3 
'   Legumin,  5 
Leguminous  seeds,  177-9,  179-80 

for  horses,  305 
Leguminous  plants  for  green  forage  and  hay, 

223-39 
Leguminous     roughage     contains     lime     in 

excess  of  phosphorus,  65 
Lespedeza,  237 
Lespedeza  hay,  237 
for  horses,  310 
Light,  importance  of,  for  farm  animals,  74 

absence  of,  favors  fattening,  74 
Lime.  64-5 

effect  of  deficiency  in  ration,  64 

feeds  low  in.  and  rich  in,  65,  Appendix 

Table  VI 
in  legumes,  65,  223 
required  for  growth,  81 

maintenance.  64-5 
withholding  from  cows.  64.  351 

pigs,  81-3 
see  Calcium 
Lime  phosphate,  see  Calcium  phosphate 
Linseed  cake,  see  Linseed  meal 
Linseed  meal  or  cake.  176 
for  calves,  414.  415 
cows.  366 
horses,  307 
pigs,  602.  604 
sheep.  531 

steers.  463,  476-7,  503 
new  process,  176 
old  process,  176 
Linseed  oil  meal,  see  Linseed  meal 
Lipase.  23 
Liver.  23 

influence  of  corn  feeding  on,  94 
Live  stock  and  profltable  farming,  vii 

consume  feed  otherwise  wasted, 

viii 
employ  labor  thruout  year,  ix 
promote     intelUgent     and     pro- 
gressive agriculture,  ix 
utilize  land    imsuited  for  tillage, 
viii 
Load,   energy  expended  by  horse  carrying, 

289 
Locomotion  of  horse,  289 
Loco  poisoning,  252 
Lucerne,  see  Alfalfa 
Lymph.  32.  33 
Lymphatics,  31 

Machine,  the  animal  as  a.  103 
Maintenance  of  farm  animals.  54-74 
Maintenance     ration,     see     Ration,     main- 
tenance 
Maintenance  requirements,  54-74 

greater  when  animal  is  standing,  58 

of  horse,  285-7 

vary  with  body  surface.  58 
Maize,  see  Corn 
Malt,  162 

manufactiu-e  of,  162 
Maltase.  24 
Malt  sugar,  4,  24,  162 
Malt  sprouts,  163 

for  cows.  363 
Mammoth  clover,  see  Clover,  mammoth 
Mangels,  242 

dangerous  to  rams  or  wethers,  242,  538 

for  cows.  384 
pigs.  618 
sheep,  538 
steers,  481,  483 
Manure,  272-80 

barnyard,  benefits  the  soil,  272 

calculating  amount  of,  278 

care  of,  to  prevent  loss,  280 

fertilizing    constituents    recovered     in, 
273 

influence  of  feed  on,  274 

losses  in,  279 

value  of  1  ton  from  farm  animals,  277 


684 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Manure,  continued 

voided  by  steer  from  birth  to  maturity, 
432 

see  Fertilizers 
Manurial  value  of  feeds,  274 
Manyplies,  18 

Mare,  brood,  feed  and  care  of,  320-2 
gestation  period  of,  321 
see  Horse 
Mare's  milk,  composition  and  yield  of,  324 
Margin  in  fattening  live  stock,  431 
Marsh  gas,  or  methane,  28,  38,  43,  47 
Marsh  hay,  214 

for  sheep,  536 
Mastication,  19 

energy  lost  in,  48 
Meadow  fescue,  211 
Meat,  marbling  of,  83 
Meat  meal  and  meat  scrap,  see  Tankage 
Melons,  247 
ISIetaboUsm,  31 


Metabolizable  energy,  45 
Middlings,      see      Wheat 


middlings.      Oat 


middhngs,  etc 
Milch  cows,  see  Cows 
MUk,  cow's,  181,  344-57 
ash  in,  77 
bitter,  356 

color  of,  affected  by  feed,  356 
colostrum,  77 
composition  of,  77,  344 

factors  influencing,  344-57 
influence  of  advancing  lactation  on, 
347 
age  of  cow,  346 
condition    at    calving, 

348 
drought,  352 
exercise,  353 
feed,  349-51 
period    between    milk- 

ings,  346 
turning  to  pasture,  352 
work,  353 
effects  of  rich,  on  infants,  79 

young  animals,  78 
fat  globules  in,  345 
fat,  source  of,  in,  105 
feed-cost  of  producing,  395-6 
first  and    last    drawn,    composition    of, 

346 
flavor,  affected  by  feed,  355 

rape  pasture,  246 
rye  pasture,  210 
for  calves,  412,  417 
foals,  325 
lambs,  557 
pigs,  599 
nitrogen  and  ash  in,  16,  77 
odors  in,  due  to  feed,  355 
of  different  breeds,  344 
yield,  effects  of  advancing  lactation  on, 
347 
of  great  dairy  cows,  393-5 
period  of  greatest,  348 
Milk,  ewe's,  77,  555 
mare's,  324 
sow's,  77,  629 
Milk,  production  of,  104 

nutrients  required  for,  106 
secretion  of,  104 
source  of  fat  in,  105 
the  natural  food  for  young  animals,  77 
Milking  cows  3  times  daily,  355 
Milking,  Hegelund  method,  355 
Milking  machines,  354 
MiUet  seed,  170 
for  pigs,  595. 
sheep,  531 
steers,  457 
foxtail,  170 
German,  209 
hog,  or  broom-corn,  170 
Hungarian,  209 
Japanese,  209 


Millet  hay,  209 

dangerous  to  horses,  311 
for  horses,  311 
lamfcs,  536 
steers,  491 
Milo,  168,  169 

for  horses,  303 
pigs,  594 
sheep,  530 
steers,  456 
Milo  fodder  and  stover,  202 
Mineral  matter,  2,  62-7,  81 
controls  life  processes,  63 
digestion  of,  28 

effects  on  animals  of  lack  of,  63,  81 
bones  of  pigs,  81,  94,  573 
for  calves,  416 
colts,  326 
cows,  64,  351 
pigs,  66,  81,  94,  572-3 
importance  of,  in  food,  63 
increase  in,  during  growth,  75-6 
in  feeding  stuffs,  8,  9,  65,  Appendix  Table 

in  plants,  2,  7 

required  for  growth,  81-2 

maintenance,  65 
stored  in  body  of  ox  in  1  day,  43 
see  Calcium  and  Phosphorus 
M'ixed  feeds,  189 
Modified  Wolff-Lehmann  feeding  standard, 

134-8,  Appendix  Table  V 
Molasses,  beet,  186 
for  horses,  304 
pigs,  618 
sheep,  530 
steers,  459 
Molasses,  cane,  188 
for  calves,  416 
cows,  187 
horses,  304 
steers,  458 
Molasses-beet  pulp,  see  Beet  pulp,  molasses- 
Molasses  feeds,  187 
for  horses,  304 
Molassine  meal,  187 
Mules,  281,  332 

Muscles,  cause  of  contraction  unknown,  101 
increase  thru  exercise,  75 
of  pigs,  influence  of  corn  feeding 

on,  94-5 
see  Protein, 
Muscular  contraction,  56,  57,  101 
Muscular  energy,  may   come   from  protein, 
56,  60,  101 
produced  by  burning  car- 
bohydrates and  fat,  100 
production  of,  101 

Natal  grass,  214 
Net  energy,  see  Energy,  net 
Net  nutrients,  see  Nutrients,  net 
New  corn  product,  198 
Nitrogen,  in  feeds,  as  a  fertilizer,  273 
in  fresh  excrement,  278 
produced  yearly  by  farm  animals, 

279 
voided  by  farm  animals,  278 
Nitrogen-free  extract  in  feeds,   how  deter- 
mined, 10 
Nitrogenous  compounds  in  plants,  5 
Nitrogenous  feed,  41 
Nitrogenous  waste  in  urine,  47,  59,  100 
Nutrients,  defined,  17 
Nutrients,  17 

digestible,  17,  39 
distribution  of  absorbed,  33 
final  uses  of,  34 
in  feeding  stuffs,  explained,  8 
required  by  dairy  cows,  106,  398-405 
horses,  285-92 
pigs,  572-3 
sheep,  107,  561-2 
steers,  493-4 
total  digestible,  41 


INDEX 


685 


Nutritive  ratio,  41 

for  work  horses,  290 

how  calculated  and  expressed,  41 

may  be  wide  for  maintenance,  61 

narrow  and  wide,  41 

narrow  favors  rapid  growth,  91 

wide  may  depress  digestibility,  51-2 

Oat  dust,  161 

Oat  feed,  161 

Oat  hay.  209 

Oat  hulls.  160 

Oat  meal  for  calves,  414,  423 

Oat  middlings,  161 

Oats,  159 

bleached,  160 
by-products  of.  160 
clipped.  159 
for  calves,  419 
cows,  359 
foals,  323 
horses,  299-300 
pigs,  591 
sheep,  528 
steers,  455 
no  stimulating  principle  in,  160 
weight  of,  159 
see  Cereals 
Oat  straw.  216 

for  horses,  312 
sheep,  536 
steers,  478 
Oat  substitutes  for  horses,  300 
Odors  in  milk,  due  to  feed,  355 
Oil  cake,  see  Linseed  meal  or  cake 
Oils,  see  Fats 
Olein.  5,  585 

Oleomargarine  for  calves.  414 
Omasum,  18 

Order  and  quiet,  importance  of,  for  cows,  406 
sheep,  548 
steers,  500 
Orchard  grass,  208 
Ox.  body  temperature  of.  55 
composition  of  body,  15 
increase  by,  in  1  day,  43 
see  Steer 
Oxygen,  breathed  by  ox  in  1  day,  42 
Oxygen  intake  increased  during  work,  101 

Palatability.  30,  113 
Palmitin.  5 
Palm  nut  cake,  367 
Pancreas,  23 
Pancreatic  juice.  23 
Para  grass,  213 
Parsnips,  243 

for  horses,  317 
Pasturage  vs.  soilage  for  cows,  265 
Pasture,  abuse  of,  214 

annual,  for  sheep,  545 
effects  of   feeding    concentrates    to 
cows  on,  401-3 
on  milk  yield  and  composi- 
tion, 352 
fattening  cattle  on,  501-4 
for  beef  cattle,  501-4 
horses,  316 
pigs,  608-15 
sheep,  544-7 
gains  by  steers  from,  501-4 
midsummer  shortage  of,  214 
milk  from  1  acre,  265 
Paunch,  18,  22 

see  Stomach 
Pea-cannery  refuse,  235,  258 
Pea  meal,  see  Pea,  field 
Peanut,  178,  238 
Peanut  cake  or  meal.  178 
Peanut  hulls.  179 
Peanuts  for  pigs,  607,  620 
Peanut  vine  hay,  238 
Pea.  field,  179,  235 
for  horses,  305 
sheep,  532,  535 
pigs,  605,  612 


hay,  235 

for  sheep,  535 
Pea,  Tangier,  238 
Peavine  silage,  235 

fattening  sheep  on,  543 
Peavine  waste,  from  canneries,  235 
Pentosans,  3-4 

a  source  of  body  fat,  87 

muscular  energy,  102 
in  dried  brewers'  grains,  163 
in  flax  seed,  175 
Pentose,  3-4 
Pepsin,  20,  21 
Peptones,  20,  26 

Phosphate,  calcium,  for  farm  animals,  66,  94 
Phosphate,  ground  rock,  for  farm  animals,  66 
foals,  326 
pigs,  81-2 
Phosphoric  acid  in  feeds  as  a  fertilizer,  273. 
275 
in  fresh  manure,  277 
produced    yearly    by    farm 

animals,  279 
voided  and  retained  by  farm 
animals,  273 
Phosphorus,  effect  of  low  supply,  64,  81 

feeds  low  in,  and  rich  in,  64-5, 

Appendix  Table  VI 
in  bran,  157 
in  nerve  cells,  63 
inorganic,  for  pigs,  81 
required  for  maintenance,  64 

growth,  81 
stored  by  calf,  76 
withholding  from  pigs,  81 
Pigeon-grass  seed  for  lambs,  528 

pigs,  595 
Pigs.  568-632 

(For  value  of  various  feeds  for  pigs  see 
different  feeds;  i.e..  Corn,  Clover  hay, 
etc.) 
air  breathed  by,  67 

bacon  production,  requirements  for,  584 
barrows  vs.  sows,  583 
birth  weight  of,  628 
body  of.  composition,  15 
body  temperature  of,  55 
bone  for,  ground,  573 
breed  tests,  582 

calves  and  lambs  compared,  425 
composition  of  increase  during  fatten- 
ing, 83 
concentrates  for,  587-608 
cooking  feed  for,  269,  576 
correctives  of  mineral  nature  for,  579 
digestibility  of  food  by,  52 
dressed  carcass,    per   cent   yielded   by, 

584 
droppings  of  corn-fed  steers  for,   434, 

452,  495 
economy    of   meat    production    by,    90, 
568-70 

compared  with  lambs.  557 
exercise  for,  581 
fattening,  630 
fattening  period,  effect  of  lengthening, 

568-70,  630 
feed  eaten  daily,  56S-9 

eaten  for  100  lbs.  of  gain,  568-9 
utilization  of,  by,  571 
feeds  for.  587-623 
feeding  corn  exclusively,  92-5 
grain  on  pasture,  609 
inorganic  phosphorus  to,  81-2 
thru  the  dam,  568-70 
following  steers,  495 
forage  crops,  for  608-21 
gains  from  birth  to  maturity,  568-70 

droppings  of  steers,  434,  495 
grain,  amount  to  feed  on  pasture,  609 
grinding  grain  for,  268,  573-6 
ground  bone  for,  573 
ground  rock  phosphate  for,  81-2 
hogging  down  corn,  588 

ripe  grain,  615 
home  markets  for  pork  products,  631 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Pigs,  continued 

influence  of  feed  on  body,  92-6 

length   of  fattening   period 
on  gains,  568-70,  630 
intestines,  length  of,  584 
light  vs.  heavy  feeding,  577 
maintenance  requirements  of,  571 
milk  only  for,  73 
milk,  rich  and  poor,  for,  78 
mineral  matter  for,  81-2,  573.  579 
number  in  litter,  627 
nutrient  requirements  of,  572 
phosphorus-poor  rations,  effect  of,  81 
pork  from,  see  Pork 
preparation  of  feed  for,  573-7 
quarters  for,  581 
razorback,  583 
returns  from,  compared  with  other  farm 

animals,  90,  568 
rich  and  poor  milk  for,  78 
roughage  for,  608-23 
salt  required  by,  579 
self  feeders  for,  578 
shelter  for,  581 

soaking  feed  for,  51,  271,  576-7 
soft  pork  from,  see  Pork,  soft 
sow,  see  Sows 
stock  foods  for,  580 
strength  of  bones  affected  by  feed,  81-2, 

92-4 
stubble  fields,  gleaning,  616 
succulent  feeds  for,  608-21 
summer  care  and  feed  of,  624 
summer  vs.  winter  feeding  of,  581 
tuberculosis,  from     tuberculous     steers, 
597 
thru  feeding  infected  milk, 
182 
types  of,  582 
unweaned,  gains  by,  569 
water  required  by,  579 
weight  at  birth,  628 
wetting  feed  for,  577 
winter  care  and  feed  of,  625 
see  Swine,  and  Sows 
Plants  and  animals  compared,  16 
Plants,  carbon  dioxid,  food  material  for,    1 
composition,  at    different    stages    of 
maturity,  49 
factors  influencing,  48- 
50 
elements  present  in,  1 
food  of,  1-2 
how  they  grow,  1-7 
poisonous,  250-3 
support  animal  life,  7 
the  source  of  animal  life,  7 
use  of  mineral  matter  in,  2 
water  required  by,  1 
Plant  substances,  how  grouped,  8-10 
Poisonous  plants,  250-3 
Pork,  effects  of  acorns  on,  188 

barley  on,  162,  586,  590 

beans  on,  ISO,  585,  605 

buckwheat  on,  171,  595 

corn  on,  92-6,  585 

linseed  meal  on,  604 

millet  on,  170 

molasses  on,  618 

oats  on,  586 

peas  on,  586,  605 

peanut  feeding  on,  178,  238, 

586,  621 
roots  on,  586 
rye  shorts  on,  593 
skim  milk,  on  586 
soybeans  on,  586,  606 
squashes  on,  620 
velvet  beans  on,  237 
Pork,  soft,  causes  of,  585 
Potash,  as   a   fertilizer   in   feeds,    273,    275, 
Appendi.x  Table  III 
in  fresh  manure,  278 
produced  yearly  by  farm  animals,  279 
voided  by  farm  animals,  278 


Potassium  chlorid,  feeding  in  place  of  salt, 

67 
Potassium  in  blood,  63 
Potatoes,  243 
dried,  244 
for  cows,  385 
horses,  318 
pigs,  619 
Poultry,    returns   of,   compared   with   other 

farm  animals,  90 
Prairie  hay  for  cows,  378 
horses,  310 
sheep,  536 
steers,  467,  490 
Pregnant  animals,  food  requirements  of,  82 
Preparation  of  feeds,  267-71 
Preparing  feed,  general  conclusions  on,  271 
Prickly  comfrey,  248 
Prickly  pear,  249-50 
for  silage,  258 
see  Cacti 
Products,  edible,  returned  by  various  farm 

animals,  90 
Profitable  farming,  ix-x 
Proprietary  feeds,  189 
Protein,  5-7 

absorption  of,  33 

amount   in    rations,    adapting    to    local 

conditions,  146 
a  cell  stimulant,  61 

body,  a  soui-ce  of  muscular  energy,  102 
building  of  body,  27 

compared  with  other  nutrients  for  pro- 
ducing work,  102 
complete  and  incomplete,  79 
crude,  5 

digestibility  of,  38 
how  determined  in  feeds,  9 
in  ripening  clover,  231 
corn,  11-2 
timothy,  206 
in  young  and  mature  grass,  204 
digestion  of,  26 

effects  of  carbohydrates  in  sparing,  56, 
59-61 
excessive  feeding  of,  60 
fats  in  sparing,  59-61 
feeding  only,  60 
fat  formed  from,  87 

feeding  carbohydrates  and  fats  with,  60 
gain  in,  by  growing  ox,  76 
increase  of,  during  growth,  75-6 
Uberal     supply     essential     to     normal 

growth,  79 
minimum  requirement,  60-2 
by  cows,  61 
horses,  286 
steers,  61 
percentage     stored     in     body     during 

growth,  76 
replaced  by  amids,  62 
required  for  growth,  79 

maintenance,  59-62 
source  of  muscular  energy,  102 
stored  by  calf,  76 
waste  of,  from  body,  59 
Protein  metaboUsm,  34,  59-62,  79-81 
Protein-rich  rations,    effect  on  fat  in   milk, 

350 
Protein  supply  must  be  ample,  61 
Protein  tissue,  storage  of,  75-6 

waste  of,  during  work,  100 
Proteoses,  20,  27 
Protoplasm,  plant,  3,  5 
Prussic  acid,  plants  carrying,  250 
Ptyahn,  20,  21 

Public  tests  of  dairy  cows,  391-3 
Pumpkins,  247 
for  cows,  247 
pigs,  620 
Pumpkin  seeds,  247 
Purslane,  248 

Quarters  for  farm  animals,  see  Shelter 
Quiet,  importance  of,  for  farm  animals,  74 


INDEX 


687 


Bam,  feed  and  care  of,  549 

see  Sheep 
Rape,  dwarf  Essex,  246 
for  cattle,  246 
pigs,  614 
sheep,  546-7 
Rapeseed  cake,  308,  367 
Rations,  17 

balanced,  17 

limitations  of,  115 
bulkiness  of,  importance  of,  113 
calculating,  for  dairy  cows,  131,  140-5 
fattening  steers,  136-8 
steers    at    rest,     116-8, 
124-5 
complete  and  incomplete,  71 
compounding,  for  dairy  cows,  410-11 
digestibility  of,  affected  by  acid,  52 

age    of    an- 
imal, 53 
breed  of  an- 
imal, 53 
carbohy- 
drates, 51, 
291 
cooking,  51 
drjang  green 
forage,  50 
fat,  52 
kind   of  an- 
imal, 52 
salt,  52 
steaming,  51 
economical,  for  farm  animals,   139-48, 

410 
fed  cows  on  test,  393 
feeding  wide  and  narrow  to  steers,  91 
for  dairy  cows,  standards  for  computing, 

see  Feeding  standards 
for  various  farm  animals,  see  Feeds 
general  hint?  on  computing,  112-5 
general  requirements  of,  112-6 
hints  on  calculating,  116 
influence  of  scanty,  on  growth,  96-8 
maintenance,  17,  54-74 
economical,  48,  58 
for  mature  animals,  54-74 

growing  steers,  96-8 
for  various  farm  animals.  Appendix 
Tables    IV    and    V.    see    also 
Horse,  Pig,  etc. 
heat  requirements  in,  58 
influence  of  quiet  on,  58 

restlessness  on,  58 
temperature  on,  59 
protein  required  in,  60-2 
should  vary  according  to  body  sur- 
face, 59 
see  Maintenance  ration 
meager,  effect  of,  on  growing  steers,  96-8 
poor,  fair,  and  good,  for  dairy  cows,  410 
practical      considerations      concerning, 

112-6 
practical,  for  steers,  494 
standard,  see  Feeding  standards 
Rations  and  feeding  standards,  general  con- 
clusions, 115 
Red  clover,  see  Clover,  red 
Red  dog  flour,  158 

for  pigs,  603 
Red  top  grass,  208 
Regularity,  importance  of,  for  farm  animals, 

74 
Rennet.  21 
Rennin,  21 
Rescue  grass,  213 

Respiration  apparatus,  description,  41 
Respiration  studies  with  ox,  41 
Reticulum,  18 
Rice,  166 

damaged,  value,  167 
red,  feeding  value,  167 
returns  from  sack  of,  166 
rough,  for  horses,  305 
Rice  bran,  166 


Rice  by-products  and  rough  rice  for  steers. 

457 
Rice  by-products  for  pigs,  607 
Rice  hulls,  dangerous  to  animals,  166 
Rice  meal  for  calves,  415 
Rice  polish,  feeding  value,  167 
Rice  straw,  217 

Roads,  draft  required  on  various,  283 
Rock  phosphate,  see  Phosphate,  rock 
Roots  and  silage,  dry  matter  in,  241 
relative  cost  of,  242 
yield  of,  241 
Roots  and  tubers,  240-5 
costly,  241,  242 
for  cows,  383-5 
horses,  317 
pigs,  617-9 
sheep,  241,  538-40 
steers,  481,  482-3 
how  fed  in  Canada  and  Great  Britain, 

241 
influence  of  feeding  on  bacon,  586 
use  in  steer  feeding  in  Great  Britain,  241 

stock  feeding.  240 
vs.  concentrates  for  dairy  cows,  240,  383 
vs.  corn  silage,  241,  384 
for  lambs,  539 
steers.  481 
value  of  dry  matter  in,  240 
yield  of.  and  dry  matter  in,  241,  242 
Roughages.  10 

adapting  proportion  of  roughages   and 
concentrates    to    local    conditions, 
146 
carbonaceous,  need  supplement,  313 
digestibiUty    of,    affected    by    carbohy- 
drates, 51 
affected  by  nitrogenous  matter,  52 
effect  of  storage  on  digestibility  of,  50 
excess  injurious  to  horses,  292,  309 
for  various  farm  animals,  see  Feeds 
losses  of  energy  in  digestion  of,  48 
necessity  of,  for  calves,  72 
cows,  72 
herbivora,  71-2 
horses,  73 
sheep,  72 
steers,  72 
swine,  630 
steaming  for  cattle,  269 
Rumen,  18 
Ruminants,  18 

digestibility  of  food  by,  52 
digestion  of,  21 
Russian  thistle,  249 
Rutabagas,  243 

for  horses,  317 
lambs,  539 
steers,  483 
Rye,  164 

effect  on  dairy  products,  164,  360 
for  cows.  360 
hay.  210 
horses,  303 
pasture.  209-10 
pigs.  593 
silage.  210,  383 
see  Cereals 
Rye  grass,  English.  211 
Italian,  211 
Rye  pasture  injures  flavor  of  milk,  210 
Rye  straw,  216 

Sagebrush,  248 

SaUva,  action  on  food,  20 

amount  secreted,  19 
Salt,  common,  66 

effect  of  excessive  consumption  of,  66 

on  digestibiUty,  52 
for  calves,  417 
cows.  405 
horses.  295 
pigs.  579 
sheep,  517 
steers,  496 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Salt,  continued 
in  blood.  63 

influence  on  digestibility,  52 
need  of,  by  farm  animals,  66 
withholding,  from  cows,  67 
Saltbush,  249 

Salt-marsh  hay  for  cows,  214,  379 
Saltpeter  in  corn  forage,  253 
Scandinavian  feed  unit  system,  128 
Scarlet  clover,  see  Crimson  clover 
Scours  in  calves,  426 
Screenings,  see  Wheat  screenings 
Self  feeders  for  pigs,  578 
sheep,  515 
steers,  447 
Separator  skim  milk,  see  Skim  milk 
Serradella,  238 
Serum  albumin,  33 
Serum  globulin,  33 
Sesame  oil  cake,  308 
Shallu,  168 

Shallu  fodder  and  stover,  202 
Shearing,  effect  of  frequent,  520 
3,  507-67 
(For  the  value  of  different  feeds  for 
sheep,  see  the  various  feeds;  i.e.,  corn, 
clover  hay,  etc.) 
age,  influence  of,  on  gains,  512 
air  required  by,  67 
body  temperature  of,  55 
breeding  studies  of,  554 
breed  tests  of,  509-10 
care  and  management  of,  548-67 
composition  of  body,  15 
concentrates  for,  521-33 
cost  of  gains  by,  561 
daily  gain  of,  517,  561 
danger  from  feeding  mangels,  242,  538 
dipping,  561 

dressed  carcass,  per  cent  yielded  by,  518 
exercise  for,  514 
fattening,  560-4 

different  ages,  512 
in  Great  Britain,  538 
in  small  bands,  564 
in  the  corn  belt,  564 
in  the  East,  564 
in  the  fall,  562 
in  the  West,  563 
length  of  feeding  period,  561 
proportion  of  concentrates  for,  561 
rations  for,  521-47,  561 
feeding,  hints  on,  560-4 
feed  racks  for,  515 
feeds  for,  521-47 
flock,  proper  size  of,  508 
general  problems  in   sheep  husbandry, 

507-20 
gestation  period,  548 
grinding  grain  for,  263,  515 
increase  during  fattening,  83 
legume  hay  for,  importance  of,  533-5 
mutton  and  Merino,  compared,  508 
regularity  and  quiet  for,  548 
returns     compared     with     other     farm 

animals,  90 
roughages  for,  533-7 
salt  consumed  by,  517 
self  feeders  for,  515 
shearing  before  fattening,  511 
shelter  for,  513 
shrinkage  in  shipping,  519 
slaughter  tests,  518 
soilage  for  ewes  and  lambs,  511 
stomach  worms,  559 
succulent  feeds  for,  538^7 
turning  to  pasture,  558 
unusual  feeds  for,  507 
water  required  by,  516 
weight  of  dressed  carcass,  518 

fattened,  517-8 
winter  care  of,  550 
winter  quarters  for,  513,  550 
wool  production,  see  Wool 
see  Ewes  and  Lambs 


Shelter,  for  cows,  405 

farm  animals,  59 
horses,  296 
pigs,  581 
sheep,  513,  550 
steers,  445-7 

Shipstuff,  see  Wheat  feed 

Shock  corn,  for  steers,  471 

value  in  feeding,  196 
see  Corn  fodder 

Shocking  corn,  196 

Shorts,  see  Middlings,  wheat 

Shotes,  care  and  feed  of,  630 
see  Pigs 

Shredding  corn  forage,  197 
see  Corn  forage 

Shrinkage  in  shipping  sheep,  519 


Silage,  254-64 

advantages  of,  257 
alfalfa,  228,  258 
apple  pomace.  258 
as  a  feeding  stuff,  259 
beet  leaves  for,  243,  258 
clover,  232,  258 
Silage,  corn,  198-201,  257 
for  beef  cows,  484-5 

dairy  cows,  259.  379-82 

ewes,  551-3 

horses,  317 

pigs,  621 

sheep,  539-43 

steers,  474-80 
removing  ears  from  corn  before  ensiling, 

201 
vs.  apples,  247 
vs.  corn  fodder,  199,  380 
vs.  hay  for  cows,  381 
vs.  roots,  240 

for  cows,  384 
lambs,  539 
steers,  481 
vs.  shock  corn  for  steers,  480 
vs.  sugar  beets  for  cows,  384 
Silage,  cost  of  producing,  258 
cowpea,  236,  258 

for  dairy  cows,  374 
crops  suitable  for,  257 
cured  corn  forage  for,  200 
digestibility  of,  51 
effects  on  milk,  380 
for  beef  cattle,  474-82 
frosted  corn  for,  200 
losses  in  silo,  255 
mixed,  for  cows,  382 
mouldy,  dangerous,  317 
peavine,  235 

preservation,  manner  of,  254 
position  of,  on  stock  farm,  259 
prickly  pear,  258 
size  of,  proper,  263 
sorghums  for,  203 

southern  vs.  northern  corn  for,  199 
space  occupied  by,  257,  264 
steaming,  255 
summer,  260 

for  cows,  403 
thistles  for,  258 
vs.  soilage  for  cows,  260,  385 
waste  in  airtight  silo,  256 
weight  of,  262 
Silage  and  roots,  dry  matter  in,  241 

relative  cost  of,  240,  242 
Silo,  255-7 

capacity  of,  282 
cylindrical,  256 

danger  from  carbon  dioxld  in  filling,  262 
economy  of  various  sizes,  256,  264 
filling,  261 
proper  size  of,  283 
rate  of  filling,  259 
requisites  of  a  good,  255 
types  of,  256 
Skim  milk,  181 
for  cows,  369 


INDEX 


Skim  milk,  continued 
for  colts,  325 

calves,  412-5,  418-9 
horses,  182 
pigs,  596-9 
money  value,  for  pigs,  598 
pasteurized  for  calves,  419 
proper  proportion  for  pig  feeding,  598 
substitutes  for,  in  calf  rearing,  421-4 
Skin,  heat  carried    off    by    water    escaping 
from,  57 
lost  from,  by  radiation  and  con- 
duction, 57 
Slaughter-house  waste,  183-4 
Slop,  amount  of  water  in,  for  swino,  577 

feeding  grain  in  form  of,  to  cows,  405 
Smut,  corn,  252 
Soaked  feed,  271 
for  horses,  294 

pigs.  51,  271,  576-7 
Soft  pork,  see  Pork,  soft 
SoUage,  264-7 

advantages  of  partial,  266 
alfalfa  for,  227 
cereals  for,  209 
clover  for,  232 
crops  for,  266 
defined,  264 

disadvantages  of,  260,  204 
for  cows,  385 
pigs,  616 
sheep,  511 
labor  involved  in,  264 
sorghums  for,  203 
vs.  pasturage,  265 
vs.  silage,  260,  385 
SoiUng  chart,  266 
Sorgho,  see  Sorghum,  sweet 
Sorghum,  sweet,  167,  170 
for  cows,  360 
pigs,  593 
Sorghum  fodder  or  hay,  sweet,  201-2 
for  horses,  311 
sheep,  536 
steers,  467,  490,  491 
Sorghum  hay,  see  Sorghum  fodder 
Sorghum  pasture,  203 

for  pigs.  616 
Sorghum  silage,  sweet,  203 
for  cows,  382 
sheep,  543 
steers,  480-1 
Sorghum  soilage,  203 
Sorghum  stover,  sweet,  202 

for  steers,  472 
Sorghums,  grain,  see  Kafir,   Milo,  Feterita, 

Kaoliang,  Durra,  Shallu 
Southern  grasses,  211-4 
Sow  and  Utter,  care  of,  628 
Sows,  age  to  breed,  626 

care  at  farrowing,  627 
composition  of  milk,  629 
feeding  exclusively  on  skim  milk,  73 
gestation  period,  626 
maintenance  requirements,  572 
milk,  yield  of,  628-9 
number  of  litters,  626 
spayed  vs.  unspayed,  583 
vs.  barrows,  583 
wintering,  625 
see  Pigs 
Soybean,  177,  236 
for  calves,  415 
cows,  366 
horses,  305 
pigs,  605 
sheep,  532 
steers,  463-4 
Soybean  cake  for  cows,  367 
Soybean  hay,  236 
for  cows,  375 
Soybean  meal  or  cake,  177,  178 

for  cows,  367 
Soybean  pasture  and  corn  for  pigs,  612 
Soybean  silage  for  cows,  376,  382 


Soybean  straw  for  sheep,  535 
Spayed  vs.  unspayed  sows,  583 
Spaying,  effects  of,  on  cows,  353 
Speed  in  relation  to  feed,  288 

work,  288,  292 
Spelt,  see  Emmer 

Spread  or  margin  in  selling  steers,  431 
Spurrey,  248 
Squashes,  247 

for  pigs,  620 
Stables  for  beef  cattle,  445 
dairy  cattle,  405 
horses,  296 
pigs,  681 
sheep,  513 
Stallions,  feed  and  care  of,  329-30 

exercise  for,  329 
St.  Louis  Exposition,  tests  of  dairy  cows  at, 

391-3 
Standard  rations,  see  Feeding  standards 
Starch,  4 

absent  in  flax  seed,  175 
action  of  sahva  on,  20 
digested  by  ptyalin,  20 
in  corn  kernel,  152 
production  of,  from  corn,  153 
saccharified,  for  calves,  418 
Starch  values,  Kellner's,  119 
Starvation,  efl'ects  of.  56,  97-9 
Steam  engine  and  animal  compared.  44,  45, 

103 
Steaming  roughage  for  cattle.  269 

silage,  255 
Steapsin,  23 
Stearin,  5 
Steer.feeding,  counsel  in  feed  lot,  493-506 

importance  of  order  and  quiet 

in,  500 
requires  business  judgment,  499 
see  Steers 
Steers,  430-506 

(For  the  value  of  the  different  feeds  for 
steers,  see  the  various  feeds;  i.e.,  corn, 
corn  silage,  etc.) 
age,  influence  of   on  gains,  76,  432-6 
breeds  compared,  439-45 
calcium  phosphate  beneficial  to,  66 
calculating  rations  for,  116-8, 124-5, 136-8 
compared  with  heifers  for  beef,  448 
composition  of,  at  different  ages,  84 
composition  of  increase  during  fattening, 

83-5 
concentrates  for,  449-66 
confinement  vs.  open  shed  for,  445-7 
cost  of  fattening,  497 

increases  with  age,  76,  432-6 
increases  with  degree  of  finish,  436 
counsel  in  the  feed  lot,  493-506 
dressed    carcass,    per   cent   yielded   by, 

440,  442 
early  maturity  of  beef  breeds,  442 
effects    of    feeding    wide    and    narrow 

rations,  91 
fat  of,  effects  of  cotton  seed  on,  174 
fattened  animal,  indications  of,  493 
fattening,  methods  of,  501-6 
on  pasture,  501-4 
on  roughage  alone,  470 
on  small  allowance  of  concen- 
trates, 478-9 
ration  for,  494 

requires    business    judgment, 
499 
feed  consumed  by  various  breeds,  440 
from  birth  to  maturity, 
432 
feeds  for,  449-83 

feeding  exclusively  on  concentrates,  72 
chiefiy  on  roughage  during  first 
of  fattening,  438,  478 
finished,  cost  of,  432 
frequency  of  feeding,  496 
gains  on  grass,  501-5 

from  droppings,  by  hogs,  495 
influenced  by  age,  76,  432-6 


690 


FEEDS  AND  FEEDING 


Steers,  continued 

getting  on  feed,  494 

grain  feeding  on  pasture,  502-4 

grazing  on  cowpeas  and  corn,  471 

grinding  grain  for.  268,  451-3 

growtli  under  adverse  conditions,  96-9 

Heavy  and  light  feeding  of  corn,  451 

increase  during  fattening,  83-5 

long  vs.  short  feeding,  437 

loose  vs.  tied,  447 

manure  voided  from  birth  to  maturity, 

432 
margin  required  in  fattening,  431 
market  grades  compared,  439-44 
order,  importance  of,  for,  500 
pastm-e  for  fattening,  501-4 

vs.  summer  feeding,  502 
paved  feed  lots  for,  448 
pigs  following,  495 
preparation  of  feed  for,  268,  451-3 
preparing  for  shipment,  498 
profitable  type  of,  444 
proportion  of  valuable  parts  in  carcass, 

443 
pure-bred,  amount  of  feed  consumed  by, 
440 
early  maturity  of,  442 
feed  consumed  by  for  given 
gain,  440 
quality,  value  of,  443 
quarters  for,  445-7 
quiet,  importance  of,  for,  500 
rations  fed  by  British  feeders,  482 
rations  for  fattening,  449-83.  493-4 
returns  from,  compared  with  dairy  cow, 
338-40 
other  farm 
animals, 
90 
roughage,  feeding  none  to,  72 
roughages,  for,  466-83 
salt  for,  496 
self  feeder  for,  447 
shelter  for,  445-7 
sMpment,  preparing  for,  498 
short  vs.  long  feeding,  437 
shrinkage  in  sliipping,  498 
soaking  corn  for,  451-2 
succulent  feeds  for,  474-83 
summer  vs.  winter  feeding,  502 
tied  vs.  loose,  447 
valuable  parts  in  carcasses  of  various 

breeds,  443 
vs.  heifers  for  beef  production,  448 
water  drunk  from  birth  to  maturity,  432 

required  by,  496 
weight  of  fat,  at  Smithfleld  Show,  444 

variations  in,  497 
wide  and  narrow  ration  for,  91 
wintering  growing.  489-91 
with  grain.  491-2 
without  grain.  491 
Steers  and  pigs,  gain  of,  in  feed  lot,  434 
Stock,  cooked  feed  for,  269 

preparing  feed  for,  267-71 
Stock  foods,  191 
for  pigs,  580 
formulae  for,  192 
Stomach,  capacity  of,  18 

digestion  in,  20-2 
simple,  20 
Stomachs  of  ruminants,  18,  21 
Stomach  worms  in  sheep,  559 
Stocking  corn,  see  Shocking  com 
Stover,  see  Corn  stover 
Straw,  216-7 

for  horses,  312 
sheep,  536 
steers,  472,  478,  492 
from  cereals,  216 

legumes  and  other  plants,  216 
Succulent  feed,  value  of,  73 
for  cows,  403 
horses,  316 
pigs,  608 


Succulent  feed,  continued 
for  sheep,  538 
steers,  474 
Sucrase,  24 
Sudan  grass,  212 
Sudan  grass  hay  for  steers,  472 
Sugar  beet  pulp,  see  Beet  pulp 
Sugar  beets,  243 
for  cows,  384 
pigs,  618 
sheep,  538 
steers,  481 
vs.  corn  silage  for  cows,  384 
Sugar  cane,  213 
Suint  in  wool,  107 
Summer  silage,  260 
Sunflower  seed,  179 
Sunflower  seed  cake,  179,  308,  367 
Sun,  the  source  of  life,  7,  35 
Swedes,  see  Rutabagas 
Swedish  clover,  see  Clover,  alsike 
Sweet  clover,  see  Clover,  sweet 
Sweet  potato,  244 
Sweet  potatoes  for  pigs,  620 

steers,  482 
Swine,  management  and  feed  of,  624-32 

see  Pigs 
Systems  of  feeding,  adapting  to  local  con- 
ditions, 146-8 

Tallow,  fed  to  cows,  350 

rough,  yielded  by  steers  of  various 
breeds,  443 
Tankage,  183 

for  horses.  309 
pigs   95,  600-2 
sheep.  533 
see  Flesh  waste 
Teeth,  care  of,  in  horses,  297 
Temperature,  body,  6i  farm  animals,  55 

effects  of  too  high,  in  stable, 

59,  296 
see  Heat 
Teosinte,  209 
Testing    association,    for    dairy   cows,    128, 

387-8 
Therm,  44 
Thistles,  Russian,  249 

silage  from,  258 
Timothy,  205-8 

effect  of  manuring  on,  206 
yield  at  different  stages,  206 
Timothy  hay.  205-8 

early  and  late  cut,  206 
for  cows,  378 
horses,  309 
sheep,  535 
steers,  468,  491 
vs.  upland  prairie  hay  for  cows,  378 
Tissue  building,  27,  34 
Tree  leaves  and  twigs,  248 
Trotter,  feed  for  the,  335 
Trypsin.  23.  27 

Tuberculosis,  pigs    infected    thru    following 
steers,  597 
spread     by    feeding    infected 
milk,  182 
Tubers,  see  Roots  and  tubers 
Tunis  grass,  212 
Turnips,  243 
Twigs,  see  Tree  twigs 

Urea.  34 

energy  in,  45,  47 
Urine,  34 

fertilizing  constituents  voided  in,  279 

heat  carried  off  by,  47 

nitrogenous  waste  in,  by  ox  in  1  day,  43 

voided  by  farm  animals,  278 

waste  of  nitrogen  in.  47 


Variety  of  feeds,  importance  of. 
Veal,  feeding  for^  488 

Dutch,  488 

Scotch,  489 


.14 


INDEX 


691 


Velvet  bean.  237 
for  cows,  368 

pigs,  237 

steers,  238,  466 
Velvet  bean  pasture  for  pigs,  613 
Ventilation,  air  required  by  farm  animals,  67 

Vetch,  hairy,  236 

common,  236 
Vetch  hay  for  cows,  376 
Villi,  32 

Waste  land  and  waste  feed  utilized    by  live 

stock,  viii 
Waste  of  body,  disposal  of,  34 
Water,  amount  required  by  animals,  68 
calves,  417 
cows,  68,  404 
horses,  68.  295 
lambs,  516 
pigs,  68.  579 
sheep.  68.  516 
steers.  496 
danger  from  drinking  when  overheat- 
drunk  by  steers  from  birth  to  matur- 
ity. 432 
effects  of  depriving  animals  of,  68 
evaporated  by  horses,  292 
evaporation    of,    carries    heat    from 

body,  69 
formed  from  breaking  down  food,  69 
free   drinking   does  not  cause  body 

waste,  69 
frequency  of  drinking,  69,  404 
influence  on  digestibility  of  feeds,  51 
in  feeds,  how  determined,  8 
in  plants,  1 

must  be  warmed  in  body.  69 
stored  in  body  of  ox  in  1  day,  43 
taken  by  ox  in  1  day.  42-3 
vapor  of  lungs,  heat  carried  off  by.  57 
warming  for  cows.  69.  404 

farm  animals,  69 
Watering,  time  for  horses,  294 
Weaning  colts,  325 
calves,  419 
lambs,  559 
pigs,  630 
Weeds,  silage  from,  258 
Weight,  body,  variations  in,  of  horse,  292 
steer,  497 
Wet  beet  pulp,  see  Beet  pulp,  wet 
Wet  brewers'  grains,  see  Brewers'  grains,  wet 
Wetting  feed,  for  cows,  355 

pigs,  577 
Wethers,  see  Sheep  and  Lambs 
Wheat,  155 

by-products  of ,  156-9 
for  cows,  359 
hay,  210 
horses,  303 
pigs,  590 
sheep,  526 
steers,  454 
frosted,  for  lambs,  527 
stock,  156 
low  grade,  for  steers,  455 
shrunken  and  damaged,  for  stock,  156 
see  Cereals 
Wheat  bran,  157 

cause  of  laxative  effect,  157 
for  calves,  414 
colts,  326 

cows,  361,  365,  371-4 
horses,  305,  333 
lambs,  558 


Wheat  bran,  continued 
for  pigs    604 

sheep    532,  551 
stallions,   329 
steers,  465 
trotting  horses,  336 
phosphorus  in,  157 
poor  in  Ume,  157 
uses  for  stock,  158 
Wheat  bread,  feeding  to  animals,  157 
Wheat  feed,  159 

for  cows,  362 
Wheat  grass,  211 
Wheat  middlings,  158 
for  cows,  362 
horses,  306 
pigs,  602-3 
Wheat  pasture  favorably  affects  milk,  210 
Wheat  screenings,  159 

for  sheep,  527 
Wheat  shorts,  see  Wheat  middlings 
Wheat  straw,  216 
Whey.  182 

for  calves,  422 
cows,  361 
pigs,  600 
Whole  milk,  see  Milk,  cow's 
WUd  grass,  214 

see  Prairie  hay 
Wild  hogs   see  Pigs,  razorback 
Winter  lambs   564-6 
Wintering  beef  cows,  484-6 

growing  cattle,  489-92 
horses,  332 
Wolff-Lehmann    feeding    standards,    110-2, 

116-8,  Appendix  Table  IV 
Wood  ashes  for  farm  animals.  66 
Woll-Humphrey  standard,  131 
Wool,  composition  of,  107 

influenced  by  shearing,  520 

feed,  107 
production,  107,  520 
Work,  100-4 

carbon  dioxid  produced  during,  101 
effect  on  digestibility  of  feeds,  51,  284 
on  milk  production,  353 
of  practice  on,  103 
energy  requirements  for,  103 
factors  influencing  efiBciency  of,  103 
heat  produced  thru,  104 
internal,  produces  heat,  45,  47,  104 
measurement  of,  282 
net  nutrients  needed  by  horses  for,  287 
nutritive  ratio  for,  290 
of  the  horse,  282 

miscellaneous    factors    influencing, 
297 
performed  by  the  horse,  282 
possible  from  1  lb.  of  feed,  284 
protein  waste  during,  100 
relation  of  speed  to,  288 
relative  value  of  nutrients  for  producing, 

102 
requirements  by  horse  for  light,  medium, 

and  heavy.  292 
severe,  by  the  horse.  292 
source  of  energy  for,  102 
types  of,  performed  by  the  horse,  287 
value  of  feeds  for,  284 
see  Energy 
Work    animals,    nutrient    requirements    of, 
100-4,  290-2 
see  Horses 
Work  horse,  see  Horses 
Worms  in  pigs,  631 

Yolk  in  wool.  107 


fi.  C.  Stat*  Cllel « 


